New to Brewing!

[valleykat]

Hi there! I have recently embarked on my first home brewing adventure - apple/pear cider.

I just added the yeast last night and I now have a krausen filled airlock. I am wondering if I should let it just keep running over or if I should take the airlock off and clean it...

I do not have high hopes for this batch given multiple mistakes I have already made, but I am moving ahead nonetheless.

Here is my (haphazard) process thus far:

75% Pear juice from fresh squeezed pears (never again! The juice really sticks to the pear pulp compared to apple. I had a heck of a time getting enough juice for a one gallon carboy)
25% pure pasteurized apple juice to make up the difference.
I added a Camden tablet and let it sit for 24 hours then added a 1/4 cup of honey, a cup of white sugar, a teaspoon of yeast nutrient and a packet of EC-1118 (yes, the whole thing).
Things started bubbling right away and now I have an airlock full of krausen and it is running out all over the place... I refuse to chuck it though. It took my hours to juice those pears!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice anyone has!

 

[valleykat]

I forgot - the biggest mistake, besides a full packet of yeast, was that I did not buy a hydrometer and take an initial reading before starting the fermentation. Now I have no idea what FG I am working towards. My plan is to take a reading once it appears to slow down then another a day later to see if it has changed. I figure what ever FG it settles at is where it is meant to be.

I do not plan to rack it before bottling. The plan is to prime 16oz bottles with 1 tsp white sugar and then bottle and let them site for another month or so. When you bottle, do they sit at room temp still? At what point should I refrigerate them.

Thanks again!

 

[brazedowl]

You may not want to, but once it settles down you really should rerack it. You'll lose a fair bit to blowoff and don't want to have that much headspace. Rack to a smaller secondary or to the same size and top up with some juice.

 

[valleykat]

You may not want to, but once it settles down you really should rerack it. You'll lose a fair bit to blowoff and don't want to have that much headspace. Rack to a smaller secondary or to the same size and top up with some juice.

Hmmm...OK. The only reason I wasn't going to re-rack is because I have no idea what it entails! Time to hit the books....

 

[brazedowl]

Haha just syphon it into a new container. I just fill some tubing completely with water, dunk it into the primary near the bottom (but not in any settled sludge/lees), put the other end in ther new jug and bam syphon. Just make sure the primary is higher, like on a table with the secondary on the floor. Easy as pie.

When it's time to bottle I do the same thing with a bottling wand on the secondary end of the syphon.

Very sorry if I'm spelling syphon like a crazy person. My nook lacks spellcheck.

 

[valleykat]

Thanks! I know the principal of siphoning but was not sure how to prime it in a sanitary manner. I never thought of adding water to the tubing.

Right now it is vigorously fermenting so I need to wait until it settles down a bit to rack it. So, for re-racking should I just top it off with more juice and and continue fermenting in the carboy with an airlock just like I did with the primary? Do I add anything else? How do I know when the secondary is done? Just taking consecutive SG readings?

Everyone says cider takes longer to ferment but this concoction is going like mad the first 48 hours. Unfortunately,I had to go out of town and leave it to do it's thing. I cooled the room down to 65 degrees and am hoping it doesn't explode by the time I get home. Wish me luck!

 

[jayne]

When you bottle your home brew, keep at room temperature, out of direct sun light, put in fridge to chill before drinking..... good luck

 

[jayne]

I had a brew like yours,it turned out brill when bottled I just washed the airlock out and replaced with clean water..,it happened because I didn't leave enough space at the top for when fermentation started,it should settle down.

 

[bigego236]

Don't give up on it! My first batch went kind of like yours. No hydrometer, messed up on ingredients, but in the end I still had a gallon of half way decent cider to drink and some great learning experiences.