Cider, next question.

[Nocturnus]

So I let my cider go a week in primary and racked off to secondary on tuesday. I'm getting little/no activity in my airlock and the taste leans towards the yeast side. I was thinking about adding some brown sugar into the mix to get the yeast going again.

Any opinions on that?

 

[TipsyDragon]

i've never made a cider but it sounds like you racked way to early. beer takes 2 weeks on the yeast and mead takes 3-4. the brown sugar will definitely get the fermentation going agin.

 

[JonK331]

The yeast flavor will go away with time. Adding brown sugar will prolong the process. I recently made a cider and just kept it in the primary for about a month then racked into a keg. No yeast flavor whatsoever. Read up about using a secondary, it's a PITA and really isn'y necessary. Most pro breweries don't do it either.

 

[JonK331]

i've never made a cider but it sounds like you racked way to early. beer takes 2 weeks on the yeast and mead takes 3-4. the brown sugar will definitely get the fermentation going agin.

I've made plenty of beers have gone from kettle to keg to glass in 7 days. While this is rushing a bit in terms of letting the flavors mellow and letting everything settle out, it is still plenty of time for the yeast to ferment out the sugars provided you pitched enough healthy yeast in the first place. You could add the sugar but doing that will increase the risk of infection and, in the end, will only serve the purpose of boosting the alcohol level.

 

[TipsyDragon]

You could add the sugar but doing that will increase the risk of infection and, in the end, will only serve the purpose of boosting the alcohol level.

the chance of infection can be greatly reduced by boiling the sugar for 10-ish minutes before adding it.

 

[johnnyo1977]

You should have let it go for another week in the primary. what was your hydrometer reading at the time of transfer? If you add the brown sugar, you should heat some water on the stove and add the sugar to it to disolve and make a syrup before adding it to the cider. the brown sugar will add some extra flavor and a little higher abv.

 

[Nocturnus]

I don't recall the numbers, but it was saying 11-12% ABV.. Which I think is way off.

 

[SFBEER]

I added a little nutrient to my cider and gave it a swish when it got stuck. Worked like a charm.

 

[Nocturnus]

I think I pitched enough yeast.. I got in enough yeast for a 4 gallon mix in my 1 gallon bottle.

I've made plenty of beers have gone from kettle to keg to glass in 7 days. While this is rushing a bit in terms of letting the flavors mellow and letting everything settle out, it is still plenty of time for the yeast to ferment out the sugars provided you pitched enough healthy yeast in the first place. You could add the sugar but doing that will increase the risk of infection and, in the end, will only serve the purpose of boosting the alcohol level.

 

[RobWalker]

I think I pitched enough yeast.. I got in enough yeast for a 4 gallon mix in my 1 gallon bottle.

That would probably describe the yeasty taste, and it'll take longer to settle, so you might consider finings. I tried them on my first batch, worked a charm, but the yeast smell/taste needs to settle on its own.

You should basically always wait until it's done fermenting if you're not planning on fermenting in your secondary, because quite simply, it's not ready.

 

[Nocturnus]

So really, can I just let this batch sit around and settle w/o adding anything to it?

 

[RobWalker]

if you've reached your desired ABV and taste (minus the yeast,) then stop it fermenting and leave it somewhere cool for a while.