About to move to secondary....suggestions?

[BobTrempe]

Hi everyone,
I will be moving the cider from Primary to Secondary this weekend. It's a four gallon batch made from store bought apple juice, champagne yeast, and one pound of sugar.
I will be hitting one of the wonders of Philadelphia on Thursday, the Italian Market, and wondered if anyone had suggestions on fruit or fruit juice that might add a complimentary note to the cider? I am assuming that, given the usage of the Champagne Yeast and juice I will have a cider that is a bit (but not too much) on the dry side, but thought it might be interesting to add a bit of a different finish to it.
Also, how long would you all recommend I let it sit in secondary before I rack?
Oh, sorry, one more fun bit...priming? From the posts I have seen here and else where there is a big debate as to whether or not I should add priming sugars. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks in advance,
Bob

 

[Benny Blanco]

Is moving it to a secondary necessary?

I only did a single stage fermentation for mine for a month and it's nice and clear with very little sediment(if any).

I primed most of mine, but left the rest still. It's just personal preference. I think if you are a wine fan, no bubbles. If you are a beer fan, bubble away. If you like both equally, then do what i did. :rockin:

 

[bigjohnmilford]

Is moving it to a secondary necessary?

I only did a single stage fermentation for mine for a month and it's nice and clear with very little sediment(if any).

I primed most of mine, but left the rest still. It's just personal preference. I think if you are a wine fan, no bubbles. If you are a beer fan, bubble away. If you like both equally, then do what i did. :rockin:

I'm with Benny, I don't think you need to rack it. As far as adding something else. I haven't tried it. I'm sure if you do a search they'll be a bunch of threads with info about it. Regardless, leave it for 5-6 weeks before you bottle it'll be pretty clear by that point. Best of luck with what ever you decide.

 

[jmulligan]

Hi Bob - moving to secondary is really up to personal choice. I racked my cider to secondary for 2-3 weeks to let it clarify and age a bit. I've read that bulk aging may be more beneficial than bottle aging, so you could leave it even longer than that if you want.

As for the question of to prime or not to prime, I second what Benny said: prime half, and bottle the other half still. Then you can decide which you like best. Having done both, I prefer it sparkling, but the still cider is also good (I did a spice infusion in rum and added it to the still cider).

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[sirsloop]

I rack mine from primary directly into a keg after 30 days. The yeast cake is very small and the cider comes out crystal clear... so there's really no need for a secondary vessel. As far as fruit... you may want to try adding some cherries, raspberries, or black berries.

 

[BobTrempe]

Thanks everyone for the advice. One of my motivations for moving to the secondary is to make room in the primary for my next project, an english bitter.
Well, I think I will make the move, then leave it be for a while in the secondary.
Thanks again,
Bob

 

[BobTrempe]

Everyone,
Thanks again for your suggestions.
I racked to bottles a couple of weeks ago, and finally tried one today.
Oh, just lovely. Still a bit young, but really nice none the less!
Going to have to do this one again.
Thanks,
Bob

 

[hoffmeister]

Wish I found this sooner. In a way, the decision to prime is dependent on how dry or how fruity you want your cider to be. If you want your cider to have a nice carbonated, champagny quality to it, prime away, but it will probably turn out bone dry. If you want a little sweeter cider, you'll need to add some crushed campden tablets to the cider to kill the yeast, then backsweeten it apple juice concentrate. Because the campden tablets will kill the yeast, you won't be able to carbonate it (unless you use CO2), but you'll be able to sweeten to taste. Good luck with the cider!

 

[GrantLee63]

I keep my ciders in a primary for 2 months, secondary for 4 months, then bulk-age for at least one year. Most cider is drank way too young IMHO. Of course, YMMV.

- GL63

 

[BobTrempe]

Hoffmeister,
Thanks for your suggestions. I did prime as I was looking for something quite dry. I also added a can of concentrate prior to racking to bottles, and that seemed to help bring back a little fruit flavor.
I had a party on Saturday, and low and behold, the 2.5 cases of cider were the first to go! Started the second cider on Tuesday (using store bought cider rather than apple juice) and will see what happens with this one. I may hold off on the priming this time.