1st Cider...to warm?

[BodaciousBrew]

Hi. We decided to try a hard cider for the first time. The fermentation seems to be very slow and gentle as opposed to the vigorous bubbles we have gotten from our batches of beer. Is this normal or is something wrong? It has been 5 days and the airlock makes a bubble every few seconds. Our beer generally gets very active and we can actually see everything moving around, but the cider seems to be latent. Is this normal? I know a cooler temperature would be ideal, but we can't get the temp in our house below 74F so it's hanging between 74 & 77. This has never been an issue with beer. OG reading was 1.070 which was exciting. Recipe below:

4 Gal Organic unfiltered Apple Juice
1 lb organic sugar
1/2 packet English Ale Yeast

Does cider just take longer to get going? If so how long should I expect? We plan to add juice concentrate to carbonate it when bottling. Ideas and info will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[tracyt1800]

I made cider and a Kolsch a couple of weekends ago. They both ran just like what you're talking about. The cider fermented slowly with the airlock bubbling ever second or so and ran for nearly a week before going still. The Kolsch bubbled several times a second for a few days and then went still.

Both were in a room that is about 72F.

 

[BodaciousBrew]

Ok at least someone else has had it play out this way. Did you bottle after it stopped or just let it ferment longer? I see people letting it sit for months and months....is that really necessary? I do want to drink it this summer.

 

[cyberlord]

It's better to let it age a bit, but I bottled my cranberry/apple cider when it slowed down and drank it when carbed. Total time to first drink, 25 days. It has improved every week I've tried it since.

 

[roadymi]

Did you bottle after it stopped or just let it ferment longer? I see people letting it sit for months and months....is that really necessary? I do want to drink it this summer.

Longer is better but not necessary. This is the advantage of establishing a pipeline. Patience is the most difficult ingredient in home brewing. If you start another brew as soon as you empty fermentors it does not take long to develop the pipeline. If you look for juices on sale and perhaps make some super inexpensive skeeter pee you can do it quite inexpensively. You can also gradually expand your equipment.

My wife and I started 2 1/2 yrs ago and things are totally out of control. We have 4 carboys & 2-1 gal jugs fermenting, 5 cornies in the kegerator, 240 + bottles in the wine rack, and I am going to my sons to produce a father's day beer tomorrow. I have 30+ gallons of apple juice on the shelf waiting for yeast.

Are we obssesed...........obviously but we now have the luxury of aging our beverages to their maximum potential.

 

[tracyt1800]

Mine are in bad need of racking into a secondary. I've been out of town. Hopefully on Sunday they'll go into the secondary. My plan was to drink them around mid-July ... 6 weeks after pitching. About the same time as my Kolsch should be done. I'm hoping to get my own little pipeline going soon.