1st time using 2 gallon bucket for cyser

[milleruszk]

I made up a one gallon batch of cyser in a 2 gallon bucket. I added 1 gallon of apple juice and a little over 3 lbs of honey. To this I added reconstituted D47 yeast and yeast nutrient. I have a cover and air lock on the bucket. After 24 hours I do not see any activity in the air lock. This makes me concerned. My two previous one gallon batches have been in one gallon glass carboys. These have almost immediately begin to bubble after adding my yeast. Does it normally take more time to see bubbling in half filled bucket? I know I am not supposed to watch bubbles but I am new to this. After hearing advice on using buckets for primary fermentation I thought that I would give it a try.

 

[Maylar]

Way too much honey. You'll be over 1.155 specific gravity. Your yeast are probably very unhappy. The bucket makes no difference. Do you have a hydrometer?

 

[Seamonkey84]

Some bucket lids don’t hold a good seal, so the airlock won’t show and pressure building.

 

[milleruszk]

No problem, I popped the lid and it is fermenting. Bubbling up nicely. Hydrometer reading was 1.120. Anyway all is well.

 

[MarkKF]

No problem, I popped the lid and it is fermenting. Bubbling up nicely. Hydrometer reading was 1.120. Anyway all is well.

That’s strange. Most juice is 1.050-1.060 and 1 pound of honey raises 1 gal. 1.035. Your starting gravity should be a lot higher.

 

[Maylar]

That’s strange. Most juice is 1.050-1.060 and 1 pound of honey raises 1 gal. 1.035. Your starting gravity should be a lot higher.

That's what I thought too. 1.120 is more like 2 lbs honey, not 3.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Your starting gravity should be a lot higher.

My guess is that the honey is still not all dissolved.
Fermentation probably dropped the gravity to some extent already too.

 

[Maylar]

If he truly used 3+ lbs of honey and a gallon of cider he's looking at 20% ABV or 14% and a very sweet mead (with D47).

 

[milleruszk]

If he truly used 3+ lbs of honey and a gallon of cider he's looking at 20% ABV or 14% and a very sweet mead (with D47).

Maybe I read the hydrometer wrong? Anyway I hope you are right as your calculation is exactly what I was aiming for.

 

[FunkyMunk]

I made a cyser adding 3 lb of honey to about a gallon of juice and it fermented just fine, and the end result was awesome. I used K1V-1116, I don't have my notes but I believe it came to about 18% ABV and maybe 1.020 or 1.024. I also did primary in a 2-gallon plastic bucket, the airlock doesn't bubble on mine either due to the lid not being airtight. I just made sure to rack it pretty soon after fermentation finished to mitigate oxygen exposure.

Edit: OG on that cyser was 1.143, finished product was 1.020, I topped up after racking with a 14% traditional and bulk aged for a year before bottling.