Questions about Whole Foods Apple Juice Cider

[Vintage Iron]

I've been brewing beer for about 8 months now, so it's time to diversify. Cider!!

Anyway, the plan is to start out by going the easy route. Two bottles of Whole Foods Apple Juice (the one that comes in the gallon glass carboy) with a packet of dry yeast split between the two of them A couple of questions:

1) I currently have some of the plastic Northern Brewer 6.5gal bubblers. Will the stopper bung from the lid of these bubblers fit into the mouth of the glass carboys that this juice comes in? I'd rather not crack open a bottle of juice, only to find out that the stopper doesn't fit.

2) What yeast should we use? My wife likes things a bit more on the sweet side, so I'll probably back sweeten, but I'm curious if there is a specific yeast that would be best for this. I've heard that champaign yeast will give a dry flavor, so not that. The cider will probably go from these mini-fermenters, right into a corny keg for fermentation, so I'd like to not secondary if possible.

3) How long should these take to ferment with the yeast chosen from above?

Any tips or tricks those of you who have done this before can mention is fantastic.

Thanks much!

 

[BILTIT]

Use a cider specific yeast. I highly recommend you secondary for atleast a month.

I usually leave in primary for 3 weeks.

 

[S-Met]

You need a #6 bung for the .5 & 1gal. Its a #6.5 on a regular glass carboy..

 

[ebbelwoi]

I'd recommend a week or so of primary with an ale yeast like Nottingham (or S-04), and then secondary until it's clear, maybe another week or so.

Also, you'll need some headspace if you're fermenting in the original carboy, so be sure to pour some out first... maybe 12 ounces? I've had a few foamy airlocks because I didn't pour enough out before adding yeast.

 

[Vintage Iron]

I finally picked up two gallons of apple juice at Whole Foods, and ordered some stoppers, extra airlocks, yeast (S-04), and some Fremaid.

My plan is to pull off 12oz from each bottle, then split the packet of S-04 between the two gallons and let it roll. I do have a question after doing some reading here on the forums.

Do I have to secondary this cider as it ferments? Right now, I have some 5-gal big mouth fermenters from the beer side of things, but nothing smaller to transfer into as a secondary. Can I use one of my 5-gal as a secondary for both gallons of cider together? (I'm guessing not)

Once this batch is done, I'll have two jugs to use as secondary vessels, but for now I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible.

Again, any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[ebbelwoi]

2 gallons in a 5-gallon container leaves too much headspace for secondary. Do you have another one-gallon container you can use temporarily? Rack into it and then back out of it?

 

[Vintage Iron]

2 gallons in a 5-gallon container leaves too much headspace for secondary. Do you have another one-gallon container you can use temporarily? Rack into it and then back out of it?

No, but you gave me an idea. Maybe for this batch I could rack them both into one of my 5-gal fermenters that's been sanitized, then clean out the 1 gallon jugs with oxyclean, sanitize with star-san, and back into the 1 gallon jugs for the final ride. I know that's not ideal, but with good sanitation, it should work.

This brings up another question. How long should they ferment in primary before racking to secondary? Is it a timed situation, or do I monitor gravity like with brewing beer?

Thanks again!

 

[ebbelwoi]

Good idea! Start checking the gravity after 5-7 days, depending on the yeast and brewing temp. In my experience, either S-04 conks out around 1.004, or I need a better hydrometer.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Always interesting reading cider threads and seeing the large diversity of processes people use.

I use wine yeast.
I leave my cider in primary for 3-6 weeks. No secondary.
The faux ice cider I just bottled was in primary for over 5 months.

 

[Maylar]

Secondary or not is a personal choice. I always do it. If you rack at 1.006-1.008 you'll have just a dusting of lees at bottling time even after months of aging.

 

[Vintage Iron]

OK, one last question. I'm going to pitch yeast tomorrow. Should be adding sugar to this apple juice, or just let it roll as bottle from Whole Foods? (Not looking for a high alcohol cider, but something more on the sweet side.)

Thanks!

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

If you do not want high % cider, just ferment it out as is. I imagine it will come out about 5-6%

I'm pretty sure I used the same juice last year and added (too much, by accident) sugar and I now have some rocket fuel I'm letting age to try and salvage. Cheers!

 

[Vintage Iron]

More cider questions from the newbie...

So the cider has been sitting in primary for just over a month now. I'd like to "secondary" it to gain some clarity, but I don't have any other (empty) gallon jugs. My thought was to rack the two separate gallons it into one of my 5-gal (beer) fermenters as a temporary holding container, clean out the gallon jugs, then rack back into the cleaned gallon jugs for secondary. Is this too much risk of infection? Is there risk of oxidation as there is with beer when transferring to secondary? Could I just leave the 2 gallons of cider to secondary in a 5-gal fermenter, or is that too much headspace? Maybe it's just smarter to leave it in these original fermenters and bottle from there until I can get more apple juice bottles?

As you can tell, I'm a little perplexed on how to proceed because of the small batch size this is. ANY thoughts are appreciated!

 

[ealu-scop]

I'm new to cider/brewing also and have 2 gallons (one in primary, one in secondary) going right now too.

I've heard/read so many conflicting things about almost every step of the process that I'm beginning to fret less and less. It seems to me that the best way to learn is by experience because as soon as you have someone affirm your gut feeling there'll be someone to say it's wrong. That's not to say no one is right! But when confronted with opposing views, I think going with your gut is the best choice. That way you learn something either way. If you're right then cool, if you're wrong then you've gained some knowledge to confuse someone else around here with

My first thought with mead and cider is that many of the issues I think I'm having weren't necessarily issues my forefathers/mothers had when making their mead/ciders. We'd probably freak out if we saw their process.

I also used cider already in the carboy (from Sprouts) and there was a ton of lees so I get the desire to rack it. I don't see why you can't use your 5 gal for a temporary and clean out the others. It does seem like a lot of headspace if you're planning on aging 2 gallons in the 5 gal. I don't think leaving it in primary is an issue.

Was hail!

 

[RPh_Guy]

Is this too much risk of infection? Is there risk of oxidation as there is with beer when transferring to secondary?

Sulfite solves both those problems.

Either way, you want to minimize headspace.

Maybe it's just smarter to leave it in these original fermenters and bottle from there

That's fine. With most yeast you should be able to leave it on the lees for several months without ill-effect.

I've heard/read so many conflicting things about almost every step of the process

True that
There are lots of different methods.

 

[shelly_belly]

Empty a gallon jug of water and use it to transfer 1. Clean your glass and transfer the other into it. Then clean that glass and put the 1st one in there (or not). Or buy another gallon of apple juice and drink it and save some (soda bottle in freezer) for backsweetening.

 

[Vintage Iron]

Thanks for all of the thoughts guys. I think I may just bottle this one and see how it turns out. (no secondary) After this I'll have two extra bottles for "secondaries" for future batches

Another quick question: I've read the thread about bottle pasteurization. Can I just back sweeten with with frozen concentrate to taste, then monitor the carb level (pop a cap or two) and pasteurize a few days in? If so, approx how much concentrate will two gallons of cider take to sweeten enough? (I haven't tested FG yet)

I'm sorry for the somewhat simplistic questions. I've done some searching for the answers here on the forums first, but there is SO MUCH info on ciders it's tough to weed through it all. Thanks for all of the help.