Juice Temperature

[JAS]

I am now brewing my second batch of cider. I found some pasteurized, but no preservative, cider at a local Wild Oats store. I pitched a wine yeast because I want to try and get this batch to end up a little less dry. Here is my problem.

The juice was refrigerated when I bought it. Not sure the temperature, but probably somewhere between 40 and 50 F. In my zeal to get fermenting, I put the juice (5 gal) in my primary (6.5 gallon bucket with sealed lid and airlock) and pitched the yeast right away.

It has been 7 days now, and there is no bubling in my airlock. I took the lid off to check and there are small bubbles coming to the surface, so it looks like it is fermenting, but very sloooooowww. Temperature is now up to about 63 F and it's in my basement. Do I have a problem? Should I pitch more yeast or just let it slowly ferment for a few weeks and check gravity? Is pasteurized an issue? I thought that would be okay as long as there were no preservtives or stabilizers used.

Thanks

 

[NitrouStang96]

I'm going to take a guess and say:

1) You want pasteurized so that it is sanitary. Your juice is fine

2) You might get the activity started if you raise the temp, but you should probably pitch higher.

Again, these are guesses - I'll be pitching my first apfelwein on Sunday.

 

[Adolphus79]

If it's been 7 days, take an SG reading to see if it's dropped any. My first thought is that you should be OK, and once temps rise a little more fermentation will pick up. If your SG hasn't changed any, warm to must up to 70-80'ish and pitch again.

 

[sirsloop]

If you see bubbles, you're fine. Most wine yeast work great in the low 60's. You probably just had a leak which was preventing your airlock from working. If you have some keg lube, hit your bucket gasket with a little.

 

[CiderRat]

I went through a quiet spell for 4 days, because of the cold in my basement. I tried the space heater, elevating to a counter top it off the floor. I received my brewbelt yesterday and put it on last night and this morning we are bubbling again.

Any one know why they say you are not supposed to use it on a glass carboy?
CiderRat

 

[Adolphus79]

I am not 100% sure, but I would assume that it is because the belt is a small heating strip, and that may cause a weak point in the glass. Just like the old trick of a piece of string being tied to a bottle and lit on fire, then you can crack the bottle right where the string was...

 

[JAS]

I just checked the SG. OG was 1.050 and now it is down almost to 1.00, so I guess it is fermenting. It's just not nearly as active as my first batch where I used Champagne yeast.

 

[mrk305]

I bet it will taste better with the wine yeast. I prefer mine not so dry. It is probably going slow due to the low temperature. It might take 5 or 6 weeks instead of the usual 4 to fully ferment. If you are at 1.000 after a week it is working fine. Just leave it alone until it clears.

 

[JAS]

I'm hoping. The first batch was a little dry for my taste, but still good.

Would you recommend racking this batch into a secondary glass carboy, and if so, when?

 

[mrk305]

I never used a secondary. There's no hops, so no trub. I have racked to bottling bucket, and then poured fresh juice right on top of the old yeast. Let that one go for a another month.