Cider racking

[redwards81]

So my buddy decided to make cider and asked me if i could post so here i am posting. He had his cider in primary for 2 weeks and just racked into a glass carboy. When je racked to the carboy he said he got a strong smell of bannanas but never put bannanas in the primary. He used shoprite apple cider, cinnimon sticks cloves brown sugar and honey. Any thoughts to why he got the bannana smell? He also asked should he air rate the carboy using a wine degaser?

 

[TexasWine]

What yeast did he use and at what temp did he ferment?

 

[redwards81]

Notingham i believe and around 68-70

 

[gregbathurst]

Isoamyl acetate is produced in primary sometimes but will usually go away after a few weeks, especially if you have a secondary MLF happening.

 

[CvilleKevin]

Putting the cinnamon and cloves in the primary probably tweaked the yeast a bit. Notty sometimes has trouble with honey.

 

[Leithoa]

When using a wine degasser you aren't aerating you're doing what the name says: degassing. As the cider/wine/beer/whatever ferments carbon dioxide bubbles up through the liquid. Most of it leaves through the airlock, some of it becomes dissolved in whatever you're fermenting. This dissolved gas will makes the beer/wine lightly carbonated(effervescent/petulant). If you're making red wine, or many styles of white wine this effervescence is seen as a defect. By using a degasser you drive the dissolved gasses out of solution.

As you whether or not to use one on the cider, that's up to personal taste. Ciders are served carbonated or still. And if it's not going to a competition where it's judged against standards, there's no wrong way to serve whatever you ferment.

If the question was whether or not to aerate the cider now to make it ferment better, it's probably too late now. Any oxygen introduced will cause oxidation and contribute to off-flavors