Fermented too fast, now what?

[Shutteringfocus]

Started my first first batch of cider and thought I would be smart and help it along with a heat mat.

It Fermented like crazy for 3 days at 80°F and went from sg 1.050 to 1.004.

Then I read that cool and slow is better and I learned about fusel alcohol and what not.

I moved it to the basement where it is 50°F last night and fermentation pretty much stopped and it started to clear so I racked to a secondary this afternoon.

I now know that I moved too fast, but What should I do now? Should I start over? Backsweeten and bottle? ( I have done a lot more research on the bottling and backsweetening and preventing bombs.)

 

[BigFloyd]

Whoa. I trust that you found out in your reading that if you backsweeten and bottle, the yeast will eat the sugars, poop CO2 and give you the real potential for bottle bombs. Trying to stop that via hot water bath pasteurization in the bottles is a pretty darn dangerous undertaking which I'm not willing to risk. I rarely say this, but this one may be a dumper.

What yeast did you "help along" at 80*F?

 

[Shutteringfocus]

I thought I read enough about safely using a plastic bottle to keep an eye on pressure after bottling and then using the hot water bath to pasteurize.

This is highly dangerous?

I used LAVIN K1 V1116 recommend by my local shop, but in my reading I've learned this might not be the best yeast either.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[BigFloyd]

I thought I read enough about safely using a plastic bottle to keep an eye on pressure after bottling and then using the hot water bath to pasteurize.

This is highly dangerous?

I used LAVIN K1 V1116 recommend by my local shop, but in my reading I've learned this might not be the best yeast either.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app

There are many folks who do it with no incident, but a few people have had bombs happen while pasteurizing. I may be overly cautious, but it just takes once to be a disaster and I'm simply not willing to take the risk.

 

[ThorGodOfThunder]

DONT DUMP IT.

Let it age and then decide if it is worth keeping. Just let it go for a few months and it might be great. Fast fermentation doesn't completely ruin a cider anyway, it just makes it less great. You might find it tastes just fine.

 

[Shutteringfocus]

The cider back in carboys with the airlocks in the 50 degree basement. With the heat mat underneath it now the cider's at 60 degrees after 24 hours. It has started to ferment much slower. Last time I was counting 15 to 20 bubbles per minute in the air locks. Right now it's giving off about a bubble every couple of minutes. The Cider has cleared quite a bit but it's not completely clear yet. It tastes very dry and yeasty.

I broke my hydrometer so I have to make a trip to the shop today. I'm not sure where it sets gravity wise.

I'll keep it going at 60 degrees in the basement for a while and see what happens.

 

[oregonbrew541]

i think you'll be fine it might be a little hot going down but with age it should be fine man i would just let it sit leave it down there and forget about it. and hey if you do pasteurize please oh please PUT THE LID ON THE POT just incase, although I've never had any problems… good luck.

 

[Shutteringfocus]

When we are talking bottle bombs are we talking cracking or are we talking flying glass across the room?

 

[BigFloyd]

When we are talking bottle bombs are we talking cracking or are we talking flying glass across the room?

The latter. I've seen photos of stuff that hit the kitchen ceiling.

Another option is to do the sweetening at the time of consumption with a small amount of something sweet in the glass.

 

[Shutteringfocus]

so the only safe thing to do is ferment it out dry, sorbate it flat, sweeten to taste and then force carbonate in a keg before bottling?

I want to share with friends, but I don't want to share bombs!

 

[BigFloyd]

so the only safe thing to do is ferment it out dry, sorbate it flat, sweeten to taste and then force carbonate in a keg before bottling?

I want to share with friends, but I don't want to share bombs!

If you can force carb in a keg, that's a good option. I recently did a graff cider that I wanted to back-sweeten and spice a bit. To the keg, I added 1.5tsp of k-sorbate along with a can of frozen apple juice concentrate and a little vodka that had a cinnamon stick and some allspice berries soaking in it a couple days. Carbed it up in the keezer. I later filled several bottles for friends off the keg with this - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/. They all stayed carbonated the same level at which I had bottled them.

 

[oregonbrew541]

Yea that's pretty much it. Good luck keep us posted

 

[Shutteringfocus]

I'm at sg of 1.011 so I decided to try some last night. After drinking a little bit it started to give me what felt like a deep headache. I'm not sure if I was making it up just because of what I've read about fusel alcohol, or maybe it was just coincidental. I did back sweet net with a little bit of natural juice just before drinking and it wasn't bad, except for the possible headache thing.

Any chance there is a connection between fermenting too fast and starting to get a little headache after drinking. I only drank one glass.

 

[Randzor]

I'm at sg of 1.011 so I decided to try some last night. After drinking a little bit it started to give me what felt like a deep headache. I'm not sure if I was making it up just because of what I've read about fusel alcohol, or maybe it was just coincidental. I did back sweet net with a little bit of natural juice just before drinking and it wasn't bad, except for the possible headache thing.

Any chance there is a connection between fermenting too fast and starting to get a little headache after drinking. I only drank one glass.

All in your head. After 2 and sleep I could understand a headache.

 

[oregonbrew541]

Yea I've never heard of that.. I've heard of sulfite a causing headaches but hmm i doubt thats is. Lol I knew u wouldn't be able to wait though..