Fermentation speed?

Hey there,

Have a 5 gallon batch of apfelwein brewing in a PET carboy. Added Ec1118 and some yeast nutrient, except it appears to have very little activity after 3 days. Little airlock activity, maybe a bubble every 20+ seconds although there are mini bubbles or the airlock moving slightly, and a decent layer of krausen. Compared to my other two batches in which I could see bubbles rising through the cider I can see none here.

Should I add another packet of yeast? Or might it just be a bit slow?
SG reading after three days is 1.060~1.62 OG of 1.062

Thanks guys!

 

If it's dropped 10 points in 3 days it's moving right along. Maybe you have an air leak somewhere that's bypassing the airlock.

 

I measured it today and I guess I must have measured it wrong since it measured at 1.61 or 1.60 today... So it actually has had little to no movement.

 

What did you start with for juice? And what temperature is it? EC-1118 is usually a very quick fermenter.

 

It was from a local farm, fresh pressed and they claimed no additives. Might it have sorbates in it? Which could explain the krausen and slight amount of activity?

 

What's the temperature? How much is "some" yeast nutrient? You don't get a really pronounced Krausen with cider since it doesn't have a lot of protein to sustain the head. Cider will teach one patience, that's for sure. I have a gallon that looks exactly as you describe after 3 days... I'm not worried at all. (1.05 OG, 1 tsp yeast nutrient/gal, Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast, 64 F).

 

If you have some krausen and the airlock is bubbling, then fermentation is under way. Slow is a good thing...

 

Every single fermentation is different. I'm thinking about making it an acronym (ESFID). It sounds like you might have a long slow one on your hands.