Hi, i've been pouring over these forums for months now, having finally started two one gallon batches in Oct.
2 gallons of whole foods cider
pectic enzyme
yeast nutrient
nottingham, a bit more than 1/5 of the pouch for each
after a week it became apparent that the lees were going to be insanely thick and i didn't want to combine both ciders in secondary so i purchased 32 oz of whole foods Gravelstein cider, which says is a more tart cider on the label.
I subjected the 32oz bottle to the pectic enzyme, nutrient and nottingham also, but 10 days after the initial batches started.
racking jug 1: to top off the jug i grabbed as much of the partially fermented gravelstein as i could. then i popped the airlock back on and it is super clear and continues to show small bubbles even after a month in secondary. a thin layer of lees on the bottom.
I took the remaining lees from jug 1 and dumped it into what was left of the gravelstein cider in the 32 oz bottle and figured i'd give it a week to settle down a bit.
racking jug 2: now this seems to be the one i may or may not have a problem with. a week after racking number 1, i racked jug #2, using the cider from whatever is in the 32oz bottle to top off. This jug stopped any bubbles in the secondary shortly after the transfer. and now has some spots on top of cider, is this just yeast that hasn't or wont fall? and am i wrong thinking it's not bubbling like the first jug because the must used to top it offer had a buttload of yeast in it for a week? attached are photos of jug 2, the stuff on top and the clarity of it (you can see eddie through it...). at last check it had a current gravity of 1.000. i've been very good about sanitizing all items.
lastly, regarding bottle carbing: after priming, and going approx 2 weeks until it is appropriately carbed, i then stick it in the fridge to halt it? i don't want to deal with pasteurization at this point in my cider career. and once it's in the fridge it has to stay there until it is finally consumed correct? so if i want to do any proper aging it should stay in my gallon jugs for a few more months at least? or can i bulk prime it, bottle and just store it in the basement assuming it'll carb up appropriately and allow it to bottle age?
Thank you, sorry for the long thread. i try to research as much as possible and save all the remaining questions for one long post.
2 gallons of whole foods cider
pectic enzyme
yeast nutrient
nottingham, a bit more than 1/5 of the pouch for each
after a week it became apparent that the lees were going to be insanely thick and i didn't want to combine both ciders in secondary so i purchased 32 oz of whole foods Gravelstein cider, which says is a more tart cider on the label.
I subjected the 32oz bottle to the pectic enzyme, nutrient and nottingham also, but 10 days after the initial batches started.
racking jug 1: to top off the jug i grabbed as much of the partially fermented gravelstein as i could. then i popped the airlock back on and it is super clear and continues to show small bubbles even after a month in secondary. a thin layer of lees on the bottom.
I took the remaining lees from jug 1 and dumped it into what was left of the gravelstein cider in the 32 oz bottle and figured i'd give it a week to settle down a bit.
racking jug 2: now this seems to be the one i may or may not have a problem with. a week after racking number 1, i racked jug #2, using the cider from whatever is in the 32oz bottle to top off. This jug stopped any bubbles in the secondary shortly after the transfer. and now has some spots on top of cider, is this just yeast that hasn't or wont fall? and am i wrong thinking it's not bubbling like the first jug because the must used to top it offer had a buttload of yeast in it for a week? attached are photos of jug 2, the stuff on top and the clarity of it (you can see eddie through it...). at last check it had a current gravity of 1.000. i've been very good about sanitizing all items.
lastly, regarding bottle carbing: after priming, and going approx 2 weeks until it is appropriately carbed, i then stick it in the fridge to halt it? i don't want to deal with pasteurization at this point in my cider career. and once it's in the fridge it has to stay there until it is finally consumed correct? so if i want to do any proper aging it should stay in my gallon jugs for a few more months at least? or can i bulk prime it, bottle and just store it in the basement assuming it'll carb up appropriately and allow it to bottle age?
Thank you, sorry for the long thread. i try to research as much as possible and save all the remaining questions for one long post.
