Possible problem??

So as some of my other posts have said ... Im fermenting 10 gallons of unpasturized cider btwn 2 5 gal glass carboys. I added 2 lbs of lite brown sugar to each and a cinn stick and a half. Using champagne yeast. I pitched the yeast at like 1 am last friday. It is fermenting good with lots of foam and bubbling every 1-2 seconds via the airlock. It has been smelling great like apples in half of the house. Now its starting to get a little funk to the smell still smell the cider but its kinda getting a weird pundgent smell to it now? Is that a problem? If so how do I fix?

search elephant farts

no seriously

Ok i see that it is normal... But some people say to add nutrients or nitorgen. I have not done either? What are the pro's and con's of adding it?

Nutrients (which are mostly nitrogen)
Pros - you can be assured of getting a complete fermentation
Cons - you can be assured of getting a complete fermentation

I dont use em for a couple of reasons - First I dont like to put any additives in the cider. Its better to focus on getting good juice to start with. Second, using nutrients will make it very difficult to stop the fermentation with some residual sugar. In fact, many traditional cider houses purposely limit the nitrogen in their apples, or remove it with keeving, so that they can get the cider to stop fermenting before all the sugar is gone. I've been cold crashing my ciders for years to stop fermentation and havent had problems. A lot of people on this board seem to have trouble with keeping cold crashed cider stable and I suspect that is because they are adding nutrients.

I dont think im going to cold crash as I dont have the means for kegging. And am a little worried about bottle bombs (beer bottles). Unless someone else has tips how I can cold crash and be safe....

So if I dont cold crash should I add the stuff?

through the research ive done ive found that kegging can be pretty inexpensiveand a great investment compared to bottling especially when taking into consideration cleaning up bottle bombs.


its also easier to carbonate in kegs.

You can cold crash without kegging - you'll just have to drink it still. Champagne yeasts can be tough to crash tho. Ale yeasts are a lot easier.

IMHO, a bottle of still cider that was stopped somewhere between 1.004 and 1.010 with the original sugar and without chemicals is much much better than the same juice where all the apple sugar is fermented off and then bottle carbed, with or without some fermentable sugar. Of course, that is somewhat a matter of personal taste. Some people like it super dry. But that last little bit of sugar between 1.000 and 1.004 is where a lot of the apple taste is.

Once you go to kegs you wont want to go back. Cleaning a keg takes about as much effort as cleaning two or three bottles, but they hold 50 bottles worth of cider.

Another handy thing about kegs is that if you are using a yeast that is tough to crash like champagne, you can rack the cider a couple times to clear it and slow the ferment and then put the cider in the keg while its still a bit unstable and drink it at a party. Or you can let the cider go all the way dry, keg it and backsweeten right before a party because the cider will be gone before the yeast figures out that there is new sugar to munch on. I used to use both of these methods before switching to mostly ale yeast.

If you have a problem with stuck fermentations, then consider using nutrients. But if no problems, no need to add.

OK sorry to keep bugging u guys but im learning. And ur answers are great.

The still thing I still dont really get that. Ive read threads with that in there and dont grasp it. Can you explain it a little to me.
My plan is to bottle it so i can give some to friends and family. Dont get to have enough partys to keg but I will prolly do that next year... My fridge is big enough to cold crash in... And my hydrometer is on its way actually shoudl be at the post office now so I can check for that sweet spot you talk about.

Ok also just see if Im correct here but this is what I was thinking if the cold crashing is cool with my plans..

Cold crash it.
-Siphon into bottles
Back sweeten with nonfermentable sugar got some splenda
And just cap it right.
Then let it age for a few weeks to months

Still means without carbonation. Flat, like a bottle of wine.

You wouldnt want to drink a flat beer, but flat cider tastes fine. Just make sure it is cold - like a white wine. I prefer it with carbonation, and I suspect that most people do also, but that is like saying someone prefers champagne to wine - which may true, but it doesnt mean a wine is no good unless it is sparkling. I'd rather drink a good wine than a bad champagne.

I think that because this board is an offshoot of a beer board, and lots of the posters have a beer brewing background, there is this assumption that it has to be carbonated to be any good, and because bottle carbing cider is difficult, developing the taste becomes a secondary consideration to getting a good bottle carb.

The sweet spot is a matter of personal taste - the hydrometer is helpful for nailing it consistently, but its still up to you what you like. Commercial ciders are usually around 1.020, which is pretty sweet for my taste - but I suspect that is based on focus group testing that tells them this is what the majority of people like. My brewing friends tend to like it dry - down around the 1.004 - 1.006 range. I'd say the majority of my friends like it around 1.010, which is about where I like it. If you decide that it tastes better to you at 1.000 or at 1.030, then go for it.

If you cold crash, then you dont need to backsweeten, because you will have stopped fermentation with some of the apple sugar still intact. But it will be still.

Champagne is tough to crash tho. You may have to do it twice before it is stable. After cold crashing you should let it sit in the secondary for at least a couple of weeks and make sure that the sg doesnt drop any more, so that you know it is really stable and safe to bottle. Ale yeasts are a lot easier to get stable. Since this is your first time out of the gate, it might be easiest to let it ferment all the way dry and backsweeten with splenda - which seems to be what most people on this board do. That way you can get bottle carbonation without the risk of bottle bombs. IMHO, it will probably taste more like an alcopop than what I like in a cider, but it will still be drinkable. Or you could crash one carboy and bottle carb the other