Taking Forever!

[waddsworth]

Hello all! I've been lurking these boards for a good while now, and this is my first post. Anyways...

I have a cider that won't seem to stop fermenting, and I'm curious of two things. 1.) Why, and 2.) What can I do to speed it along?

The cider is 5.5 gallons of locally pressed unpasteurized apple juice, 2 lbs of brown sugar, and Safale S-04. I dosed the batch with 1/4 tsp. of K-Meta, and pitched my yeast several hours later (I know now that I should have waited ~24 hrs between the K-Meta and pitching). Unfortunately, I completely forgot the yeast nutrient (four of us were doing our own batches at the same time, it was a bit chaotic). I took a reading with my refractometer, and it came out to ~14 Brix (another error on my part, my ebay refractometer doesn't have an SG scale). Despite the couple of errors, I still had good activity within 12 hours, and temp was maintained at ~68. Four and a half weeks later, my co-brewers (who used Cotes Du Blanc and champ yeasts), are already bottled, and mine is still bubbling the airlock once every 20 seconds or so. The last reading I took was when I racked to secondary, and it was at 6 Brix. I assumed that it would finish up soon. I drew a sample last night, and it is pretty damn good. I want to bottle soon because this was going to be my holiday gift to my co-workers, and right now I look like a cheap bastard since I have nothing to give them.

So I am really curious if there is anything I can do at this point to speed it along. Or do I just have to wait until spring?

 

[GinKings]

Refractometers do not take accurate readings once fermentation begins. You can get a formula to correct for fermentation, but I find a hydrometer easier. Your actual gravity is probably much lower than you think.

I realize some people do it, but I think bottling after 4 1/2 weeks is an aggressive schedule for cider. It would most likely improve with time. I usually wait about 6 months. Beer gets bottled within a few weeks, but I consider cider closer to wine which doesn't get bottled for months or years.

 

[truckjohn]

It may be stuck and bubbling from residual CO2.....

You could take a small sample and pitch a bit of nutrient and see if it comes back to life....

 

[waddsworth]

Refractometers do not take accurate readings once fermentation begins. You can get a formula to correct for fermentation, but I find a hydrometer easier. Your actual gravity is probably much lower than you think.

I realize some people do it, but I think bottling after 4 1/2 weeks is an aggressive schedule for cider. It would most likely improve with time. I usually wait about 6 months. Beer gets bottled within a few weeks, but I consider cider closer to wine which doesn't get bottled for months or years.

So you feel there are benefits to bulk aging over bottle conditioning? I didn't want to drink it as soon as my beers (even those I like to give a two to three week secondary), but I want to at least get it into bottles so I can distribute - I just want to make sure I'm not handing out grenades.

 

[Yooper]

So you feel there are benefits to bulk aging over bottle conditioning? I didn't want to drink it as soon as my beers (even those I like to give a two to three week secondary), but I want to at least get it into bottles so I can distribute - I just want to make sure I'm not handing out grenades.

You may be. If it's clear, though, it's probably done fermenting. If it's cloudy, it may or may not be done.

Can you get a hydrometer to check the SG to see if it's finished?

 

[waddsworth]

Its actually pretty clear. I called my LHBS to ask them, and the guy there said that I killed my ale yeast with the K-Meta, and that my fermentation was from wild yeast - and that I should grab some more yeast to pitch in there to help speed it along. I thought all of that sounded like malarky. First, I don't think I killed my ale yeast, because it started fermenting soon after pitching - and if I DID kill it than I probably should have had ZERO fermentation. Plus, adding more won't do anything, since there's plenty in there (evidenced by the nice inch or so thick creamy white lees at the bottom of the carboy. It IS nice and clear now. I guess I'll get a hydrometer reading. What gravity do I want considering a starting SG of 1.057?

 

[Yooper]

Its actually pretty clear. I called my LHBS to ask them, and the guy there said that I killed my ale yeast with the K-Meta, and that my fermentation was from wild yeast - and that I should grab some more yeast to pitch in there to help speed it along. I thought all of that sounded like malarky. First, I don't think I killed my ale yeast, because it started fermenting soon after pitching - and if I DID kill it than I probably should have had ZERO fermentation. Plus, adding more won't do anything, since there's plenty in there (evidenced by the nice inch or so thick creamy white lees at the bottom of the carboy. It IS nice and clear now. I guess I'll get a hydrometer reading. What gravity do I want considering a starting SG of 1.057?

He's giving you a load of BS and doesn't know what he's talking about. Wine and ale yeast are amazingly tolerant of sulfites, while wild yeast is not. Don't listen to any more of his advice!

You should be in the .990-1.005 range, with that yeast strain. That's a big range, but attenuation isn't always predictable with ale yeast in ciders. The key is that no matter what it is now, when it's done it's not changing. So check it today, and then check it again in a couple of days. If it's exactly the same, it's done. You can bottle, or just rack and let it age.

 

[dinnerstick]

He's giving you a load of BS

well put

 

[waddsworth]

OK, update. After four days the gravity held at 1.008, so I bottled. I roused some of the yeast from the lees because I wanted a sparkling cider, and added some priming sugar. That was last Sunday.

I realize now just how long cider needs. I pitched my latest batch on Dec. 23 with an est. SG of 1.075. As of last night (Jan. 6), its only down to 1.030. So one of my primaries is going to be occupied for a few more weeks - its a good thing I have no intentions of drinking this cider until at least Thanksgiving 2011.

Thanks all for the help, and I'll update how it turns out.