conditioning questions

[Nanik006]

I made 5 gallons of cider yesterday.

it was 4.5 gallons of cider (pasteurized), 2 lbs. corn sugar, 6 cinnamon sticks boiled in 1 qt. of water, and yeast. OG was 1.061

so .... after fermentation is done, do i have to rack to a secondary? can i bottle? how long till i can drink? from what i gather, since it was pasteurized i should be able to drink it sooner?

 

[Parker36]

Secondary is not necessary for cidar, but for the most part. long aging times are. You can bottle whenever the hydrometer readings stay consistant, but I like to let mine bulk age and clear for a while. What kind of yeast did you use? Depending on the strain, it may ferment pretty dry compared to beer.

 

[Nanik006]

i forget what i used .... i have the pack, but i'm not at home. I read somewhere ... i though anyway .... that since the apple cider i used to begin with was pasteurized, it wouldn't hold as long, and was ready to drink as soon as fermentation was done?

 

[Nanik006]

ok, new question ... i was reading the bottle from the cider i used, and it says "contains less than 1/10 of 1% potassium sorbate ... is this bad? is there a yeast i can use to ferment with that this won't affect?

 

[RugenBrau]

I always rack it to a secondary and let it clear. It seems easier to me when you bottle. what ever suits your fancy. You'll just have to wait and see on the sorbate issue....lets hope

 

[Pogo]

I wouldn't rack to a secondary unless there is more than 1/4 inch of sediment on the bottom.

The potassium sorbate is really going to cause you much grief!

A neighbor goofed up a batch one time by using juice with potassium sorbate in it.

We eventually overcame the preservative by re-pitching more yeast (with nutrient) every two days until the yeast took off, after the fourth re-pitch, and finally began fermenting.

Good luck,

Pogo

 

[Nanik006]

well, guess i'll have to go get more yeast

 

[felix]

warning: thread hijack! (somewhat)

guys, on the subject of re-pitching etc. i've seen people doing secondary in a carboy in witch they added boiled honey and raisins, effectively starting a second fermentation in a fresh carboy. i compute that there will be more alcohol, and possibly aromas, but would you need to re-pitch new yeasts or the old ones will simply rejoice and eat some more?

and would it add so much complexity to the aromas has to be worth the extra patience and labor?

thank yous, fermentation freaks!

 

[giligson]

warning: thread hijack! (somewhat)

guys, on the subject of re-pitching etc. i've seen people doing secondary in a carboy in witch they added boiled honey and raisins, effectively starting a second fermentation in a fresh carboy. i compute that there will be more alcohol, and possibly aromas, but would you need to re-pitch new yeasts or the old ones will simply rejoice and eat some more?

and would it add so much complexity to the aromas has to be worth the extra patience and labor?

thank yous, fermentation freaks!

If you slowly add sugars to an active fermentation you can often "fool" the yeast into fermenting into a higher alcohol range than advertised by the supplier - this has a name unfortunately it escapes me for the moment. If you use a yeast like EC-1118 you can come close to 20% alc. It will result in some unusual flavours.