CIDER SG at 1.060 after 5 weeks

Hey guys, I made a batch of apfelwein but with unfiltered cider from a local farm, no preservatives or anything in the cider. I used Red Star Champagne yeast. First pitch, fermentation appeared not to start, after about 6 days I pitched another packet with yeast nutrient this time. It appeared to ferment, I got bubbles out of the airlock and a slight krausen ring around the neck. I've left it for a month in a room with steady temps of about 66 degrees. Now after over a month, it doesn't appear to have cleared significantly, although there is about an inch and half of sediment on the bottom of the fermenter. I decided to take a SG reading to see where it was at, I siphoned some out (without letting the tube go anywhere near the sediment on the bottom) and took a reading, getting a 1.060. Anybody know what might be going on here? That seems absurdly high, that's higher than the OG of the apple cider before I added the corn sugar (1.054). I tested my hydrometer on 60 degree water and it's right on. The hydrometer was definitely not stuck or anything. Did the yeast just totally crap out? But in that case what's with the bubbles and the ring around the neck and the sediment?

Seriously I'm baffled and looking for any ideas. Suggestions of what to do would be great, I was hoping to ring in the new year with this bad boy.

Your measurement must be an error. My apfelwein finishes around 1.000 or just under in that amount of time. And gravity will not increase after fermentation.

Two things to be aware of:

(1) Make sure you have enough liquid in the sample tube to float the hydro. I know this sounds silly, but just make sure that the hydro is not sitting on the bottom of the sample tube.

(2) I get a lot of bubbles on the hydrometer when I measure my Apfelwein. Bubbles cause the hydro to float up and give you a much higher reading. Once the hydro is in the sample jar, spin it like you are spinning a top to throw the bubbles off. Then wait to see if it settles to a lower level.

Hope this helps.

I've noticed when I take a reading of apfelwine, there are often a lot of little CO2 buubles coming out of solution even after a month. These seem to make the hydrometer more bouyant, so I have to let the sample sit for some time to get an accurate reading. Don't know if this helps....

Sea, could you elaborate on the "some time" because I'm still getting the same reading. I basically did stir it up a lot though due to some siphoning mishaps and slippery glass carboys, so I can definitely take another reading in a few days and compare.

Just to clarify the actual OG of the cider with the corn sugar was probably higher than 1.060, I added 2 pounds of dextrose to the 1.054 cider.

jmiracle said:

Sea, could you elaborate on the "some time" because I'm still getting the same reading. I basically did stir it up a lot though due to some siphoning mishaps and slippery glass carboys, so I can definitely take another reading in a few days and compare.

Just to clarify the actual OG of the cider with the corn sugar was probably higher than 1.060, I added 2 pounds of dextrose to the 1.054 cider.

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Let the hydro float in the sample for 30 minutes or more, spinning it like a top every so often. This will help throw off the little bubbles that Sea and myself have noticed with ciders.

If you're sure you are taking good readings, then maybe you do need to repitch. Do you know what the temp range is for the Champagne yeast you used?

I used Cote des Blanc yeast in unfiltered cider and ended up at 0.998 in about 3 weeks. It fermented at around 70º I think. If you need to repitch, maybe try that yeast instead.

Thanks fpr the help guys, tomorrow I'll take a new reading using the techniques suggested and see if that helps.

Beerthoven, I pitched right around 70. The only thing I can think of if fermentation stuck is that both packets were from the same store...maybe a bad batch or bad storage? Anyway I'm REALLY holding out for human error here, that'd make my day!

Taste-wise the cider tasted fairly dry with apple flavor, definitely different than it was going in, which again supports the human error on the readings theory.

So the SG was the same today after letting the sample rest for about 4 hours and spinning the hydro, so I repitched and the yeast started going nuts almost immediately. I'm chalking this up to really old yeast from the LHBS, I pitched a packet of ale yeast I'd ordered online this time. I'm not sure what the ring around the neck was and the sediment, maybe just dead yeast cells plus settled-out yeast nutrient or something? Anyway, I'm sure I'll end up with something, might not be apfelwein but it'll be something! Thanks for the help guys.

what about your temp? The Apfelwein recipe calls for 74 degree fermentation, you did 60. Could that be slowing the yeast down, making them dormant?

It was 70 when I pitched and the stick on thermometer read between 66 and 68 everytime, I even checked in the middle of the night a few times to see if the room got super cold or anything. That would be about the middle of the temp range for the yeast, which stated that it could work between some aburdly large range, like 50 to 95, if I recall.

Sounds like you were right all along and all you needed was new yeast.

What ale yeast did you pitch? I'm thinking about using Nottingham in my next batch of Apfelwein so it doesn't turn out quite so dry.

Anyhow, glad its working out for you.

It was a Safale something from Fermentis, it said American ale yeast. I can get the number when I get back home today.

I think in the future I'll just order stuff online, my LHBS has a very token selection and all their stuff seems real...elderly.

Windsor would be a better choice, if you don't want a dry finish. I've had ciders finish at 0.995 with Nottingham.

Hey turns out I actually pitched a dried lager yeast at ale temps so this will be one strange brew overall.

Anybody else use a lager yeast on cider ever? It's pretty cool looking since it's clearing from the bottom up it looks like, not a ton of krausen but enough to show that it's definitely working.

Hey I had to give up on this! Had the lager yeast in there for 15 days and the SG was STILL 1.060! I think I figured it out, I accidentally dropped the stopper in the cider at the beginning, figured it wouldn't matter and went ahead anyway. The thing is...sigh...I was awaiting my order of sanitizer but wanted to start the apfelwein so I sanitized...it...with...BLEACH. I think it must have had some bleach on it still that made it a bad environment for the yeast, that's all I can figure. Starting over with some juice, a packet of Montrachet, and a bitter sadness in my heart for the fact that I won't be drinking this until February...