One gallon, nothing special

[jdanderson1449]

Picked up a gallon of juice from Whole Foods yesterday. It's already pasteurized to kill the bad bugs. It's unfiltered and it comes in it's own handy dandy fermenting jug.

I didn't want to take any chances so I gave it a quick boil and added a few big tablespoons of raw honey. No big deal.

Cooled it quick because it was just a gallon, pitched a half package of Red Star Pasteur Champagne and put an airlock in it. Three hours later the airlock is happily bubbling and this morning we're getting bubbles about every 3 seconds. Couldn't get a gravity reading because I didn't have enough volume to float the hydrometer. My guesstimates put me at about 1.050 give or take a couple of points.

Either way, I'm stoked to have a jug of cider bubbling in my basement.

 

[phug]

I think you have the RDWHAHB all figured out. That being said, skip the boil next time, completely unnecessary given that it was pasteurized and you may find you keep more of the aromatics.

 

[jdanderson1449]

The only reason I have that down is because we brewed our first extract batch about a week and a half ago.

My relaxation only goes far enough to plan my next brew while drinking something I bought from a tall can.

That being said, I think I'm gonna try to get my mates together to do a five gallon batch in the coming weeks.

 

[schwiz]

beer people don't think they haven't made a fermented beverage if they didn't boil something. Its rather amusing. ;-)

 

[jdanderson1449]

Well, I suppose if nothing else, it gave me a chance to sanitize my jug.

Next time I won't even worry about it.

Any guess on how long of a fermentation time I'm I'm looking at here? I know the only way to know for sure is to measure but I'm always down for an estimation. I've seen large batches go for months, small batches for as little as two weeks.

What say you, hive mind?

 

[phug]

I don't have any experience yet with that yeast except to say it does a good job of sitting tight in the freezer.

Anywhere from 2-4 weeks at a rough estimate. What's the fermentation temp? Higher will go faster. Lower will go slower.


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[jdanderson1449]

I checked all the specs on the yeast. One reason I was so turned on to it is its wide range of temperature tolerance. Something like 58*-86*. My fermenting area is just a dark room in the basement so I didn't want to have to monitor it quite like an ale yeast.

Also, it's alcohol tolerance is pretty high too, 14% if I remember right.

I did pitch about a half package in to the gallon, maybe just a slight over pitch but I've read of people pitching a whole package with success.

I do want it to be a relatively quick but thorough fermentation though. And yes, I saved the rest of the package to make another gallon with next week.

 

[jdanderson1449]

Now that I'm home from work and have had a chance to peek at my must, it's nice to see it bubbling along.

I'm getting bubbles about once every second. I haven't checked ambient temp in my basement in a while but taking a quick look at the thermostat and the temp on my hygrometer puts it around 68-70. Perfect for these yeast.

 

[jabba11]

you could drink it at 4 weeks but wait it out some it will get better with a little age (2 months or so is what I do)

 

[jdanderson1449]

Silly question, can I give my jug a shake one every day or two to help keep things moving around (aerating the must) OR should I just leave it alone like I do with my beer. I've seen opinions going both ways.

 

[Jsmtg32]

Just leave it alone. It will do fine.