cider won't start fermenting!

[tomclark]

I have 75 ltrs of apple juice. It has been in carboys for 10 days now and absolutely nothing. I've added wine yeast with nutrients when I first pressed the apples. After 7 days I added sparkling wine yeast and still nothing. Any help as I don't want to lose my pressing.

 

[menerdari]

what kind of yeast? what temp?
did you rehydrate the yeast?
you might try making a starter.

 

[Munster51]

When you say you pressed the apples, do you mean you did it or bought it as pressed? If someone else did it, was anything added?

 

[dmtaylor]

I bet it actually is fermenting; you're just not visually seeing it. Did you take an original gravity reading? Check again and see if it's gone down at all. If so, it's fine. Also taste it. Taste fizzy? Again, fine. Cider ferments very quietly and slowly, so that's why I think you might just not be seeing it. Give it time, it will be just fine.

 

[Hello]

Describe "nothing". Do you mean no krausen? No airlock activity? Basically take the advice of the above poster. I bet it has fermented. Unless your yeast was absolutely dead and there were zero viable cells, you must have had some fermentation.

 

[tomclark]

I'm new to all this malarkey guys, so bear with me. Just taken my first reading with the hydrometer and it read " 1.000". What does this mean?

 

[seabrew8]

75 liters?

 

[CGish]

I'm new to all this malarkey guys, so bear with me. Just taken my first reading with the hydrometer and it read " 1.000". What does this mean?

It means you are done. The sugars are fermented. What was your Original Gravity (the hydrometer reading before you added yeast)?

What you do next depends on how much alcohol you have (determined by the original gravity) and what you want as a final product. Is it wine? Is is cider? Do you want it still or sparkling? Do you want to back sweeten or do you want it dry? If you give us some idea what you have and what you want, it will help focus the advice you get.

This thread may help you, as well: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=7183123#post7183123

 

[tomclark]

Unfortunately it's the first reading I have made. I didn't make a reading when I first pressed the apples. The pressing has been sat for two weeks now and I must say that I haven't seen much activity on the fermentation front. Do I need to add sugar to "kick start" the process?

 

[MattyIce]

If you are reading 1.000, fermentation is done. Sounds like everything worked out like it should have, you just missed the action. Taste it!

 

[tomclark]

OK, it's a cloudy browny-reddy colour, and taste isn't bad, soury, tangy flavour.. What next? Do I syphon it to demi-johns?

 

[Yooper]

OK, it's a cloudy browny-reddy colour, and taste isn't bad, soury, tangy flavour.. What next? Do I syphon it to demi-johns?

Yes, it's time to reduce the headspace by siphoning it to demijohns and waiting for it to clear.

 

[tomclark]

many thanks....

 

[tomclark]

Whilst I have your attention, how do I make it sparkling cider?

 

[Yooper]

Whilst I have your attention, how do I make it sparkling cider?

At bottling, you add some 'priming sugar'- just enough to give you the carbonation you seek. Generally, that's 1 ounce (by weight) per gallon, but it you want it a bit less sparkling, or more, you can adjust that a bit.

 

[scottyb710]

Don't over do it I have had bottles blow when I use to bottle.

 

[tomclark]

Great, I'll do that tonight. Do I put an air lock on the demijohn? Keep warm or cool?

 

[Dragonmead]

Absolutely put an air lock on it. Keep it cool.

 

[tomclark]

OK, so I put in 170 grams into the demijohns and it's al but stopped bubbling. Now what? Bottles?
I was hoping to end up with fizzy cider as an end product.

 

[Yooper]

At bottling, you add some 'priming sugar'- just enough to give you the carbonation you seek. Generally, that's 1 ounce (by weight) per gallon, but it you want it a bit less sparkling, or more, you can adjust that a bit.

Pretty much that.

Rack the cider to the bottle bucket if you're using one, or to a new vessel if you're not, onto the priming solution. The priming solution is about 2 cups of water, boiled, and then the sugar added and stirred in and boiled for a minute or so. Cool, and pour into the new vessel and then rack the cider into it so that the tubing is in a circle on the bottom of the vessel so that the cider fills from the bottom and swirls to mix. Then bottle, either with a siphoning set up (harder) or a bottling bucket with a bottling wand and cap immediately.