Cider fermenting way too fast...?

[Drinksahoy]

I tried my first batch ever as homebree a couple weeks backs. It was a cider. This pag weekend it smelled and tasted so bad that I just pitched it all. It wasn't just a sulfur or rotten egg smell it was something else entirely.

So I started a new batch Saturday. Did the campden and pitched yeast Sunday (2 nights ago).
OG was 1.080.
Now it's at 1.03 only 2 days later.

And yes it's got the rhino farts but nothing serious and when I give it a good stirring it dissapates quite a bit.

Should I be worried at how fast it's fermenting? I plan to cold crash it at 1.01 and then treat and age in a closed carboy and just skip a secondary all together.

 

[buMbLeB]

Had something similar happen with my first cider, in retrospect I think I stressed the yeast by overheating it, but it turned out fine.

 

[Drinksahoy]

That's encouraging! I'm a bit worried it's going to end up smelling and tasting very foul what with the yeast working so hard and fast right now.

Did the rest of my plan sound like okay procedure?

 

[buMbLeB]

From what I can tell, yes. Though be aware that cold crashing won't permanently stop fermentation, so your carboy can't be airtight unless you want it to explode, or you're stopping it by other means.

 

[Drinksahoy]

I was going to cold crash for 2 days, then transfer it, drop campden and potassium sorbate in it, then put an airtight stopper on. Am I at risk for explosion if I do all these things?

 

[purplehaze]

It all depends on what you want your finished product to taste like. Sounds like you using ec-1118, try a different less aggressive yeast such as SO4. A starting gravity 1.080 is high for a cider, you are making more of an apple wine. Using the ale yeast your cider will take longer to ferment and be easier to cold crash at your desired gravity.

I don't use campden or sorbates so I cant help you there. I would not put an air tight cap on your fermentor ever. Your air lock will keep it safe from contamination.

 

[mikerlynch26]

I agree, I've had some messy cleanups from "finished" carboys that I wanted to save an airlock on and just bunged it up.

First of all if you've made beer before, the procedures and gravities you're used to will not apply to cider. Treat it more like a wine. And if you're using a wine yeast, expect it to take it all the way to dry, 1.000 or even .998. This isn't a bad thing, search "backsweeten" on these forums and you'll get a wealth of info. Also keep in mind that (like wine) cider is going to take months to clear up and finish complete fermentation. You can drink the stuff that's 2 weeks old, but you'll LOVE the stuff that's 2 months or more old (and racked to a secondary, off the yeast cake, I might add).

Just some thoughts. I certainly took the fast route when I first started, and realized really quickly some of my errors I learn best from experience, and now I know exactly what cider tastes like when you don't aerate the sulfur out :smack:

 

[Drinksahoy]

This is awesome information thank you guys! I'll be patient with it then and let it finish before moving it to a secondary and just let it do its thing for a few months before back sweetening.

I used yeast from my local homebrew store that had a very colofrful design and was labeled as "Cider yeast". I didn't read any specifics on the packet.

 

[MarkKF]

That sounds like Brewers Best Cider House Select. I used it for a couple years then went back to S-04. The Cider yeast finished at 1.000 and the S-04 finished at 1.004.