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Wow... that is an interesting question. Who said cider making is simple??? I understand that the melting point of apple juice is -1.5C, so I guess that the sugar and other elements in liquid form start to leach out above that temperature if their freezing point is less than 0C. I suppose that...

Looks like my thinking is the same as Rish's response which arrived while I was pondering the arithmetic involved. When I went to post, a message came up that there was another response. Any how here is the rough arithmetic as I see it FYI. I guess that time is of the essence since you probably...

Thanks for the comment on Fermaid-O. A couple of the on-line shops here in Oz have a relatively new product called Fermaid-A (supposedly an Australian wine industry specific nutrient from Lallemand similar to Fermaid-K), which seems to be DAP plus other goodies and intended for fruit forward...

Back in July, I posted about a problem I had with a batch of cider failing to carbonate. After some more research I think I have zeroed in on what had gone wrong and thought it worth posting the outcome for others who might strike the same problem. The short answer seems to be… Fermentation...

That is about what you would expect. Taking typical numbers (i.e. start with a litre of juice at SG 1.050 and ferment fully down to SG 1.000) you would convert about 100g of sugar into roughly 50g of alcohol and 50g of CO2. 50g of alcohol is about 5 standard drinks, so a 250ml glass would be...

I understand that it performs all three of the functions you mentioned. i.e. kills unwanted strains of yeasts (natural, which are a bit weak compared with "commercial" yeasts) as well as germs and bacteria, is an antioxidant which helps prevent oxidation of the cider, and can be a cure for some...

As I indicated, most apples have a SG in the range 1.045 to 1.055 so your Pink Ladies at 1.043 seem about right. The sugar level varies quite a bit with growing conditions. I have seen TA (total acidity) quoted for Pink Ladies in the range 3 - 5 grams per litre which is sort of "lowish middle of...

That is a good point. If you need absolutely no sugar, a consistent low gravity reading is no guarantee that there isn't any sugar left. Some ciders are known to finish above SG 1.000. This can mean that all the sugar has been converted to alcohol and CO2, but can also mean that the yeast has...

Yep, as above it could be done in a week or so, if you have used an aggressive champagne yeast. These yeasts can ferment quite quickly, especially if the fermenting temperature is high in their range (for example, EC1118 "champagne yeast" fermentation range is 50F - 86F). Cooking apples (such...

A bucket sealed with an airlock will be fine. It will keep any nasties out. As you seem to have a lot of airspace in the bucket, I would rack to a smaller container to limit exposure to O2 once the foam settles. It sort of depends on how long before you plan to bottle or keg. Have you pressed...

That shouldn't matter for your initial (primary) fermentation. I do this all the time (5 litre batch in a 10 litre bucket). The primary fermentation can be quite turbulent with a thick foam forming. This foam is a combination of solids in the juice and CO2 bubbles plus a layer of CO2 which...

Yep, what Maylar says. Many of us have the same issue and a bit of trial and error is needed. However, there are some things that you can do to improve your blend for cider. If your cider is lacking in acid (i.e. it is a bit "flabby"), adding Malic Acid to bring the Total Acidity up to between...

You introduced The Beverage People some time ago. I have used their web site for articles and information since then. Although I am in Oz and unlikely to be a customer, I also suggest that they are a good source of information. Cheers!

Just an update... Decanted and added 25g of sugar (5g/L) plus a starter in juice (1/2 teaspoon of SO4 with a pinch of DAP and 0.5 grams of sugar), then re-bottled. This took off almost straight away and today after six days, bottle pressure was 1.5bar (22psi) and still going. After...

No... IME it tends to form clumps which float around for a bit immediately after pasteurising. If you leave it for a while, they break up if you shake the bottle and settle back on the bottom as per normal. I suppose it is due to the pasteirisation heating process but also seems to depend on how...

Yep, you are probably right. Looking back at a similar S04 batch about a month earlier, at 1.002 ( S04 will sometimes finish above 1.000) I added sugar to 1.008 and bottled on 6 June. Opening the "test bottle" on 24 June was JAR (Just About Right) carbonation and SG 1.004 ready for pasteurising...

I am a bit late replying, however I bottle pasteurise. Of course kegs are a bit bigger. A measure of pasteurisation is a Pasteurisation Unit (PU). The conventional target for Cider is 50PUs although there is a strong school of thought that anything over 30 PUs is enough for cider. Now for the...

Hmm! Your thoughts on S04 are interesting. I used the S04 because I am using up the "leftovers" (we are now well into winter and I have a bit of AS2 and M02 in the fridge the opened but sealed foil packs). Today I washed the last of the windfalls (Pomme de Neige/Snow Apples, Red Delicious, and...

No, I wanted to finish around 1.006. The original plan was to ferment down to 1.000 then add sugar back up to 1.010, but when I was checking fermentation progress it was at 1.010 and it seemed to be an opportunity to bottle and pasteurise "on the way down". And it seemed to work for a while. At...

There have been a few recent posts about unexplained failed carbonation. I have just fallen victim to the same thing. Any thoughts as to why this can happen since I can't see any reason? This 5 litre batch started on 5 June with a mix of Pomme de Neige (Fameuse), Cox's Orange Pippin and wild...