Recent content by WillJMA

The seal is definitely airtight, so i can only assume it's bacteria hiding in the plastic, and not being properly sanitised. With the small 1 gallon glass demijohns i usually let the primary settle, then rack into a secondary with no problems. I've never actually got a good ferment from the 5...

No i don't because i can see the bubbles through the glass. I know it sounds obvious, basically don't open, but i've once left the large fermentation bucket without opening and the same thing still happened. Could it be so easy for it to become infected just by taking out the bung and...

This is the fermentation bucket i use, it has a tight seal with a hole at the top for a bung and airlock, but sometimes i take out the bung and take a look inside, probably my main mistake! This is the fermentation bucket i use:

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I think it's a mixture between sanitation problems and the headspace. I'm going to do a test with a new sanitiser and fill the bucket as much as i can, but when i do that, i'm not leaving enough room for any foam, which usually flows out through the airlock and...

Yes, i usually leave it to ferment out, and then settle and it seems fine. i then siphon to secondary and settle again. Are you saying stop the fermentation at around 1? 1.01? Whats the easiest way to do that? I would have thought to put it in the fridge, get it very cold and the yeast should...

Haha nope im in the North of England, West Yorkshire, we do have some good orchards around here too though but to be honest i don't make enough cider to justify buying any quantity, the carton stuff turns out nice for me - sometimes! Thanks for the info, i'm going to do a few tests with...

I'm not in North America, i'm from the United Kingdom. Our apple juice tends to be 'from concentrate', and like i mentioned if i do it in small demijohns (1 gallon) i have no problem at all and it turns out quite nice cider. It's when i decide to throw 25 litres into my large bucket, basically...

You stir during fermentation? If i so much as move the airlock on mine i'm guaranteed to infect and then it starts smelling off. Every time. Do you have a basic procedure for simple cider? Bottled apple juice from the supermarket (pasteurised no sulfates), add to the sanitised fermentor (any...

That sounds possible, it's something ive never worried about before. I do have quite a few inches of headspace in the large fermentor. So during primary fermentation you would suggest minimal headspace? How long after primary fermentation to leave in the fermentor? I have a full bar setup...

Hey Guys, Does anyone know why i'm having trouble making large batches of cider? I have a 25 litre wide necked plastic fermentation bucket when no matter how much i sterilise, clean and boil away any potential bacteria I cant get a good brew out of it. I fill with 25 litres of...

Hey Guys, I have a couple of questions regarding OG and fermenting down to 0.990 using a standard yeast. I've used Turbo Yeast which worked absolutely perfect but as you all know already the finished result tasted horrific and was wasted eventually so i won't be using it again, i'l go back to...

That sounds interesting, two queries i have to that though: Wouldn't that leave sediment to the bottom of each bottle due to the extra yeast? Wouldn't that create way too much fizz like champagne rather than a nice carbonated cider? Are there any machines/guns which you could simply...

Previously i've used the finings to settle the yeast, then bottled the clear juice, added the carb drops and capped them. After a few weeks there was no carbonation at all, and it seemed a little sweeter so i assumed that was the carb drops problem?

Hey Guys, I'm having some problems with carbonating the Ciders/Alcopops i'm making. Once i've fermented around 25L of juices i like to use finings to clear the yeast and then bottle directly into 500ML amber glass bottles. This causes a problem because i can't use carbonation drops...

Hey Guys, I've made several batches of beer, and some alcoholic ginger beer/lemonade, but i'm having problems with carbonating the bottles. I buy Coopers carbonation drops and use them correctly 1 tab per 500ML but when it comes to opening and tasting the brews they aren't carbonated very...