How long to leave cider in secondary?

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KJxc

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So, I am a first-time brewer, I have never really done this stuff but I have read a lot about it. I just want to make sure I am doing this right and if my cider is close to ready (I'm getting thirsty). Here is what I've done so far:

1) cooked 4gal. of Musselman cider with 2lbs of brown sugar.
2) put in fermenting bucket with Nottingham yeast
3) let sit for 8 days, then transferred to secondary
4) added 1tbl of vanilla extract, 1tsp of McCormick apple pie spices, 1/4tsp of ground clove, and put rum in my airlock

It has been sitting for a week now. I am curious if I have been doing the right things or if I have screwed up anywhere. Also, how close is it to done?
 
using "cook" liberally, I sipmly just dissolved the brown sugar in the cider. Left the heat on simmer
 
That's not how I would do it, but it's done ;) Is the secondary clear (like a carboy) so you can see it? Wait until the cider drops clear and bright, and then wait another week for good measure. Two pounds is a lot of sugar. My batches with a lot less sugar than that still took at least a month.

The only beer yeast that I've tried with cider was S-04, and I didn't like it.

I just bottled a batch last night, made with 6 gallons of Aldi apple juice, 3/4 pound of sugar, and K1-V1116 wine yeast. I think I started that one at the end of August.
 
Extract usually leaves an oily film behind and powdered spices don't dissolve. When we add spices to cider we use whole spices (vanilla bean, whole cloves etc).

And you need a hydrometer to tell when it's done - they're cheap.
 
It is in a glass carboy and is currently a dark amber color. I don't really know how to tweak it to make it clear up. Any suggestions?
 
Is it a *cloudy* dark amber, or clear dark amber? In a glass carboy, you should be able to see thru it, although most of the color will still be there (some may drop out)

The main thing it needs is time. Using a hydrometer to monitor it is a good idea.
 
What kind of brown sugar did you use? I used demerara and it is very dark, will not ever get clear like many are talking about. In a day or two I will be posting pics of the different colors due to the different sugars i used.

Alot of people don't like the taste of fermented brown sugar, I know using 2lbs/gal of demerara is a bit too much but from what I have tasted of my other sugar mixes I am not sure if I like straight white sugar either.

 
It is in a glass carboy and is currently a dark amber color. I don't really know how to tweak it to make it clear up. Any suggestions?

Depending on how hot you got it when heating it, it may never clear. Heat will set the pectins, but IDK at what temperature that happens.
 
So, I used domino dark brown sugar as my priming sugar. The cider is a cloudy dark amber color. Is it okay that it may never clear up?
 
I would say that it will need at least 4 weeks before you start seeing some clearing up. Personally, I wouldn't touch it for 2 months.
 
Depending on how hot you got it when heating it, it may never clear. Heat will set the pectins, but IDK at what temperature that happens.

If you heated it over 150F and did not cool it very quickly it will never clear up. You can try pectin enzyme but it will not likely help much. There are other fining products out there made from bentonite (a specific type of clay), isinglass (a protein obtained from bladders of fish) and casein (a protein derived from milk) that are common in the use of clarifying wines but their use here may be limited.

The dark amber color is either derived from the molasses in the sugar or from maillard reactions when you cooked it. Color may fade a little but don't expect it to fade much.

Honesty, none of these things really matter that much if it tastes good.
Next time do not heat it and use apple concentrate to increase your OG instead of sugar. The sugar will thin your body and the dark molasses will cover the apple flavor. Spices are a preference, just go light on them until you get things dialed in.
 
So you think if it tastes good now, just bottle it and try again after some evaluation?
 
So you think if it tastes good now, just bottle it and try again after some evaluation?

No! If it tastes good now you can drink it, but if you bottle before it is finished fermenting you can have bottle bombs.

You might can try this: bottles in 1 liter plastic pop bottles with the twist-off lids. (like tonic water and club soda come in) When the bottles get hard after a week or so, put them in the fridge to slow the fermentation way down. Now you can drink them. If a plastic bottle does blow up you don't have flying broken glass trying to kill you, you just have a mess.

Do you have a smaller carboy, or some gallon glass jugs? Maybe fill a few plastic bottles to sample it, and rack the rest into smaller jugs w/ air locks and let them finish.

If you want the cider to be ready to drink sooner, don't add any sugar next time. :) It will still end up around 5% ABV and it will taste a lot more apple-y when it's finished.
 
well yeah, I was going to add a fifth gallon of non-fermented cider to backsweeten after I treated it with either campden tablets or potassium sorbate, then bottle it after I let the sorbate sit in it for a day or two
 
no, I'm thinking at this point i should just bottle a still cider and try again after some thoughts on how to change the recipe
 
Next time, start with something simpler. (and cheap. and fast.) Enough filtered apple juice to fill the smallest carboy you have, some yeast nutrient, and Cotes des Blanc yeast. No sugar until you're ready to prime the bottles. You won't need a secondary because it'll be done in a month.

Hold back a quart of the juice just until the fermentation dies down a little, to leave some headroom in the carboy so it doesn't overflow if the yeast gets frisky.

Good luck. :mug:
 
It has been 2 weeks so it should be done; Nottingham eats through wort/must in 2-3 days.
Did you cold crash prior to transferring it from primary to secondary?
If so you left most of the yeast behind, you can add some potassium sorbate (wine stabilizer) a few days before bottling if you like and it will remain still.
I try to limit my usage of sulfites (camden/k-meta) as my wife is mildly allergic to them; however sorbate does work better in the presents of sulfites. If you choose to add sulfites wait a few days before bottling to let most of it precipitate out of solution.
If you choose to back sweeten do so after these preservatives have had time to work.
Because it is still you can bottle it however you want, you can even use wine bottles as it will not blow out a cork. I have antique coke bottles that I like to use for cider.

FYI
Give this thread a look over; this is the most brewed cider from these forums. It is pretty much what you are trying to make and at +1000 pages you can bet there are plenty examples of what to do and not to do.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860
 
It has been 2 weeks so it should be done; Nottingham eats through wort/must in 2-3 days.

Depends on temperature and whether nutrients were added or not. At 60F Notty could take 2-weeks.

FYI
Give this thread a look over; this is the most brewed cider from these forums. It is pretty much what you are trying to make and at +1000 pages you can bet there are plenty examples of what to do and not to do.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860

FYI, that's wine not cider.
 
So far so good. I usually wait a month before bottling then another month before opening first bottle. I've found time makes cider taste better. Not that something 3 weeks old is bad but better in 3-4 months or longer. I'd make sure yeast appears to have stopped carbonating before bottling.
 
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