Hi, guys!
I finally got my first brew of cider going. I've done 5 batches of beer so far, and I did an On The Rocks Apple Cider kit on Sunday. Had an OG of 1044. I rehydrated the yeast and gave it a little White Labs yeast nutrient before pitching. There was a hickup along the way, which was that my digital thermometer went tits up on me and got stuck in the 40's Celcius. I ended up with a rehydrated yeast sitting at about 15° C. I thought, it would still be OK to pitch it, though.
I topped up to the 21 litres mark on my FV and the stickon thermometer there showed about 18°C, which is on the lower end of the optimal temp for the yeast according to the pamphlet in the kit. The airlock had begun plopping the next morning at 6am. My wife told me it was going constantly by 9am, like with no pause between the plopping. I though 'OK, primary fermentation is on'. When I got home from work it had slowed down considerably again, plopping every 15-20 seconds or so. The ambient temperature has been sitting at 22° C constantly the whole time.
Now, I just wanted to check on it today, to see how far the yeast had come, and I must admit I was a little surprised to find that the SG was now 1046
The top of the cider-to-be is covered in yeasty foam, like a lager type yeast would look like, so I'm pretty sure fermentation is moving along in its own pace, but I would like to ask you knowledgeable and experienced cider brewers if what I'm getting is normal to you. I'm not in a hurry with it or anything, so I will leave for another week and a half if need be (kit says fermentation usually takes 5-7 days, but I leave my beer for 3 weeks so I thought it wouldn't hurt to leave it longer.
Any input to a green noob?
17!
I finally got my first brew of cider going. I've done 5 batches of beer so far, and I did an On The Rocks Apple Cider kit on Sunday. Had an OG of 1044. I rehydrated the yeast and gave it a little White Labs yeast nutrient before pitching. There was a hickup along the way, which was that my digital thermometer went tits up on me and got stuck in the 40's Celcius. I ended up with a rehydrated yeast sitting at about 15° C. I thought, it would still be OK to pitch it, though.
I topped up to the 21 litres mark on my FV and the stickon thermometer there showed about 18°C, which is on the lower end of the optimal temp for the yeast according to the pamphlet in the kit. The airlock had begun plopping the next morning at 6am. My wife told me it was going constantly by 9am, like with no pause between the plopping. I though 'OK, primary fermentation is on'. When I got home from work it had slowed down considerably again, plopping every 15-20 seconds or so. The ambient temperature has been sitting at 22° C constantly the whole time.
Now, I just wanted to check on it today, to see how far the yeast had come, and I must admit I was a little surprised to find that the SG was now 1046
The top of the cider-to-be is covered in yeasty foam, like a lager type yeast would look like, so I'm pretty sure fermentation is moving along in its own pace, but I would like to ask you knowledgeable and experienced cider brewers if what I'm getting is normal to you. I'm not in a hurry with it or anything, so I will leave for another week and a half if need be (kit says fermentation usually takes 5-7 days, but I leave my beer for 3 weeks so I thought it wouldn't hurt to leave it longer.
Any input to a green noob?
17!