Just want to make sure I do this right...

[Donkeyshins]

On Saturday I started my very first batch of hard cider. We pressed 100 pounts of apples from our orchard, although they were a little overripe so we only got 7.5 gallons of extremely high-sugar cider. Approximately 5.75 gallons ended up in our 6.5 gallon carboy and the unpasturized cider was augmented by 6 cups of raw sugar. I added a vial of White Labs Pitchable Cider Yeast (English Cider - WLP775) and proceeded to ferment. The first 24 hours were using a stopper and s-bubble airlock, but as the fermentation took off, I switched to a 1" blowoff tube and bucket. After almost 48 hours I'm fermenting at a rate of ~ 120 bubbles / minute and my basement smells like a giant fart, so things appear to be going swimmingly with regard to fermentation.

However, it's at this point I'm at somewhat of a loss. When should I rack the cider for secondary fermentation given that I'm using a mix of commercial and wild (since the cider is unpasturized) yeasts? I was thinking around 12 days (or when the fermentation starts to taper off) but am now wondering about using a hydrometer, with which I have NO experience. I'm also realizing I should have only put 5 gallons of cider in the carboy, so I'll have to scrounge a gallon jug to make up the overage (lessons learned).

Any help would be appreciated - I don't want to screw up this batch.

Thank you!

-D

 

[aiptasia]

It's pretty easy. A hydrometer looks like a big floating thermometer and it just tells you how much dissolved stuff (like sugar) is in your liquid. Basically, you'll need to remove a sample of your cider using an auto-siphon or a wine thief and fill a small container with it (such as the clear tube many hydrometers come in for just that purpose). Gently float a pre-sanitized hydrometer in the cider and write down the measurement. Measure the cider from the bottom of the meniscus and you'll be able to see a few things:

The original gravity of the cider (measure right before you pitch the yeast) which tells you your sugar level, the ability to pinpoint exactly when primary fermentation is finished (after three days of consistent gravity readings) or if your fermentation has stalled prematurely and the final gravity reading (just before bottling the cider).

If you have your original gravity reading and the final gravity reading, you can tell exactly how much alcohol by volume is in the cider. I'm assuming the formula is the same for beer as cider, and that formula is: (OG-FG) x 131.25 = ABV%.

 

[Donkeyshins]

It's pretty easy. A hydrometer looks like a big floating thermometer and it just tells you how much dissolved stuff (like sugar) is in your liquid. Basically, you'll need to remove a sample of your cider using an auto-siphon or a wine thief and fill a small container with it (such as the clear tube many hydrometers come in for just that purpose). Gently float a pre-sanitized hydrometer in the cider and write down the measurement. Measure the cider from the bottom of the meniscus and you'll be able to see a few things:

The original gravity of the cider (measure right before you pitch the yeast) which tells you your sugar level, the ability to pinpoint exactly when primary fermentation is finished (after three days of consistent gravity readings) or if your fermentation has stalled prematurely and the final gravity reading (just before bottling the cider).

If you have your original gravity reading and the final gravity reading, you can tell exactly how much alcohol by volume is in the cider. I'm assuming the formula is the same for beer as cider, and that formula is: (OG-FG) x 131.25 = ABV%.

Sounds easy enough. I have some original cider I removed from the carboy (no sugar added, though) in the fridge that I can hopefully use as the original gravity. Do you forsee any problem with this? If not, then I'll wander over to the store and buy the testing equipment.

Thanks!

-D