Newbie mistake?

[dyrne]

So this fall I setup a few 1 gal carboys in the garage that hovers around 55-65 degrees. 3 weeks in there was quite a bit of debris on the bottom and it smelled strongly of alcohol... I’d used champagne yeast and it was still a little sweet so I put the air lock back in and left it. Today it tastes great but is still a little sweet and I can’t detect any alcohol. It did not occur to me with the air lock this would happen but I’m assuming it evaporated..

Sorry if this should be obvious but after the initial yeast die out I should have quickly bottled it? I cannot age further in the carboy?

edit: I was very careful to maintain the water level in the air lock

 

[FunkyMunk]

Is the airlock bubbling? How long has it been in the carboy now? If it tastes a little sweet it might still be fermenting. The only way to know for sure is by checking the gravity with a hydrometer or a refractometer. The alcohol didn't evaporate, and the yeast hasn't died... When there's no more sugar to ferment, the yeast will go dormant and sink to the bottom with the sediment. That's usually when I rack to another carboy or keg (or bottle). Champagne yeast especially shouldn't have a problem taking it all the way dry.

 

[dyrne]

No bubbling but it’s low 50s temperature right now. I did bottle some and there is a tiny bit of pressure built up after a week so the yeast is a little active. Ok well I guess I will need to invest in a hydrometer and start keeping some records because I’d swear this has almost no alcohol. So in theory I could leave it until dry, add sugar and repeat and max out the capability of the yeast to survive?

I’m at a loss then because this just tastes like a really good cider juice whereas 3 weeks in to be honest... I had to slow down sampling because I was definitely aware of the alcohol

 

[FunkyMunk]

LOL... Well, you could always just have a pint or two now and see how buzzed you get. The only way I could think of that the alcohol would go away is if it got converted to vinegar by bacteria... but there's no way you wouldn't taste that. My guess is what you were noticing before was a bit of a hot alcohol burn that has mellowed out with time.

Sure, you could keep adding sugar until you max out the yeast's tolerance, but it really depends on what you're hoping to end up with. Champagne yeast can go up to 18%, going that high adding straight sugar will probably make your cider taste like ass. If you still wanted to go that route, you'd been better off with honey to make a cyser.

 

[S-Met]

What kind of apple juice did you use? Fresh pressed? Was there any preservatives like sorbate?
Have you degassed?
Temp is on the lower range for the yeast, not a problem, just a statement. May just need more time to ferment.

 

[Maylar]

Get.... hydrometer.

 

[Bourniplus]

Get.... hydrometer.

This.
Take a sample and report back, this will eliminate the guesswork of how much sugar is left.

 

[dyrne]

I’m ordering a hydrometer but maybe it isn’t as screwed up as I thought. The bit I bottled actually has a good deal of carbonation now. I’m wondering about the “hot alcohol burn” that was mentioned. Is that normal or maybe because I didn’t siphon the original sample but poured it out from the top there was more alcohol present there -at top...