End of cider

[sexton69]

This is my first batch ever done. I believe I finally got the taste were I want it. Now how do I stop fermentation and bottle it. This would be a huge help if somebody could give my some instructions. Also it taste fantastic but smells fowl why? Can I fix the smell?

 

[Devo9]

I tried to bump a thread... but I bumped the wrong one... the one I wanted was in another section all together. But here is the quote I think is best for you from that thread:

It's almost impossible to stop a fermentation once it's going. It's like trying to stop a freight train.

What most mead and wine makers do is to let it finish. When it's completely done, completely clear, and ready to bottle, then a campden tablet (one per gallon and crushed) and potassium sorbate is added by racking the mead into it. Wait a few days, then sweeten to taste with sugar, honey, brown sugar, etc. It's easiest to do it if you pull out a sample with a wine thief or turkey baster, and then dissolve the sweetener into that. Add it to the carboy, wait a few days to ensure that fermentation will not restart, and then bottle.

Some have stabilized (added sorbate and sulfite) before allowing it to finish, with mixed results. It's always best to let it finish, so you know that you won't have it restart in the bottle, and then sweeten it.

But there is also the option of cold crashing and racking, but that requires you to keep it cold. Once it warms back up it'll start fermenting again.

There is also the pasturizing option. This is usually done for carbinated ciders, but it should work with still cider as well. But it makes bulk aging difficult to impossible since you'll have to bottle it first (Pasturizing may be possible in bulk, but I am not sure how easy it would be).

I've heard that filtering can work

Sterile filtering. 0.5 micron should do it.

but I've heard that it may also remove some of the flavour.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[rumbler]

The smell will go away with time and is probably an attribute of ur yeast selection, however u can do a technique I believe is called splash racking where u aerate the cider pretty well by holding the tube fairly high as ur transfering. As far as haulting fermentation ther are a few ways...cold crashing then rack, or by pasteurizing whether its by heat or chemically. At that point bottle carbing is no longer an option though...I'm not sure how u wanted ur final product. Cheers

 

[kurtism]

This is my first batch ever done. I believe I finally got the taste were I want it. Now how do I stop fermentation and bottle it. This would be a huge help if somebody could give my some instructions. Also it taste fantastic but smells fowl why? Can I fix the smell?

i have no idea why it smells. Does it smell differently now that its "done" as it did when primary fermentation was in high gear?

You can easily stop fermentation depending on what lengths you decide to go to...its simple but you need a few chemicals and a really big double boiler. It has been eluded to in both posts above.

FYI...cold crashing does not work unless you are going to keep the cider at that temperature from then on...because once it warms back up, the yeast wake up. Cold crashing DOES NOT KILL YEAST. Flash freezing does but not simply cold crashing. Personally, I store my brew @ about 65degrees F (in a closet) because I don't have the fridge space to hold it all...so cold crashing won't work for me.

you need to decide if you want to bottle condition your cider, drink it still or will force carb.

..if bottle conditioning, rack to a tertiary being careful about NOT disturbing the sediment bed and add 1 cup/5gal of dextrose to it. bottle, cap and leave it for 14-21 days. At that time, bring your double boiler to 160 degrees F. Add your bottles and allow the temperature to come back up to 160 and let it sit there for 10 min. Adjust your heat to keep it at 160 when the bottles go in..you don't want it to keep getting hotter of your glass bottles will blow up. The heat kills the yeast and you are all good because 1 cup sugar/5gal should provide a good level of carbonation and mouth feel if you still had healthy yeast when you bottled.

...if drinking still or you will force carb (like i do) rack to tertiary again being careful not to disturb the sediment bed and add Kmeta and Ksorbate as per the total volume of cider you have. Give it 24-48 hrs to rest. At that time add isinglass or chitosan to it as per the instructions and allow to rest for 72 hrs. These steps will clear your cider amazingly well AND halt any future fermentation. Rack to your bottling bucket, bottle and pasteurize (really optional at the point) or keg it.

Personally, I go one step further....When I rack from tertiary to my bottling bucket, I actually charcoal filter it and pass it through a .45um PES filter. I end up with crystal clear, sediment free, brews that are shelf stable at RT for a quite a while.

 

[Basilisk]

Also it taste fantastic but smells fowl why? Can I fix the smell?

You should probably stop adding blended chicken to your wort.

 

[rumbler]

Awww...blended chicken =fowl smell...I get it

 

[AUS_scotty]

Wow glad i had a read of this thread. I knew nothing about heating bottles to stop fermentation.
The things you learn everyday

 

[divi2323]

The smell will go away with time and is probably an attribute of ur yeast selection, however u can do a technique I believe is called splash racking where u aerate the cider pretty well by holding the tube fairly high as ur transfering. As far as haulting fermentation ther are a few ways...cold crashing then rack, or by pasteurizing whether its by heat or chemically. At that point bottle carbing is no longer an option though...I'm not sure how u wanted ur final product. Cheers

Splash racking will expel a lot of odor but also oxidizes your cider. You can do this while it is still fermenting but your best bet is to let it age properly.

In my splashing that I do to aerate for secondary, I siphon onto the side of a smooth cup and let it drip into a funnel. Much like what a wine decanter will do. Just make sure there is plenty of fermentation left to do or the cider may turn stale.

 

[ajbram]

+1 to heat pasteurizing. Check out the sticky at the top of the forum. It provides all the info you need. I have used this method several times now with great results.

 

[Devo9]

Splash racking will expel a lot of odor but also oxidizes your cider. You can do this while it is still fermenting but your best bet is to let it age properly.

In my splashing that I do to aerate for secondary, I siphon onto the side of a smooth cup and let it drip into a funnel. Much like what a wine decanter will do. Just make sure there is plenty of fermentation left to do or the cider may turn stale.

I believe it is ok if you add a few campden tablets. I think Yooper said it is an antioxidant... I believe it is supposed to be 1 tablet per gallon. Correct me if I am wrong please!

 

[ajbram]

Campden won't stop fermentation. It just stops whatever yeast is in there from reproducing, so they will still ferment. To stop it you need to kill the yeast, or remove it, so filtering or pasteurization are the best bet.

 

[divi2323]

I believe it is ok if you add a few campden tablets. I think Yooper said it is an antioxidant... I believe it is supposed to be 1 tablet per gallon. Correct me if I am wrong please!

You are correct here. You can prevent oxidation using campden at the 1 per gallon rate. You can also keep your must from turning crap brown by adding sulfites during pressing.