Need help! Bubbling question...

[stripY83]

Hi!

First off all I wanna thank you for the lovely tips & tricks that you provided in this forum.

I've started to make my cider 3 days ago. I've used :

1 gallon of fresh apple juice ( I shraded apples, press them, etc..)
1/3 cup of white sugar mixed with 1dl of hot water
10g dry wine yeast
1 airlock

So, I've mixed all together, put it in a 1.2 gallon glass demijohn, put an airlock and leave it in a closet. After few hours I've noticed little gass bubbles in the airlock ( every ~10 seconds one bubble), and after day 3 it's still going like that (1 bubble every ~10 seconds), so I wanna know is this normal?

Also, I wanna make sweet carbonized appley flavor cider (like Westons if you know?) with around 6-7% alc , so please help me to define when to siphon it two another clean demijohn and how long to leave it to ferment there, aswell for how long to put it in bottles before pasteurise it like mentoned in sticky notes.

I've read lots of post and I didn't find anything similar so please help me.

Thank you very much!

 

[Pappers_]

Welcome Strip. The fermenting and bubbles you are experiencing is normal - no worries. As for your second question, I usually bottle my cider when it is semi-dry, with a hydrometer reading around 1.010 - 1.012. Then I test it every other day or so, to see the carbonation level. You want to pasteurize before the bottles become too carbonated. Does all of that make sense?

Again, welcome!

 

[johnnyt471]

yes, the bubbles are good. that means it is fermenting!

 

[stripY83]

Thank you all for your prompt assistance.

So, can I tonight at 9pm (It's gonna be exactlly day 4) siphon it to another demijohn, read the SG level and leave it there until 1012 (How much more days is that ?).... Then put a cup of white sugar mixed with hot water in the gallon ( Do I have to do that or it will have enough sugar in it without that to carbonize it?) and put it in the bottles for carbonization, and then after one week or so paseurised it in hot water for 10minutes?


Thank you again for everything... U R D BEST !

 

[Pappers_]

Thank you all for your prompt assistance.

So, can I tonight at 9pm (It's gonna be exactlly day 4) siphon it to another demijohn, read the SG level and leave it there until 1012 (How much more days is that ?).... Then put a cup of white sugar mixed with hot water in the gallon ( Do I have to do that or it will have enough sugar in it without that to carbonize it?) and put it in the bottles for carbonization, and then after one week or so paseurised it in hot water for 10minutes?


Thank you again for everything... U R D BEST !

I wouldn't bother with siphoning it to another demijohn. This is a quick cider and there's no reason to rack it.

There is no way to know when it has reached 1.012 without a hydrometer, you will have to test it. If you don't have a hydrometer, you could decide to bottle it when it tastes right to you - rely on your taste rather than the hydrometer.

You definitely do not want to add a cup of sugar to one gallon of cider for carbonating - that is too much. For you, I think the best advice is to not add any more sugar, if you will be bottling the cider when it is sweet. Let the sugar that is already in the cider feed the yeast for carbonation.

Since this is your first time using this process, do not wait a week to test the bottles for carbonation. I would start testing after a couple of days. You do not want to wait too long, to let the bottles get too carbonated. And you're not wasting the cider - go ahead and drink it when you test it!

If you do end up with over carbonated bottles, do not pasteurize them. Open them and let some of the carbonation out, recap and then pasteurize. You do not want exploding bottles.

 

[stripY83]

Hi!

I tought to rack it to be more clear since this is fresh apple cider...

Ok, day after tomorrow I will get hydrometer and try to measure it and test the cider. (It's gonna be day 6)

After bottling the alcohol level will still rise ?

If I leave it in the bottles for 5 day will the yeast eat all the sugars leaving it sour and harsh?

Sorry for more questions and thank you very much for everything...

 

[CvilleKevin]

Once the fermentation starts slowing down, racking it will help to clear it, but you dont have to do this. Ale yeasts will usually slow down when they hit around 1.010, I dont know about your wine yeast.

If your temperatures are warm, you might want to take a small sample today and tomorrow, even though you dont have a hydrometer. Wine yeast can ferment a single gallon very quickly. If it tastes like the sugar is almost gone, you may need to rely on your taste and not wait 2 more days for the hydrometer. If it is still sweet then you can afford to wait.

It is good to have a plastic test bottle for when you bottle your ciders. When the bottle gets hard, you know the cider is fully carbonated. Once the cider is fully carbonated, you must pasteurize the bottles before they overcarbonate, following the instructions in the sticky. If the test bottle gets hard quickly, you need to move quickly.

If the cider is in a cool place, it will ferment more slowly and you will not be under as much time pressure. also ale yeasts go a little slower also.

 

[stripY83]

Ok, I've tested the cider just now and it seems to me that the sugar is almost gone...

Can I backsweet it with sorbitol and then bottle it? Any experience with sorbitol? ( I can't get xilitol...)

Another idea is to dissolve the sorbitol and 1/3 cup of prime sugar (for carbonization) in 2 cups of water and then bottle it and after carb testing pasteurize it.

What if I put more juice or dissolved sugar in the cider and immediately pasteurize it? Would that work for sweetnes or would be a bomb?

Thanks!