Hello, been doing beer for a good while but first time trying cider.
Nothing fancy, we just happened to get so many apples from a relative's tree that no-one knew what to do with it, so I thought I'd give it a bash.
Situation: I got the cider, put it into a container, pitched yeast (basic safcider) on 14th September, put on the cap and lock, and that's it. Bubbled away nicely for about two weeks, as expected, has since basically stopped.
From here on I'm on uncharted territory. With beer I never bother with secondary, but I'm not sure how things work with cider.
So I'd like a couple of pointers:
Is secondary absolutely mandatory? If it is, when should I rack?
If not, is bulk aging in primary a possibility? Would avoid potential contamination at the very least.
How long should I let it sit before bottling? (Be it still in the primary or the secondary)
What's the timeline after bottling?
I'm not doing anything fancy, just plain flat cider, might sweeten once I know what I'm dealing with.
Nothing fancy, we just happened to get so many apples from a relative's tree that no-one knew what to do with it, so I thought I'd give it a bash.
Situation: I got the cider, put it into a container, pitched yeast (basic safcider) on 14th September, put on the cap and lock, and that's it. Bubbled away nicely for about two weeks, as expected, has since basically stopped.
From here on I'm on uncharted territory. With beer I never bother with secondary, but I'm not sure how things work with cider.
So I'd like a couple of pointers:
Is secondary absolutely mandatory? If it is, when should I rack?
If not, is bulk aging in primary a possibility? Would avoid potential contamination at the very least.
How long should I let it sit before bottling? (Be it still in the primary or the secondary)
What's the timeline after bottling?
I'm not doing anything fancy, just plain flat cider, might sweeten once I know what I'm dealing with.