My brother made a wonderful party punch out of apple juice and brown sugar, which inspired me to try something like it.
Except I used organic cider and the last of the honey from my first mead project. If I'm to understand correctly, my yeast has two strikes against it there - first, that the honey has complex sugars that take a bit of time to eat up; second, that cider still has apple-y bits (like pectin) that make it a little harder for the yeast to get around. I was told, casually, by a gent from the LHBS that what I oughta do is wait until the fermentation slows down and stir it to liberate any sugars that have been caught up in the pectin mix. Hard to tell how fast the ferment is going as that same pectin is making big pectin-y bubbles that dont like to pop!
Lastly, and PLEASE don't chase me off the forum with spears, my primary is still being used for the mead project so I'm brewing this cyser in my *gulp* mr beer keg
So! questions. 1- With no airlock bubbles to count, how do I know when my ferment is slowing down? 2- Am I going to hurt it if I rack it too early/late? I'm thinking going to a bottle with an airlock would simplify things greatly.. 3, and perhaps most important - I'm tempted to sterilize a spoon and stir it some, is that a horrid idea?
Heck of a first post. Thanks for the help ahead of time.
Except I used organic cider and the last of the honey from my first mead project. If I'm to understand correctly, my yeast has two strikes against it there - first, that the honey has complex sugars that take a bit of time to eat up; second, that cider still has apple-y bits (like pectin) that make it a little harder for the yeast to get around. I was told, casually, by a gent from the LHBS that what I oughta do is wait until the fermentation slows down and stir it to liberate any sugars that have been caught up in the pectin mix. Hard to tell how fast the ferment is going as that same pectin is making big pectin-y bubbles that dont like to pop!
Lastly, and PLEASE don't chase me off the forum with spears, my primary is still being used for the mead project so I'm brewing this cyser in my *gulp* mr beer keg
So! questions. 1- With no airlock bubbles to count, how do I know when my ferment is slowing down? 2- Am I going to hurt it if I rack it too early/late? I'm thinking going to a bottle with an airlock would simplify things greatly.. 3, and perhaps most important - I'm tempted to sterilize a spoon and stir it some, is that a horrid idea?
Heck of a first post. Thanks for the help ahead of time.