Should I Bottle Now?

[NateMurphy]

I started with store bought juice that has a SG of 1.05. Added pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, and White Labs cider yeast. The recipe I was following suggested that I rack to secondary at a 1.01 SG and then bottle about six weeks later at a 1.00 SG. So, I'm 8 days in primary. I pulled a bit of the juice today and the SG is already at 1.00. The cider tastes great! It is a bit dry but I think I prefer it that way. My questions are, Can I move it to the bottles now? Will the taste change in the bottles or will I be able to keep the taste that I like now? And finally, am I risking bottle bombs if I move it now? Any advice is appreciated. This is my first shot at home brewing.

 

[k47k]

leave it be for 3 weeks, transfer it to a fresh carboy and make sure its topped up to the brim, add kmeta if you like (1/4tsp for 5gal) and leave it for several months.

my cider from early november is still bulk aging in demijohn. i dont play on doing anything with it until spring.

 

[DaMonkey]

If its at 1.00 FG its done fermenting. Rack to secondary to clear and get off the lees. You can drink it if you like the taste but normally right after taking it off the lees it has a yeast flavor. You can not stop the changing of the flavor. But it generally only starts to taste better with age. You can move it to bottles if you don't care about clarity and settlement in your bottles. There is no risk of bottle bombs because you don't have any sugar left (thats what 1.00 FG means).

 

[bernardsmith]

If its at 1.00 FG its done fermenting. Rack to secondary to clear and get off the lees. You can drink it if you like the taste but normally right after taking it off the lees it has a yeast flavor. You can not stop the changing of the flavor. But it generally only starts to taste better with age. You can move it to bottles if you don't care about clarity and settlement in your bottles. There is no risk of bottle bombs because you don't have any sugar left (thats what 1.00 FG means).

Not sure I entirely agree. A gravity of 1.000 is the same as water BUT if the gravity of alcohol is far less dense than water (and it is) and if the reading from a hydrometer is at 1.000 and there IS alcohol in the liquid that suggests (at least it does to me) that there must be something else in the liquid that is preventing the reading from dropping lower to say... I dunno.. 0.996 and if that something else is sugar then that means the yeast COULD still ferment out more than the 1.5 oz of sugar per gallon that is still in the cider that a reading of 1.000 suggests...
Now to my way of thinking 1.5 ounces of sugar in one gallon will produce 3/4 of an ounce of CO2 (by weight) and that is a fair amount of CO2. I don't know if it will create bottle bombs ... but I would not want to be near those bottles if it did...

My suggestion would be quite different from yours. I would wait a couple of weeks and see if the gravity had dropped... and wait another week if it had not and measure again..and if it had still not fallen even a hair I would stabilize the cider with K-meta and K-sorbate and then bottle... If it does continue to fall - albeit it slowly I would try to have some patience and wait for the yeast to tell you when it is done... and then you can bottle. There is no fundamental reason why cider could not end up with a gravity of .994...

 

[Yooper]

At 1.000, it may not be done. Wines and ciders routinely go below 1.000 depending on yeast strain since .990 is totally dry.

 

[MarkKF]

At 1.000, it may not be done. Wines and ciders routinely go below 1.000 depending on yeast strain since .990 is totally dry.

But if it's not .990 but close and stable for a few weeks and above 60 Deg. F do you really need to dose it?

 

[phug]

I suspect that in most cases where it goes below 1.000 it is partly the result I a high starting gravity that causes a higher percentage of alcohol to water, which allows for a resultingly less dense solution.

For a cider starting at 1.040 or thereabouts, I think you'll see far fewer results below 1.000

 

[NateMurphy]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will move it to secondary this weekend (2 weeks in primary). If no change on the h ydrometer after a week then I will bottle. If I choose to add the kMeta how soon before bottling should I do that?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will move it to secondary this weekend (2 weeks in primary). If no change on the h ydrometer after a week then I will bottle. If I choose to add the kMeta how soon before bottling should I do that?

K-meta is a preservative and antioxidant. You can add it at any time. It does dissipate, so if you're adding it so that the cider will age longer, you may wish to do it right before bottling. You shouldn't have to add it if the bottles will be consumed quickly- especially since the cider is being bottled at 3 weeks old. It's not aged, or aging- although it won't hurt any to add it I guess!

I would never bottle a cider until it was clear, and no longer dropping any sediment after at least 60 days in a new vessel. I hate sludge and crud in my bottles, and I don't like to drink murky wine or cider. I think at three weeks old that the cider is very young and may be yeasty tasting. I would wait for sure.

 

[DaMonkey]

I would never bottle a cider until it was clear, and no longer dropping any sediment after at least 60 days in a new vessel.

60 days? Where did you get that from. My fresh pressed cider with pectic enzyme stops dropping on average 14 days. I would even say 7 days is an OK amount of time but not ideal.

