Please explain degassing

[nbstl68]

Tis is my first cider attempt. First fermenting anything attempt so I am reading a lot of threads and learning .
One thing I have been running across is degassing. But I'm not finding out much about the process.

Could someone please explain to me, with regard to cider specifically...
What is degassing?
How is it done?
Why is it done?
Wen is it done?
Are there certain conditions that determine IF it even needs to be done?

Thanks

 

[JINKS]

Tis is my first cider attempt. First fermenting anything attempt so I am reading a lot of threads and learning .
One thing I have been running across is degassing. But I'm not finding out much about the process.

Could someone please explain to me, with regard to cider specifically...
What is degassing?
How is it done?
Why is it done?
Wen is it done?
Are there certain conditions that determine IF it even needs to be done?

Thanks

Degassing is the removal of co2 from your cider
can be done with a specific tool or other tool or by stirring

I usually degass a couple of times a day for the first week to help keep down the dissolved co2 which helps with a acid level for the yeast.

Here are a plethora of threads for you to read which will answer your questions.

 

[nbstl68]

Thanks
I had previously read a few of those.
But I still do not understand the purpose. Why do you need to release suspended c02 (ESP if you plan on carbonating it soon anyway)?
Aren't you also in the process aerating the cider? Isn't air the enemy post fermentation?

I did something similar stirring w a paddle after pitching...I was told that was aeration...doing it later is degassing?

Sorry if I sound like an idiot about the topic...

 

[AidanSavage]

Aeration is adding/increasing oxygen at the start for yeast to properly propagate via vigorous mixing. Not something to do later on when faced with potential bacteria. Degassing would be more like the stirring you do when you add cream to coffee. As for why, others have mentioned it can impact your SG readings. Other than that, I'm not sure.

 

[Maylar]

There's no need to degas cider. There is risk of mixing in oxygen by stirring and that's a bad idea.

 

[Yooper]

You can stir (degas) wine, mead or cider, by stirring before fermentation slows down, generally in the first 5 days or so or before it reaches a SG of 1.020-1.010. It benefits wines and meads, but probably not ciders although it won't hurt.

The other time degassing is done is only when a wine is rushed to a bottle, like in kit wines. I've had ONE wine in 25+ years that needed degassing before bottling, as the simple acts of racking the cider or wine and letting it sit to clear allows plenty of degassing. I see no reason at all that degassing should be done routinely, or should be encouraged, especially if someone doesn't use campden (sulfite) as an antioxidant at the same time.

 

[DaMonkey]

There is no reason to degas cider and yes it is a form of aeration.

 

[Cyclman]

Sometimes you have to get the CO2 out of suspension, or else.

 

[stella_tigre]

Well I just bottled up a batch of simple cider (first batch ever!) and trying to siphon into the bottles had a big foamy mess. I did siphon first into a bottling vessel, to add some FAJC for priming. Got lots of bubbles then, and even after waiting a bit (meaning less than an hour, thinking it would help tame things a bit) got so many bubbles it made a mess. (Mess contained in a clean outer container, did not go to waste!!)

Sooo, does that mean I did not wait long enough to bottle? It was still blurping the airlock very slowly, but I was looking for a carbed cider, FG was 1.000 before adding the FAJC.

I made the executive decision, after HWMO helped me with the mess, with me doing much swearing, to forgo bottling the other 2/3 of the batch!

Thanks!

 

[phug]

It shouldn't be necessary for something that you will be carbonating. That being said, if you put the ajc into your bottling bucket/container/moose bladder and then rack your cider onto it then you shouldn't have foamcanoes

 

[phug]

Also, was the ajc thawed completely before adding it? That might make a difference as well

 

[stella_tigre]

Was thawed and room temp. Actually was foaming as it went through the siphon. We drank the stuff I gave up on (probably 8oz) and it was still a little bubbly. We'll see how it comes out after a bit in the bottle. Hopefully not too oxygenated.

 

[sfgoat]

Process of leaning to one side and expelling aerosolized waste from your backside.

I'm sorry I couldn't help myself.

 

[phug]

It almost sounds like you have a leaky seal or crack in your auto siphon that was drawing in air. I don't think that the ajc is your culprit as I've probably used it to prime 20-25 batches in the last year and have never had foaming issues while bottling

 

[stella_tigre]

Thanks phug, I will try to make sure things are well-sealed today and hope it goes better!

 

[stella_tigre]

UPDATE: I racked the mead to secondary, absolutely NO issue. Tested bottling wand on the autosiphon using water, NO bubbles.

I return to the conclusion that the fizzing was the cider off gassing during siphoning - the reduced pressure during the siphoning made the CO2 fizz like crazy. HWMO concurred that the gas was being generated in the tube, not introduced from a leaky point, he was watching and holding the siphon while I ran the bottling wand, cussing at all the foam. The secondary fermentation vessel was a 1 gallon carboy with very little headspace, although there was airlock activity, so I guess it was just plumb full of CO2 that was anxious to make an escape.

Off to bottle the other secondaries from that batch; if they act like the first batch I am going to gently stir it to see if that helps. But I don't think these will be as fizzy, just guessing... (ADDED) - everything else hunky dorey. Wondering if I had a blockage of the airlock on the first one, or it was down in the cider (but it was bubbling every few minutes!) Sure didn't think so, but not sure what else it could be.

 

[phug]

I don't look too closely at my siphon tube. And I use starsan. So I guess I'm used to a certain amount of foam, but it's generally a small amount that gets pushed out of the neck of the bottle

 

[stella_tigre]

Well, my subsequent bottlings were as you describe, a teeny bit of foam and starsan bubbles. I can only think I got a bit of carb in the secondary, that the airlock was not as open as I thought. This was actually more or less your Simplest dry cider, with just a bit of sugar added. I hope I can get as good carbing in the bottle!

 

[phug]

Should be fine. I wonder what made the difference between bottlings.