First ever cider brew. To secondary ferment or not?

[HeyZeus]

Hi there

I'm at the end of my first fermentation of pressed apples after 7 days, with the SG not moving for 3 days and no visible signs of fermentation.

Do I really need to transfer to a secondary carboy before bottling, or can I skip that process and go straight to bottling? I'm making hard cider by the way.

What are the pro's and cons?

Thanks for your advice.

 

[estricklin]

Skip it. It's that simple. You were trying to find a reason to secondary, there really aren't that many. Leave it til it clears, then bottle.

 

[DaMonkey]

Hi there

I'm at the end of my first fermentation of pressed apples after 7 days, with the SG not moving for 3 days and no visible signs of fermentation.

Do I really need to transfer to a secondary carboy before bottling, or can I skip that process and go straight to bottling? I'm making hard cider by the way.

What are the pro's and cons?

Thanks for your advice.

FYI, Cider = Hard Cider here there is no difference. If you want to talk about non-alcohol then you say juice.

If you leave the cider on the primary lees too long the cider can develop an off taste. So generally you want to rack to a secondary to get it off the lees and then for the cider to clear.

If you don't care that there is sediment in your cider then go bottle. You still need to wait at least a week to drink it unless you like the flavor of yeast. I usually bottle and drink mine quickly, but what you are doing is too fast for my tastes. If you will bottle age for a few weeks the only disadvantage is sediment.

 

[HeyZeus]

Thanks for your help, it's clarified what the second fermentation actually does.

I used to home brew beer so presumed that the process is similar, if not the same.

So if I bottle straight from the first fermentation, will the sediment (lees) settle at the bottom of the bottle, like home brew beer, or will the whole brew be cloudy?

 

[HeyZeus]

Thanks for your help, it's clarified what the second fermentation actually does.

I used to home brew beer so presumed that the process is similar, if not the same.

So if I bottle straight from the first fermentation, will the sediment (lees) settle at the bottom of the bottle, like home brew beer, or will the whole brew be cloudy?

 

[Randzor]

You get a month befor you really start to get off tastes. So if your brew is clear by them, go to the bottle. If it's not go to a secondary. The problem I find with secondary is the risk of oxidation, which I was terrible at when I made wine. If you bottle carb then you'll always have some lees left in the bottle. Try it both ways. You'll figure out which one works best for you.

 

[madscientist451]

What does the cider taste like? Any off flavors or harshness? If you like the way it tastes, I'd chill it to drop as much of the yeast as possible, then bottle.
If you don't like the way it tastes, my (oldschool) way of thinking says leave it in bulk, it ages better that way. I don't have any real science to back this up, so it may be total BS. I make a lot of cider and bulk age it for at least 3 months,but usually more than 6 months; your tastes are probably different, and if you like it young, drink it or bottle and let it condition in the bottle.
For long term bulk aging, I like to rack to secondary, but many folks don't do that and report good results.

 

[DaMonkey]

Thanks for your help, it's clarified what the second fermentation actually does.

I used to home brew beer so presumed that the process is similar, if not the same.

So if I bottle straight from the first fermentation, will the sediment (lees) settle at the bottom of the bottle, like home brew beer, or will the whole brew be cloudy?

They will settle in the bottle. It can be cloudy due to pectin issues. But I always use pectic enzyme so I am not sure if its a big deal or not.

 

[HeyZeus]

Thanks for your replies, they were all informative.

I ended up bottling straight from the first fermentation. I tasted it first and it tasted ok. 2 days in the bottle and they are starting to clear.

I will do the next batch differently though and let the cider sit in a secondary fermenter, just so I can compare flavour and determine whether or not it's worth the extra aging time.

 

[abrewnoob]

Thanks for your replies, they were all informative.

I ended up bottling straight from the first fermentation. I tasted it first and it tasted ok. 2 days in the bottle and they are starting to clear.

I will do the next batch differently though and let the cider sit in a secondary fermenter, just so I can compare flavour and determine whether or not it's worth the extra aging time.

Did you end up trying the secondary way and compare results??...I'm just curious to see what you found. I too am wondering what path to take...bottle straight from primary or to secondary

 

[teamacacia]

Did you end up trying the secondary way and compare results??...I'm just curious to see what you found. I too am wondering what path to take...bottle straight from primary or to secondary

My first batch (ever) went straight from primary to bottles and I felt it was a little harsh despite aging in bottles for weeks up to over 6 months for the last bottle. My second batch went to a secondary for over a month prior to bottling and I drank a cold partial bottle the day after bottling and it was much smoother.

My plans for the future are to do a gallon at a time and have a rotation of primary for 2-3 weeks, secondary for 2-4, and then bottle.

 

[Fades47]

Anyone? Sorry to revive old thread!