 

[Yooper]

60 days? Where did you get that from. My fresh pressed cider with pectic enzyme stops dropping on average 14 days. I would even say 7 days is an OK amount of time but not ideal.

If the cider is totally clear, and doesn't drop any more lees in 60 days (even a very light dusting), then it shouldn't drop more lees in the bottle. Often, rushing a cider to the bottle means some sediment in the bottle, and that is unappetizing to me, as well as a problem with aging. If you like to bottle sooner, that's great.

 

[Archer]

This is anecdotal, but even with pectic enzyme at the outset, racking, and months in secondary until its very clear and no more dropping, I still get sediment in my later bottled hard ciders. First pour from a bottle is fine, but the last pour is cloudy. I assume I would need to filter it to get rid of it completely.

 

[chevalcider]

I would never bottle a cider until it was clear, and no longer dropping any sediment after at least 60 days in a new vessel. I hate sludge and crud in my bottles, and I don't like to drink murky wine or cider. I think at three weeks old that the cider is very young and may be yeasty tasting. I would wait for sure.

So judging by the sediment that comes from bottle carbing cider...I take it you like your cider still?

 

[Yooper]

This is anecdotal, but even with pectic enzyme at the outset, racking, and months in secondary until its very clear and no more dropping, I still get sediment in my later bottled hard ciders. First pour from a bottle is fine, but the last pour is cloudy. I assume I would need to filter it to get rid of it completely.

Maybe, but maybe not. Hows that for being helpful?

What I mean is that it depends on the cause of the sediment. It could be some excess acid that precipitates out (wine diamonds), but if it's a light dusting it could be due to the yeast strain used. It could be pectic, but most unlikely. Some ingredients also will drop dusty lees for ages- like dandelion wine. Maybe in that case it's pollen(?) but dandelion wine will drop lees for months in a fine dusting that I just can't ever seem to get rid of.

Some yeast strains are fine and dusty like that as well, especially bread yeast. Some yeast strains, like the English ale strains, will drop clear in a week or two and never make a dusting of lees.

Could you be having some MLF in the bottle? Any co2 bubbles?

One thing that might help you is to cold stabilize the cider before bottling. Even though it may be apparently completely clear, you could put it someplace very cold, near freezing if possible, for a few weeks. Every time I do that, even with a super clear wine, mead, or cider- I will get some lees. Then, rack off of that and bottle from there, and you shouldn't have any issues with sediment/cloudiness in later bottles.

Are you preventing MLF with sulfites, or allowing it? It shouldn't matter, but I have seen sediment drop after/during MLF, although uncommonly.

 

[Yooper]

So judging by the sediment that comes from bottle carbing cider...I take it you like your cider still?

Yes, but I do drink it carbonated at times especially when judging. Luckily, I have NO sweet tooth (helps with weight and fitness, for sure!) but I do put personal preferences aside for judging or for enjoying someone's hard work. Sometimes a spritzy cider sitting by someone's pool or lake side is just the ticket.

I keg carbonated cider for my daughter, so there is no sediment at all in the glasses, and occasionally I will have one. She likes it a bit sweetened, too, so it's really not my cup of tea (so to speak!).

The BJCP guidelines are really good for learning about what judges are looking for in cider: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/ciderintro.php

 

[Archer]

Yooper, thanks for the advice, always helpful. I have been using English ale/cider yeasts, but not sulfiting after fermentation, as I bottle carb, so maybe some MLF occurring in the bottles, as they are typically kept at room temp until I need them. I will also try cold stabilizing before bottling next time. Thanks again.

 

[NateMurphy]

I have racked to a secondary one gallon jug after two weeks. Does this look like too much head space? If so what can I do other than find a smaller jug? Thanks!

View attachment 1422226011619.jpg

 

[MarkKF]

I have racked to a secondary one gallon jug after two weeks. Does this look like too much head space? If so what can I do other than find a smaller jug? Thanks!

Way too much. You can use smaller bottle, add more juice, finished cider or even wine. You can also put sanitized glass marbles in the jug to raise the level to the neck.

 

[NateMurphy]

I found s slightly smaller jug. Thanks!

View attachment 1422241254873.jpg

 

[Yooper]

I found s slightly smaller jug. Thanks!

Much better! Now, put the bung and airlock on it and let it off-gas a bit. You don't want an explosion.

 

[Akbrewbuck44]

How does head space affect the fermentation?

 

[Yooper]

How does head space affect the fermentation?

It doesn't affect the fermentation, which is over by then. Instead, it allows oxidation to ruin the cider, or allows microbes to take hold with that much headspace. I've even seen mold grow in photos of ciders with a lot of headspace. I have also seen cider vinegar made (unintentionally) when lots of headspace is left.