I started a cyser back in November, using a local cider and local honey. It's been in secondary since late December. Everything was going well. I've been patient, taking gravity readings occasionally and tasting the samples to determine the right time to bottle. It was so clear, you could read the face of a dime on the bottom of the carboy. Last month, I thought it was a good time to bottle it. A person at my brew store told me that because mead tends to drag with fermentation, that I should pitch some more yeast and wait a little longer, just in case there was any sugar left. I told him the gravity had been hanging out at .996 for a while, but he insisted this was a good course of action. Being inexperienced, I took his advice. I am in no hurry with this batch. I pitched the yeast and waited. Nothing happened. A few days ago, I was planning to bottle. I took one last gravity reading, and it was close enough to the same that I was confident that fermentation was done. I got side tracked and put off bottling until the following day, but when I went to do it, the cyser was cloudy again. I obviously didn't bottle it. I'm thinking one of two things has happened. I'm hoping the movement woke up the yeast I pitched last month, but I'm not seeing any bubbling in the airlock. So that leaves me with the possibility that I somehow contaminated the batch. I've read that starsan stays usable for a couple of months, and that if it's not cloudy and foams up when you shake it, it's okay. I've done that before with no issues.
I'm new to this. Any advice?
I'm new to this. Any advice?
