After ten days....

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

pintocb

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
106
Reaction score
2
in the bottle my latest batch of cider is really carbonated. Should I be worried about bombs? They are in swing tops. If I crack each one will it help reduce the chance of bombs or just risk infecting the bottles?

Cb
 
Three weeks in primary. The batch is 3 gallons. I added 1 can of Seneca juice concentrate, equal to about 1/2 cup of sugar. The abv is around 10%. 1.08 OG, 1.00 FG.
 
They ferment for 3 months? You get a different gravity reading over 3 months? I didn't think it would go that long.....I may have a problem on my hands......I got the same FG reading three times over a sixish day span.....no airlock activity after day 9 of fermentation. It was really quick. I used 1118 wine/champagne yeast and did a starter.
 
They ferment for 3 months? You get a different gravity reading over 3 months? I didn't think it would go that long.....I may have a problem on my hands......I got the same FG reading three times over a sixish day span.....no airlock activity after day 9 of fermentation. It was really quick. I used 1118 wine/champagne yeast and did a starter.

My EC 1118 went real quick. It's going on one month and I havn't seen any bubble activity for two weeks now. (I didn't check gravity, but I'm fairly certain I could have bottled last week and been OK. when my bottles arive this week I'll be bottling mine.
 
Three weeks in primary. The batch is 3 gallons. I added 1 can of Seneca juice concentrate, equal to about 1/2 cup of sugar. The abv is around 10%. 1.08 OG, 1.00 FG.

If that concentrate is 12 oz and makes 48 ounces then 15 oz is equal to 3/4 cup of priming sugar, actually its a little bit more. That means that 9 oz is what you need to prime a 3 gallon batch. If you put in 12 oz then you put in 33% too much.
 
Isn't that cider pretty cloudy after only 3 weeks?
 
I bottled my first two batches long after fermentation activity had ceased (prior to the purchase of a hydrometer) but they both caused a few shot off corks. So yet again, no airlock activity does NOT equal complete fermentation.

But you got consitant SG readings, so I don't blame you for bottling. But perhaps you could have waited for consistent readings over a couple weeks. And really, did you cider clear at all?
 
The cider was as clear as the juice I started with. I think I'll invest in some rubbermaid containers thi weekend just in case.


As far as any of these circumstances proving fermentation wasn't over doesn't introducing bottling sugar restart a limited fermentation? Isn't that how we get carbonation? Wish me luck for no bombs and thanks for all the advice. I'll be more patient and do my math better in the future.
 
The risk is not just in restarting fermentation. As you said, that is how we get natural/bottle carbonation. However, the point of priming sugar is that it is a measured amount to produce the amount of co2 desired. But if fermentation was not complete, or was stuck, there are residual sugars you don't know about. So if and when fermentation restarts in the bottles, you aren't just priming with the priming sugar, there is also the unknown amount of sugar already in the brew. Which could lead to overcarbonation/bottle bombs.
 
Yay. So....my original question....do I put these bottles in a rubbermaid and hope for the best or can I pop the top (swing tops for all of them) and reclose and fix the problem?
 
If you want to vent them, I'd suggest refrigerating, and spraying them down with star-san or idophor first, then vent and close. Seems like a reasonable option, and check how they are doing in another week-10 days - vent again if it seems like too much, don't if it seems reasonable, and check again in yet another week/10 days.
 
now there is an Idea... where are you? I'm sure we would all be more than happy to help:tank:



LOL. Just south of Armpit, GA. I've decided the "drink up" advice isn't all that bad either. I know this stuff is supposed to age really, really well, but its damn good fresh too. Having some right now. Fizzy as hell, so I'm glad I vented them last night.

Thanks
 
I recommend opening one bottle and take a gravity reading from that one. If the reading is within the yeasts attenuation range then you're good to go. If not, at least it'll give you an idea of where you need to go from there. ;)
 
Back
Top