3 Weeks and I think its still fermenting??

[Rozzidrozzi]

I commenced with a 25 litre barrel of pressed apple juice (Bramleys) that had 1 sachet of Cider yeast added, 1250g sugar and has been in a room with a temp between 20 and 15 degrees.

It will be 3 weeks tomorrow that its been fermenting for and it is a slight fizzing still on the surface. Should it have stopped fermenting by now and is 3 weeks normal?

Second question is.....if I made a second barrel and added 2 x sachets of yeast with all of the above the same apart from different apples would it make a difference or would it not be a good idea? What would more yeast do if anything?

 

[Maylar]

You're OK. Ferment time of a month is not unusual, depending on yeast, temperature, SG, and added nutrients if any. Over pitching yeast can shorten that time but there's no advantage to it. In fact the general rule is that the slower your ferment is the better the cider will be. Some of the craft ciders are purposely kept cold and ferment for months.

 

[Rozzidrozzi]

So the fizzing on top signifys that it’s still fermenting?

 

[Yooper]

So the fizzing on top signifys that it’s still fermenting?

No, not necessarily. The only way to know if it's fermenting is to use your hydrometer and see. Sometimes c02 comes out of solution of cider when the barometric pressure changes, when the temperature changes, or when it's fermenting. It would just be a guess to pick which one.

 

[Phlyborn]

Your fine if it’s still fermenting. Did you add any yeast nutrient? If you want to, you can take a Gravity sample and then two days later take another to see where the SG is. It will also let you know if it is actually still fermenting and at what rate.