Yet another Graff question

[MMAniacle]

I recently gave Brandon O's Graff recipe a shot, and I'm currently experiencing some interesting behavior. Full disclosure: this is the third brew that I have attempted, so this may be a bit of a noob question.

I followed the recipe almost to the letter (accidentally added a full oz of Cascade hops because I'm an idiot) using flash pasteurized cider that I picked up from my local orchard, but unfortunately was not able to pitch the Nottingham until the following morning as the first pack turned out to be a dud on attempted rehydration. I pitched the new pack, and after about 36 hours had still seen no activity. At this point I pitched ANOTHER pack of rehydrated Notty. At the time that I pitched, OG was 1.05 @ about 68 degrees.

About a week after pitching the second time, I noticed that I was starting to get some small activity from the airlock. About 5 days later, I am looking at this:

(Closer look at the top)

The airlock bubbles about once every 1-1.5 minutes. Is this sufficient fermentation? what would account for such a long lag time? When can I expect fermentation to slow down?

 

[JhonKa]

Did your apple juice have preservatives in it? I believe the AJ with sorbates will inhibit yeast growth.

 

[MMAniacle]

Did your apple juice have preservatives in it?

I don't believe so, the label just said "flash pasteurized" on it. I guess I didn't really bother to look that close, though.

If that is indeed inhibiting the yeast, Would I be correct in assuming that the amount I've pitched should be sufficient but will just take more time?

 

[eltorrente]

Sounds like it had preservatives if it's that slow.

I pitched Nottingham into my Graf a couple weeks ago, and it started bubbling slowly after 8 hours (once every 30 secs or so), and after 24 hours it was bubbling every 3 seconds.

I added yeast nutrient, plus the juice didn't have preservatives. It was Musselman's cider from the grocery store. I didn't bother rehydrating, either - just opened the pack and dumped it in. My OG was 1.069 and it made it to 1.005 when I checked it after 10 days.

My hydrometer sample tasted great - it wasn't tart, and had a nice hint of apple to it.

 

[MMAniacle]

GRREAAAT. If it does in fact have preservatives, what can I expect?

Glad that yours seems to be going well! Hope it turns out fantastic!

 

[eltorrente]

GRREAAAT. If it does in fact have preservatives, what can I expect?

Glad that yours seems to be going well! Hope it turns out fantastic!

I wish I had more experience and could give you some advice, but I'm a long-time beer brewer, and this was my very first Graf/Cider experiment.

I guess if I was you I would just wait it out and hope for the best. It sounds like the yeast is at least doing something, so maybe it'll ferment out eventually.

On the bright side, Graff/Cider is pretty easy to make and the ingredients are fairly cheap. Maybe you could pick up another carboy and do another batch, and set this one aside for a while and do a hydrometer sample in a few weeks and see where you stand.

 

[MMAniacle]

Well at this point, any information is a great help haha.

The good news is that according to the orchard's website, they don't add anything to their cider, it's just the apples. The bad news is, I'm still not completely sure as to what is going on.

I guess that patience is just going to have to do the trick for the time being, I'll just have to wait and see if the bubbling stops and then take a hydrometer reading. Thanks for the info!!!

 

[MMAniacle]

UPDATE: So I called the orchard where I picked up the cider at, and they told me that contrary to what their website says, they use the dreaded Sodium Benzoate in their cider....Guess I found my problem.....

 

[JhonKa]

UPDATE: So I called the orchard where I picked up the cider at, and they told me that contrary to what their website says, they use the dreaded Sodium Benzoate in their cider....Guess I found my problem.....

Damn, what a waste. I bet that apple juice straight from the orchard wasn't cheap. Sorry for your losses.

 

[MMAniacle]

Damn, what a waste. I bet that apple juice straight from the orchard wasn't cheap. Sorry for your losses.

Yeah, it definitely wasn't cheap. I think I may just ride it out for a week or so and see what happens. Right now the gravity is slowly dropping (VERY slowly) and it still tastes ok. What's the worst that could happen by reevaluating in a week or two?

 

[Mozart]

What's the worst that could happen by reevaluating in a week or two?

You tie up a fermentation vessel for a week or two that could be used to produce something else.

About the worst I can think of, and maybe not that much of a loss.

 

[toganet]

If it helps, I made a similar mistake, using cider that had potassium sorbate in it to make a 5-gallon batch of Graff. After reading several older threads I decided to pitch more yeast (twice) and then wait. The results ended up being better than I expected. The graff definitely fermented out -- it's even a little dryer than I wanted.

There are some flavors that are not quite what I expected from it, but this is my first attempt at graff so I am not sure. It's definitely quite drinkable -- I'm going to open one now, if fact.

Bottom line, I would say let it ride