1 gallon cider in 6 gallon carboy - how to test

aj3 · Jul 28, 2014

Thanks in advance for the advice to a newbie.

I have one gallon of apple juice (pasteurized, but no preservatives) fermenting happily in a 6 gallon carboy. Seemed like a great idea until I tried to figure out how to check the fermentation. I have a wine thief, but a test confirms this will not reach the juice no mater how I tilt the carboy. The airlock is bubbling nicely (multiple bubbles every second or two) and the juice has a nice level of foam (head/krausen?).

How can I check the fermentation? I was planning to monitor using a hydrometer. Do I just guess based on airlock activity? Or is there a super trick to reaching one gallon in the bottom of a 6 gallon carboy?

How did I get here (for the curious):
I was about a week into my first batch of wine. I got two 6 gallon carboys in my starter kit to be able to rack after/during secondary. As I was looking at my setup and realizing that the second carboy was likely to be empty for weeks, a friend gave my wife a nice gallon of organic apple juice (not clear). My wife does not care for apple juice/sweet cider and I did not want to drink the entire gallon myself (actually I would have been happy to, but the diet would not).

So, i thought - we both like hard cider - let me try that. The juice came in a nice glass 1 gallon jug. Research said that should be just fine for any secondary fermentation or settling period. So, where to do the primary - wait how about the currently unused 6 gallon carboy.

W0GWT · Jul 29, 2014

aj3 said:
Thanks in advance for the advice to a newbie.

I have one gallon of apple juice (pasteurized, but no preservatives) fermenting happily in a 6 gallon carboy. Seemed like a great idea until I tried to figure out how to check the fermentation. I have a wine thief, but a test confirms this will not reach the juice no mater how I tilt the carboy. The airlock is bubbling nicely (multiple bubbles every second or two) and the juice has a nice level of foam (head/krausen?).

How can I check the fermentation? I was planning to monitor using a hydrometer. Do I just guess based on airlock activity? Or is there a super trick to reaching one gallon in the bottom of a 6 gallon carboy?

How did I get here (for the curious):

I was about a week into my first batch of wine. I got two 6 gallon carboys in my starter kit to be able to rack after/during secondary. As I was looking at my setup and realizing that the second carboy was likely to be empty for weeks, a friend gave my wife a nice gallon of organic apple juice (not clear). My wife does not care for apple juice/sweet cider and I did not want to drink the entire gallon myself (actually I would have been happy to, but the diet would not).

So, i thought - we both like hard cider - let me try that. The juice came in a nice glass 1 gallon jug. Research said that should be just fine for any secondary fermentation or settling period. So, where to do the primary - wait how about the currently unused 6 gallon carboy.

That is an f-ton of air space. I'd be more worried about oxidation. Most of the time, people just stick an airlock on the gallon jugs of apple juice. Since there is no krausen, you don't need to worry about blow off or anything. I usually leave 1-2 inches in the neck of the carboy.

As to testing gravity, I guess you could just pour it into your testing tube or something. It'll probably be oxidized regardless (since you have 5 gallons of air in the carboy. Personally, I'd just wait until it drops clear.

Good luck. Next time, look up EdWort's Apfelwein; it is amazing.

Maylar · Jul 29, 2014

CO2 is much heavier than air, I wouldn't worry about oxygen in primary. You could siphon some off for testing using a sterile piece of tubing. Or just give it 2 weeks and rack to a smaller secondary bottle.

aj3 · Jul 30, 2014

Thanks for the advice. The siphon approach should address my immediate concern. I checked out the Apfelwein and that sounds great. I shall try it next time.

bernardsmith · Jul 30, 2014

I strongly agree with Maylar. You have nothing to worry about regarding oxygen during the first week or so when fermentation is active, but after about 7 days I would rack ( siphon) your cider into the gallon jug. My one concern is that if there is still a fair amount of sugar to be fermented and you rack too soon you may leave behind much of the active yeast and your cider will exhibit what is called a stuck fermentation. To avoid this I would suggest that before you rack you carefully - and I say carefully because 6gallon glass carboys have been known to slip and fall and smash - agitate the cider to encourage all the sediment to mix thoroughly with the cider and you rack this into your gallon carboy. After a couple of weeks or less the sediment will drop out again.
The other thing you may want to consider buying is a food grade plastic bucket (6 gallons). Meads, ciders and wines do not need to be sealed from the air during active fermentation and if you use fruit you will want to be able to make sure the fruit is constantly in contact with the yeast so you will want to stir the must two or three times a day. Starting a fermentation in a wide and open bucket (covered with a towel to keep out flies, dirt and pets) makes that activity far simpler - and much safer than shaking a 6 gallon glass carboy filled with about 50 lbs of liquid