Need advice...

I racked my 3 gallons of cider into a secondary in order to start clearing. I lost quite a bit of volume...especially since the primary was not topped off like it should be.

I have probably 3 inches of head space in the 3 gallon better bottle. Should I top it off with another gallon of cider?

ETA: It tasted fine when racking so I have not acquired any vinegar taste due to the little head space in the primary.

 

You could try using a tightening a belt around the bottle to bring the level up. I heard about this on the winemakingtalk forum. It did not oxidize in the primary because of the Co2 cusion. New cider will most like start fermantation again.

 

It is one of the square 3 gallon better bottles so I am not sure that will work.

Not sure if it will make a difference on advice but the plan is to let it ferment dry, back sweeten with Xylosweet, prime with brown sugar, bottle, then pasteurize when carbonation level is reached.

 

I'd top off with more cider to minimze headspace.

If you add the correct amount of brown sugar, why would there be a need to pasteurize? There shouldn't be any sugar left to ferment.

 

That is what is confusing me. OG was 1.062. When I transferred, it was 1.024 so it must not be done fermenting. I am not seeing any air lock activity (after 24 hours).

My main purpose of the secondary was to help with clearing but perhaps I did it too early? Would the kick start of fermentation by adding another gallon of cider be a good thing then?

 

Well, I think that was where my mistake was. I was not aware that racking would stop the fermentation. What I thought I was doing was racking so it would begin to clear while fermentation continued.

Recipe was:
3 gallons cider
1 pound of dark brown sugar
1 packet of Red Star Champagne yeast

It is sitting at 68 degrees right now. If I place my thumb on the top of the carboy, the air lock bubbles so there is some built up pressure. Not sure whether to let it go and take another reading in 3 days or add the gallon of cider I bought.

 

I racked onto dried cranberries, My cider was at 10.5% and I was hesitant at not topping off. I added a gallon of Motts apple juice and low an behold it started again for just a few hours. I had to thief off a cup or so to keep a n new kruesen from mucking up my carboy cap and blow off tube. I'm now back with a airlock and its perking every couple of minutes.

I was thrown a bit on this as my gravity was stable at 1.001 in the primary for days and I believed as sweet as it tasted the yeast was done in the 10.5 % ABV it achieved. It tasted sweet but was no longer perking. Go figure.

 

Added the gallon of cider to top it off and kick start the fermentation again. We'll see what happens.

 

I know you are already beyond this point, but I did not see this suggestion listed.

Some people use sanitized marbles to take up space in the bottle. This will reduce headspace and minimize any oxygen in the bottle, and will not restart fermentation.