Is it dead?

[salt0171]

First time poster here and also first attempt at home brewing. Here is my situation... Please help. But, be nice. I am a beginner.

I decided that I wanted to make some homebrewed hard cider. Did some research and youtubed to get the basic idea. Here is my set up.

I have a 6 gallon glass carboy. It was washed and sanitized with a water/bleach solution. I purchased some SuperYeast Xpress online. Put 4 gallons of freshly pressed apple cider and 2 cups of brown sugar in with the carboy. Dissolved the sugar and added 3/4ths of the yeast. After 24 hours the airlock was bubbling nicely. Day 2 and part of day 3 it bubbled constantly and the cider changed colors. Day 3 the furnace quits working and inside temp of house crashes to about 62 degrees. I get home from work last night and the bubbling has stopped. I have tried swishing the liquid around to stir it as directed by the package. But, still no action. The furnace is fixed now and the indoor temp is rising.

Is this first attempt at making hard cider a dead duck? The yeast package said 7-10 days. Help!

 

[SteveHeff]

First things first, welcome to home brewing! It's a hobby that is highly addictive and lots of fun. Everybody has questions, never be ashamed to ask. It's how you learn.

Congratulations on trying to make hard cider. There are a few things that I would personally change in the approach here.

1. I use Star-san sanitizer. It doesn't leave any off-flavors after you use it. I've never had an infected brew when I've use it.

2. Before you add anything to the fermenting vessel, make sure it is sanitized. Your brown sugar should be boiled in water for 10-15 minutes to ensure that all the little bacteria and such are dead before tossing in to the fermentor.

3. Fermentation temps in the low to mid 60's are right where you want to be. Every yeast likes different temps but 65 is great for most strains (generally).

4. Yeast will do what they do. Even after 2 days, the yeast are still working, even though you do not see active signs. You do not want to swirl the carboy AFTER the yeast start to work. This would introduce oxygen to the brew, which you want to avoid after pitching your yeast.

Sit back and relax. Let the yeast do their thing. If you have a hydrometer, take a reading. See where it's at. But that would only really help if you know what your OG was. You should also check out the hard cider recipe section of this forum. Tons of great info. Good luck.

 

[sfgoat]

Could just be done or it could just need to warm up. Best way to tell is to have initial and final hydrometer readings. If you don't have a hydrometer you should get a few but just wait until about 7-14 days has passed and carry on. Just about everyone on here will tell you that airlock activity is not an indicator of yeast activity. I've had wines that never made the airlock bubble. Relax an be patient. That's the best advice that can be given to a beginner.

 

[MattSFT]

Your yeast shouldn't be dead from the temperature drop. They may have slowed if the temperature drop amount was significant. There could also be other reasons that you don't see bubbling, such as a poor seal between the airlock and fermenter. 62 degrees is well within a normal temp range for yeast; I just finished a hefeweizen at this temp.

I'd say your fine, just give it some time. On a batch of cider I made, I didn't really see any activity, but the finished product came out great.

 

[salt0171]

Thanks guys for the reassurance. I am getting the sense that this home brewing can be real addictive!