cider question

i made a quick cider today. (my first attempt at any kind of home brewing) it's been all put together for at least 6 hours now, and i'm not seeing any kind of activity so far. is this bad? or does it take a couple days to get going? i hope i haven't wasted 2 gallans of apple juice! thanks in advance.

I started one last night and is still to really start. Relax. Crack a can / bottle...

i was just worried that i somehow killed the yeast or something like that...

what time is it in australia? i used to remember... it's always tomorrow at the same time minus something like 7 hours, is that right?

What setup are you using?

If by activity you mean no bubbles moving in the airlock it could be that the lid is loose, or the airlock is not sealed into the lid.

Open the lid (but not for long, don't want to let the nasties in there!) and you should see some action happening however small.

schmendeler said:

what time is it in australia? i used to remember... it's always tomorrow at the same time minus something like 7 hours, is that right?

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It is beer o'clock time

4:42pm. Still at work and not moaning at all about it
Where abouts are you?

i just took two gallons of juice, put it in a 3 gallon glass carboy, and tossed in a packet of montrachet yeast. i'm still not seeing any bubbles coming up to the surface of the juice 6 hours later. i tried very hard to sanitize everything with bleach-y water, and then rinse it out well. is it possible that there was still some bleach in there? i did a smell check, and there wasn't really a bleach smell (other than the chlorine smell that is always in our tapwater.) i hope didn't kill the yeast.

There will be sugar in the apple juice but did you add in any other sugars?

Seriously I would not worry about it. It is hard to kill off a yeast. If it wasn't then althetes foot and thrush would be a thing of the past

I am off home, have a happy new year (and STOP worrying)

wow, i can't believe i remembered it. i got the time correct and everything! i live north of houston, texas. i'm not sure how familiar you are with texas, but houston is the largest city in texas, and 4th largest in the US. ever been here?

not yet, but I may come and drink your cider

you may not want it if it stays a big vat of yeasty apple juice...

schmendeler said:

you may not want it if it stays a big vat of yeasty apple juice...

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BURP

c ya

I mixed a 2 gal batch of cider a couple weeks ago, and it took about 48 hrs to see bubbling.

ok i see bubbles now! i have achieved fermentation! WHOOP! so now i just wait for it to fall clear? and then i can bottle it? i suppose i would need to get a hose to siphon with. and one of those nifty cap fitters. i think i've opened up a can of worms... :cross:

Yeup, get down to the LHBS and buy as much stuff as you can carry. Tis the only way.
Bottle tree, jet washer, benchtop capper...

can you use regular crimp style bottlecaps on recycled beer bottles meant to use twist off caps?

schmendeler said:

can you use regular crimp style bottlecaps on recycled beer bottles meant to use twist off caps?

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This is an issue for debate! I personally see no reason why not, the seal is the same (i.e. flat) at the top of the bottle in both types.
With regards to the difference between the threaded neck and the ribbed neck they may be differences in the amount of pressure taken to lift the top seal from the bottle top but I would expect this to be minimal. ...What I am trying to say is that the cap is being pushed off the top of the bottle by the pressure inside and the only thing holding it back is either the continous rim or the twisting thread.

The other difference is that the neck is thinner in places in the twist tops which makes them a bit more likely to break.

I use twist tops but I am collecting the non-twist off to use for beers that I am going to age for a long period of time just in case!

Does that make sense

schmendeler said:

can you use regular crimp style bottlecaps on recycled beer bottles meant to use twist off caps?

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But to answer your question - yes you can!

good deal. i probably won't carbonate, so i'm thinking the pressure won't be too great. i'm just curious, but how much does a very basic kegging setup cost? also, how do i know that the yeast is dead if i want to do some back-sweetening? i wish i could carbonate AND backsweeten, but unless i use splenda, it ain't gonna happen.

schmendeler said:

i wish i could carbonate AND backsweeten, but unless i use splenda, it ain't gonna happen.

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Unless you force carbonate with CO2.

methinks that would require some additional expenses

schmendeler said:

methinks that would require some additional expenses

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Well, you said you were a newb, so I just wanted to be sure you knew the option existed.