Please help first timer question

[osophish]

Hello folks I just signed up to the forum and am making my Very first batch of hard cider. I started attemting this about three months ago just kind of winging it off some online recipes. It has been brought to my attention after watching some youtube videios on it that i have missed some stepsike adding suger and not filling it up to the top of the bottle.
So i s hopping to get some opinios. I used a packet of yeast in each cotainerone is 3qt of santa cruze organic apple juice I had water in the airator but now its gone it was bubbeling for a while but now everything is sitting on the bottom. The other one is a 2qt of normal apple juice that was non consitrated and still has water in the airator but has white stuff floating all over and on the side of the glass. And i dont know if its extra yeast or horiable case of mold.... Putting my nose next to it though it smells exactly like cider i by at the store.The yeast i used is EC-1118 and my main qestion is what is the next step or should i through it out and start over. Thank you for the help.

 

[Cyclman]

Congrats on the first batch attempt. Cider is easy and delicious.

I would drink a sample, if it is dry and delicious, drink it.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Osophish. Not adding sugar is not a "problem". All that that means is that the only sugar you can ferment is the sugar that is naturally in the apple. That can be a significant amount - enough anyway to enable you to make a cider of about 4 or 5 percent alcohol.
If you started the cider about 3 months ago then unless you are making the cider in the southern hemisphere and you are in the middle of a freezing winter and your cider is stored way below room temperature it is safe to assume (I think) that the sugar has all fermented out and what you have is hard cider.
Not sure I can say what the white floating stuff might be but it could be sediment (lees) that have been disturbed and the carbon dioxide in the cider is keeping it afloat. Of course , it COULD be some kind of contamination BUT if you used store bought juice and you added yeast immediately after opening the container and you have had an airlock with water in the mouth of the container it would be unlikely that this is some kind of infection. If the juice was from concentrate and you added water and you transferred the juice to a container that you had not properly sanitized then this could be bacteria. But if the juice has fermented and tastes like cider (and not vinegar) then I doubt that there is anything in the cider that would be "horrible" (or anything that would make you sick). It could, though, be signs of the mother of vinegar, if your cider tastes vinegary and not cidery. A photo , though might be useful.

 

[osophish]

Thank you very much for the help. I took some pics to show you guys but i cant figire out how to put them on. Is there button im missing. If not ill wait for the better half gets home since computers are her thing.