Donkeyshins
New Member
On Saturday I started my very first batch of hard cider. We pressed 100 pounts of apples from our orchard, although they were a little overripe so we only got 7.5 gallons of extremely high-sugar cider. Approximately 5.75 gallons ended up in our 6.5 gallon carboy and the unpasturized cider was augmented by 6 cups of raw sugar. I added a vial of White Labs Pitchable Cider Yeast (English Cider - WLP775) and proceeded to ferment. The first 24 hours were using a stopper and s-bubble airlock, but as the fermentation took off, I switched to a 1" blowoff tube and bucket. After almost 48 hours I'm fermenting at a rate of ~ 120 bubbles / minute and my basement smells like a giant fart, so things appear to be going swimmingly with regard to fermentation.
However, it's at this point I'm at somewhat of a loss. When should I rack the cider for secondary fermentation given that I'm using a mix of commercial and wild (since the cider is unpasturized) yeasts? I was thinking around 12 days (or when the fermentation starts to taper off) but am now wondering about using a hydrometer, with which I have NO experience. I'm also realizing I should have only put 5 gallons of cider in the carboy, so I'll have to scrounge a gallon jug to make up the overage (lessons learned).
Any help would be appreciated - I don't want to screw up this batch.
Thank you!
-D
However, it's at this point I'm at somewhat of a loss. When should I rack the cider for secondary fermentation given that I'm using a mix of commercial and wild (since the cider is unpasturized) yeasts? I was thinking around 12 days (or when the fermentation starts to taper off) but am now wondering about using a hydrometer, with which I have NO experience. I'm also realizing I should have only put 5 gallons of cider in the carboy, so I'll have to scrounge a gallon jug to make up the overage (lessons learned).
Any help would be appreciated - I don't want to screw up this batch.
Thank you!
-D