Hello brewers
I am working on a cider and I'd like to halt the fermentation to keep some of the sweetness intact. In a book I read, it mentioned that when racking to a secondary, all effort should be made to keep oxygen out. It mentions siphoning to the bottom of the carboy to keep the liquid from agitating and picking up extra oxygen.
I also read from another source that Campden tablets can be used to halt the fermentation process. If I were to crush up these tablets and add them to the liquid, would it work ok simply by pouring it into the container or should I mix it up? Would mixing it cause the cider to gather too much O2? Should I try to funnel it into the secondary carboy, or mix it into my primary, let it settle, then siphon?
Also I have a purely academic question. From what I understand, Campden tablets only prevent the reproduction of yeast but don't actually kill it? If this is the case then might it be a good idea to add Campden tablets to the cider before bottling it to prevent it from over-carbonating? I am looking to make a sweet lightly carbonated cider.
Sorry if this comes across as overly concerned, this is my first brew :cross:
I am working on a cider and I'd like to halt the fermentation to keep some of the sweetness intact. In a book I read, it mentioned that when racking to a secondary, all effort should be made to keep oxygen out. It mentions siphoning to the bottom of the carboy to keep the liquid from agitating and picking up extra oxygen.
I also read from another source that Campden tablets can be used to halt the fermentation process. If I were to crush up these tablets and add them to the liquid, would it work ok simply by pouring it into the container or should I mix it up? Would mixing it cause the cider to gather too much O2? Should I try to funnel it into the secondary carboy, or mix it into my primary, let it settle, then siphon?
Also I have a purely academic question. From what I understand, Campden tablets only prevent the reproduction of yeast but don't actually kill it? If this is the case then might it be a good idea to add Campden tablets to the cider before bottling it to prevent it from over-carbonating? I am looking to make a sweet lightly carbonated cider.
Sorry if this comes across as overly concerned, this is my first brew :cross: