5 Gallons and need help

[DarkPhyre]

things are going nice so far.
last reading 2 days ago, was 1.031. it still ticking downwards just slowly. I wonder if the ale yeast has something to do w/that.
Being afraid of the head space I added one more gallon of cider to just below/at the neck of the carboy.


Thinking of coldcrashing at around 1.02/1.015 then bottle then let carb up then pasteurize.

 

[cwi]

things are going nice so far.
last reading 2 days ago, was 1.031. it still ticking downwards just slowly. I wonder if the ale yeast has something to do w/that.
Being afraid of the head space I added one more gallon of cider to just below/at the neck of the carboy.

Thinking of coldcrashing at around 1.02/1.015 then bottle then let carb up then pasteurize.

You should be good to go, as long as you catch it where you want it. The sweet ciders are usually drinkable a couple of weeks after crashing when kegged and forced, so add maybe another week or so for bottling.

The ale yeasts are slower than the wine yeasts, from what I read. There are so many strains available now that I am sure there is some overlap, what with all the new turbo strains, etc. The nutrient levels and initial health play a significant role as well.

No reason to worry about head space as long as it is fermenting. For aging after racking, yes. Watch out for a late krausen. I have had that happen before, and that is when it will blow. If you see it starting to form, just stick it in the garage (cold) for a day to slow it. Also watch for any increase in activity, because I would have thought it would have been down to 1.020 in a week, or less, at high 60s. If it kicks into high gear, it could begin to drop SG rapidly.

I assume you have found Papper's bottle pasteurizing thread. That should get you the rest of the way.

 

[DarkPhyre]

Good deal. It all makes sense in my head, I just want to see if it makes sense to others.

 

[DarkPhyre]

So I racked last night and put some cider into a sprite bottle.
Today, the bottle is hard if not harder then a shaken up bottle of soda. So, I decided to pasteurize in bottle.
On a side note, I wish I would of racked to secondary, soo much lees even each bottle has a fair amount (16th to 1/8 inch)
I am also going to just cold crash 7 22oz bottles to see if there is a significant taste difference.

The first bottle and anytime I stopped the siphon/restarted I put into the fridge w/o a cap. I let it crash overnight and it tastes very well. I am super happy with the taste.

Thanks CWI for all your help!