Airlock action?

[rtsitler]

How long should it be before I see some bubbles in my airlock?
This is my first attempt at making cider, have some mrbeer brews in my experience but this is done with other equipment.
I combined 2 gallons apple juice with 1 gallon of blackberry juice, 1 cup brown sugar and pitched Nottingham yeast and stirred a bit to aerate.
OG was 1.057
Hoping to get down to a FG of 1.011 or so.
Not too sure of tempature, it's in my bedroom closet, my house is comfortable....

Any other info I can provide, just let me know.


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[mdabbles]

What percentage of your bucket is headspace (vacant)? Is it airtight? These can affect airlock activity.

 

[bernardsmith]

Two questions. Are there any preservatives - sorbate, for example , in either the apple juice or the blackberry? and if there are no chemical preservatives then how long ago did you pitch the yeast? There is a lag time between pitching and the yeast changing from reproducing to fermenting and that can take several days (assuming that you pitched dried yeast and not a liquid starter.
Your yeast will likely ferment the must dry - there are no non fermentables in the juice and Nottingham , I believe can handle the 7.5 percent potential alcohol. Assuming the issue is simply one of lag time and not the presence of preservatives, then you may want to be prepared to allow the cider to ferment dry and then stabilize the cider before back-sweetening it to the sweetness for which you are looking.

 

[rtsitler]

Bucket has about a gallon of headspace and no preservatives in any of my juice.
I pitched the yeast dry about 14 hors ago.
My bucket may not be air tight, if I find this to be the case I will brew my next batch in an new bucket.
I know I'm just being a newbie and being impatient.....
Thanks for the replies guys.


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[mdabbles]

I would add a little yeast nutrient in there, you can boil a little bread yeast in a little water and cool it. Will energize the yeast in lag period.

 

[rtsitler]

I'm going to try to be patient and wait another 24 hours or so and then I will take a sample and test the SG to see if we have fermentation.


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[lowelldw]

rtsitler... My concern is at the opposite end of yours.

My first attempt at hard cider was this morning.....and 3 hours later it started to bubble. Worried that it my be too soon.

Mine is a 1 gallon batch of frozen cider I pressed last fall. I added a cup of cane sugar and a cup of brown sugar. My og was 1.082.

Thinking about putting jug in a 5 gallon bucket in case it gets out of hand!!

 

[rtsitler]

I'm just being completely impatient, it's been almost 20 hours now and still no bubble.... I think I'm going to crack the lid open and take a sample to test and see if I have krausen.

I think yours got started so quick cause you used a lot of sugar, I used 1 cup to 3 gallons juice and you are using 2 cups to 1 gallon juice...


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[rtsitler]

I popped the lid off and took a sample and the SG was 1.056, down from 1.057 yesterday. Does this seem normal? I think I may have a leaky lid... Guess I'll get a new bucket and lid.

I took a picture of what I believe to be krausen.




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[Jay_ID]

I'm not too sure that's krausen to be honest, i think it's just some bubbles from the mixture.
Just be patient, i didn't get any airlock action either but that is because my lid isn't airtight, it won't affect the beer though.

Fermentation CAN take up to 72 hours for visible signs so don't worry about it 20 hours in, keep us posted over the next 24-48 hours

Edit: Scratch that about it just being bubbles, i took another look and it looks like a tiny bit of krausen

 

[rtsitler]

Thanks Jay and I'll post updates along the way.


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[Jay_ID]

No problem pal, don't worry too much about a leaky lid it shouldn't affect fermentation or your beer

 

[rtsitler]

My bucket is a food grade bucket from a bakery, but it doesn't have a rubber seal in the lid.... I'm sure that's the reason it's leaking.


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[Jay_ID]

Yeah most probably, my bucket is a proper fermenting bucket and i still have a leaky lid

 

[rtsitler]

Decided since I hadn't seen any air lock activity after about 60 hours that I would crack the lid open and take a sample.
OG 1.057
SG after 60 hours 1.040

Looks like it's doing exactly what's it supposed to be doing....
I definetly have a leaky bucket lid and will correct that before my next batch goes in to the fermenter.




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[mdabbles]

Looks like it is on track.