another noob first time cider question

Just made my first cider! I got five gallons of cider un-pasturized, treated it with campten tablets, acid blend, yeast nutrient, and brought the OG to 1.069 with dextrose, and oxygenated the must. I pitched champagne yeast, and it's off to a slow start. Really slow. Like two bubbles from the airlock per minute after 48 hours at 68 degrees. So, it that normal? I'm used to brewing beer and vigorous fermentation.

That is slow, but airlock activity is all you need, not vigorous. Cider doesn't usually go off like an all grain brew.

My first cider brew was nuts!!! The fermentation was so crazy it blew the air lock and bung right out of the bunghole.... I needed a blow off tube and didn't have one....

I hear a lot of guys talking about how slow their airlocks are bubbling on their ciders and I can't figure out why?
I added that EC-1118 Champagne yeast and BLAAW! It was like a bomb went off! Lol

EC-1118 ferments very fast, faster than most other yeasts (at least according to [url="http://www.lalvinyeast.com/strains.asp]this[/url]). Using Montrachet yeast I got a bubble every 10 seconds or so.

BadgerBrigade said:

it blew the air lock and bung right out of the bunghole.... I needed a blow off tube and didn't have one....

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Sorry, I just had to point out that this made me laugh. Childish yes, but life if no fun if you have to be grown up all the time! ;-)


OP - I would check the gravity and the PH. If your gravity is dropping, then I wouldn't worry.

You say you added acid blend, if the gravity isn't dropping your PH might be the problem. Apple juice can be pretty acidic on its own.

Devo9--I think you got it. I special ordered a hard-cider cider blend, and its probably much more acidic than a regular cider made from dessert apples. And the recipe I followed was probably for regular cider! Well that's how we learn, right? The gravity dropped from 1.069 to 1.059 in three days. Maybe it will work out anyway, because I was planning on putting the brakes on this around 1.025 1.030 with a cold crash and racking it a couple of times (then into a keg).

Devo9 said:

Sorry, I just had to point out that this made me laugh. Childish yes, but life if no fun if you have to be grown up all the time! ;-)

OP - I would check the gravity and the PH. If your gravity is dropping, then I wouldn't worry.

You say you added acid blend, if the gravity isn't dropping your PH might be the problem. Apple juice can be pretty acidic on its own.

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My bunghole MY BUNGHOLE.... Lol