Carbonating Cider?

[RinTheHuman]

I have 5 gallons of cider that has been fermenting for a month now. I want to rack it to secondary to let it clear up a bit, however long that may take. Will the yeast in the cider still be active enough after a couple of months to bottle condition carbonate it?

It's 5 gallons on unpastuerized and unfiltered cider with 2 pounds of raw wildflower honey. For yeast, I used Safale S-04. For carbonating I have 5 oz of priming sugar.

Thanks!

 

[kgressler]

Im new here and to brewing so take this with a grain of salt but what I understand is you need to take a gravity reading to know if there is any sugar left to carb up. If not then you will need to introduce more sugar to then heat pasteurize your bottles. Check the stick at the top of the forum
If you kegging I cant help there I dont plan on kegging at least at this point.

 

[AidanSavage]

Im new here and to brewing so take this with a grain of salt but what I understand is you need to take a gravity reading to know if there is any sugar left to carb up. If not then you will need to introduce more sugar to then heat pasteurize your bottles. Check the stick at the top of the forum
If you kegging I cant help there I dont plan on kegging at least at this point.

They're not asking how to carb, they're asking if after secondary for an unknown amount of time will the yeast still be viable enough to bottle carb.


As far as that, I dont know.

 

[kgressler]

Well then unless im mistaken then the gravity reading will tell you that correct? You just need to get a hydrometer and get a gravity reading.
If it fermented out to 1.000 then no it wont carb up. And like I said you then would need to add in a sugar source to carb up.

 

[AidanSavage]

Well then unless im mistaken then the gravity reading will tell you that correct? You just need to get a hydrometer and get a gravity reading.
If it fermented out to 1.000 then no it wont carb up. And like I said you then would need to add in a sugar source to carb up.

Again, that's not what they're asking. They're asking if the yeast will still be alive when they're going to bottle it.

 

[RinTheHuman]

Yeah I have 5 oz of priming sugar to add. I am wondering if the yeast will be alive. Maybe it just goes dormant?

 

[AidanSavage]

Yeah I have 5 oz of priming sugar to add. I am wondering if the yeast will be alive. Maybe it just goes dormant?

When you get ready to rack to secondary, you'll probably want to cold crash it to get most of the yeast to drop out to avoid risk of adverse flavors. I'd think the closer to 33* you can get it when you cold crash, and while in secondary, the more likely it is for the yeast to survive being in secondary for as long as you're thinking. Though I will mention adding pectin (I think) a day or so before you cold crash in primary will help it clear up faster.

If you're able to get your hands on a keg to force-carb, you wont need to worry about priming or needing yeast to survive.

 

[moze229]

From what I understand, I don't think the yeast will be completely dead at this point. Your original plan sounds fine - it's just like beer really. If it's been working for a month, all of the fermentables should have been consumed. There will still be enough yeast left in suspension for priming Once you add your priming sugar, the yeasties will wake back up for another meal. I think it'd have to be much longer than two months to have a completely dead population. It may take a bit longer than usual for priming though, since the population will be lower.

Cold crashing is usually a good idea, but in this case it will slow your conditioning down even more. Personally, I think you'll find sufficient clearing by bottling now and aging for a couple of weeks before chilling. You'll have a bit more sediment in your bottles, but it will all drop to the bottom. Or add more steps and cold crash. 6 one way, half dozen the other. Or you could just crash the primary. That's what I do with beer.

 

[ericbw]

Yes it should be fine.

 

[JimRausch]

My latest Graf was fermented with Munton's ale yeast. 3 weeks in primary and then another 3 weeks cold conditioning at 35-45*. Bottled it with 1 can frozen apple juice and she carbed up within a week with no additional yeast. I then pasteurized to keep it mildly sweet and fizzy.
So I think you should be fine with your time schedule.

 

[Maylar]

Yeah I have 5 oz of priming sugar to add. I am wondering if the yeast will be alive. Maybe it just goes dormant?

The yeasts are still there, just dormant. When you add your priming sugar they'll spring back to life.

I have read suggestions that if you age in secondary (or tertiary) for 5 months or more, you should add a sprinkle of the same yeast before bottling. Like, 1/8 teaspoon for 5 gallons, rehydrated in warm water. But for your time line there will be enough yeast to get the job done.

 

[MarkKF]

Yes it should be fine.

I have bottle carbed cider that spent 8-10 months in s secondary carboy.

And if the F. G. Is 1.005 or .990 after that long you need to add priming sugar. If it didn't drop below 1.000 after months in a carboy a couple weeks in a bottle won't do it.

 

[RinTheHuman]

Cool, thanks for your input everyone!

 

[Yooper]

Yeah I have 5 oz of priming sugar to add. I am wondering if the yeast will be alive. Maybe it just goes dormant?

The yeast will be alive for ages and ages. It's dormant at the end of fermentation, just because it's out of sugars to "eat". Adding some priming sugar will mean that the yeast will ferment that, and carb up your cider. You're good!