What is the recommended time in primary?

Hi folks,

I'm a complete newbie making my first every batch of cider (or anything for that matter) and got a little lost about how long each stage should last.

I started my 2 gals of cider on Jan 10th -- airlock went bubbley for a few days and today the airlock activity has almost come to a stop. Should I transfer it to secondary yet or wait another week?

How long do you guys recommend I do each stage (primary, secondary, bottling/carbing)?

Thanks,
Jeff

Everyone one is different. One common recommendation from some of the more experienced brewers has been let it ferment down to between 1.000 and 1.020 and then rack it into secondary. This is not written in stone and you need to discover the way that best suits your tastes, but that is a pretty good rule of thumb. Sometimes it will be a few days, sometimes it will take longer. But once it is in secondary, you can choose to rack everytime it accumulates more than 1/4" of lees or you can let it sit. Either way, never bottle it until it is completely crystal clear, you should be able to read a newspaper through it.

I actually don't secondary my ciders, I let them go in primary untill they are clear enough to read a newspaper through, then bottle. Of course, I like my ciders really dry.

Ahh mine is still a little murky but I can't seem to see anything happening.

Should I just rack it and take a SG reading to figure out where it's at?

Why are you so keen to rack it? It's been in primary for less than a week.

I'm pretty new to this too, but I'd leave it be in primary for a *few* more weeks. Maybe check the clarity and take a gravity sample at the one month mark.

Just let it chill for a while.

angrysparrow: the smell is just way too tempting, I stuck my nose at the airlock and could smell the wonderful cider!

Tusch: will do

Is there a recommended amount of sugar to add in when bottling for carbonation? Also is there some place where all these basic information is stored so I don't have to keep bothering everyone?

Thanks everyone for the advice and I appreciate your help.

1 oz. of priming sugar per gallon for carbonation.

Awesome thanks. You've all been very helpful.

I made 5 gallons of cider on Jan 8th, and it's slowed down in fermentation in the past couple of days, but the airlock is still bubbling every 30 seconds, and no way of being crystal clear!

Secondary is optional, but I say once you get it in a secondary, leave it for another 2 weeks AT LEAST, it will be worth it!

I primary for 3 months - after this amount of time, most ciders will be pretty clear. I then rack off the lees and bulk-age for TWO YEARS before kegging. Most people drink their ciders way too early IMHO. I also like my ciders oaked, and add a 1/2 ounce per gallon of cider of American heavy toast cubes during the primary.

- GL63

GrantLee63 said:

I primary for 3 months - after this amount of time, most ciders will be pretty clear. I then rack off the lees and bulk-age for TWO YEARS before kegging. Most people drink their ciders way too early IMHO. I also like my ciders oaked, and add a 1/2 ounce per gallon of cider of American heavy toast cubes during the primary.

- GL63

Click to expand...

You're making me sad GrantLee63, I did one of those 1-week recipes in hopes of getting a quick fix for my cider thirst!

I'll start another batch for Christmas and do a longer fermentation and aging. Thanks for the tip.

1 week may be enough time to finish fermentation, but it is definitely not enough time for it to clear. And it definitely will benefit from aging. Ciders should take much more time then a week.