New to cider making

[ArtV]

Lots of great information...a lot to take in to be honest. Being new to cider making I sort of threw myself in to this with some reading though even after checking the forums I still need assistance if possible.

I have made the following batches...

5 gal carboy of 5 gallons of UV pasteurized cider from a local farm. Added 2 lbs of brown sugar and used champagne yeast. Probably let it ferment in too warm of a room and it fermented aggressively but perhaps that is the norm? I racked after 3 weeks and it has been in a secondary for about 3 weeks. My mistake is that I racked to another six gallon carboy as opposed to a 5 gallon so I went out and purchased one. Should I move it ASAP? I am worried about too much space in the carboy and what that could do to the cider.

Batch 2 is 5 gallons of cider from the same farm and this time I used SF-04 yeast because I believe I read it here somewhere. This time I kept it in another room where the temperature was consistently 64-65 degrees. That has been in the primary for almost two weeks and has a nice steady fermentation. No additional sugars were added. Was this a mistake? I tried this yeast with hopes of perhaps stopping the fermentation early. Would a cold garage help with this or even with batch 1 for clarity.

Sorry for so many questions from a noobie.

Cheers!

 

[MarkKF]

At that temp S-04 might stop at 1.004 all in its own. Good recipe.

 

[ArtV]

Mark, do I let it go for about 3 weeks and rack it? If I decide to go to with adding sulfites (or is that a must?) should it age for a few months as is?

Thanks!

 

[MarkKF]

I pitch my yeast. Then check S. G. at one week, ten days and two weeks. The first time it's under 1.010 I rack it.

When it's in the secondary I check the S. G. after it clears. If the S. G. is stabile for a couple of weeks I can bottle it.

But I've been known to let it age 6-8 months before bottling.

 

[ArtV]

Thanks. I will check tonight and see what it says. Is it safe to rack in to a 6 gallon carboy or will that leave too much space? That is all I have right now.

What temperature should it be left to age? Right now it is a steady 64.

 

[MarkKF]

I age at 55-60 but I think anything under 70 deg. is O. K.

You want very little headspace. Level has to be near the neck of the carboy. You can always top off with preservative free apple juice.

 

[ArtV]

Will the yeast start up again with the addition of the juice?

 

[MarkKF]

Yes but not crazy. It will only raise the S. G. a couple of hundredths.

 

[Seriuqs]

I totally agree with limiting headspace in your carboys by using a 5 gallon instead of a 6 gallon.

That being said - I made lots of Edwort's Apfelwein in 6 gallon carboys without topping up and I cant remember any batch that didnt go down smoothly or had oxidized flavors.

If I were in your shoes, I think the risk of contamination and oxidation that you are running by transferring your cider yet again into a smaller carboy would not be worth any potential benefit you would gain by having less headspace. I would either leave it alone or top it up with apple juice.

 

[ArtV]

I already moved the cider....:smack:

So at this point should I add it to the cider to top it off since it has been moved?

 

[Seriuqs]

Sure - you are not going to hurt the cider by topping up at this point if its needed.

I really wouldnt sweat about having just moved it either - I was just letting you know that the risk may not be worth the reward, though the actual risk of contaminating/oxidizing while transferring is still low.

Your cider will most likely be great to drink in the end!

 

[ArtV]

Thanks! All tips are very much appreciated!!!

I want to be able to make a great cider but haven't pieced everything together yet. Lots to learn!

 

[Seriuqs]

The best advice I can give anyone about cider or beer making is the oft - repeated line of "Relax, Dont Worry, Have a Homebrew" - I know its cliche but its so dang true.

I used to stress myself out about every detail and second guess myself when I started brewing thinking a whole batch was going to be bad because I slightly messed up one step or another, and I honestly couldn't tell you now whether it made any difference at all.

If you get your fundamentals like good sanitation and the right fermentation temps, you have very little to worry about.

Also, I re-read your first post and you asked about aging - I have found that I like my ciders aged around 4 months, with no less than 3 months for the right apple flavor to come through. It will continue to get better with age after that, but (at least for me) waiting the extra time isn't really worth the reward in terms of flavor.

The first wait is always the worst, but now I have such a pipeline built up that I frequently go over the 3-4 month minimum aging time because my production has outstripped my consumption.

 

[ArtV]

I do over think it I suppose because I am trying to hard to be perfect but still not quite sure of what to do or the impact of things such as carboy size or topping off cider with fresh cider.

Do you produce flat or effervescent ciders? The sorbate/sulfite/keg and force carbonate and then bottle is appealing. Should the addition of those items be made after the 3-4 month period you had mentioned? I have read a lot, hardly enough, but have not found (or looked hard enough) to find when to add that. I have read if you wanted to add fruit, etc to do so "the last two" weeks? I suppose that is of the aging before bottling yet after the addition of the sulfite/sorbate?

Thanks again...I very much appreciate the patience with my questions.

 

[ArtV]

I wound up back filling one of my ciders with a gallon of fresh cider from the farm I purchased the other five gallons from. The racked cider (s-04 yeast) did a number on the sugar from that additional fresh cider leaving sediment. Do I rack the cider once again? Should I cold crash as there seems to still be some activity going on and then rack it?