Cold crash... Now what?

[nlg]

I put a gal. of hard cider in the frig to cold crash and stop fermentation, do I need to do anything else or is it ready to drink? Is it alright to leave it in that carboy?

 

[ciderjunky]

you're gonna want to rack it into a new clean carboy after its nice and cold.

 

[nlg]

you're gonna want to rack it into a new clean carboy after its nice and cold.

I racked it from primary to secondary them racked it from secondary to cold crash.. So your saying I have to rack it again. Is it alright to just slowly pour it do I have to syphon it?

 

[CvilleKevin]

So your saying I have to rack it again.

If you want the cider to stay stable - yes. You should see that there is a layer of yeast and other solids that dropped to the bottom during the crash. You want to get just the clear juice off the sediment so that the ferment doesnt restart. OTOH, if you just want to drink it, then as long as it tastes good, you're good to go now as long as you keep it in the fridge so that it doesnt start fermenting again

Is it alright to just slowly pour it do I have to syphon it?

You need to syphon it - and be careful not to pick up any of the yeast that dropped to the bottom. The point of cold crashing is to get the yeast to drop and then get the cider away from the yeast. If you pick up any yeast, then the ferment could start back up.

 

[ciderjunky]

exactly what Kevin said...ha ha

 

[Meadiator]

If you want to be sure that you've stopped fermentation, you'll probably want to stove top pasteurize the batch, won't you?

 

[CvilleKevin]

If you want to be sure that you've stopped fermentation, you'll probably want to stove top pasteurize the batch, won't you?

That depends on how confident you are in your cold crash process. I dont pasteurize, but if you are just getting started then yes, its more reliable