TC ready for bottling?

[lordspudz]

Hi, had one 5 ltr DJ of turbo cider 'brewing' for 10 days and was wondering if it would be ready for bottling. It stopped bubbling 3 days ago and has only belched a bubble now and then. I was thinking of doing this tomorrow but wanted some advice first.
Once bottled, should I put it somewhere cold? It is still cloudy but has cleared slightly over the past couple of days.

My other batch, also 5 ltr, has been going for three days but has stopped bubbling altogether. There was no foam either?? Is this right? I'm wondering if I put too much yeast in (5g packet)

Thanks

 

[jseyfert3]

Do you have a hydrometer?

 

[lordspudz]

Do you have a hydrometer?

I do, forgot to take an OG though

 

[jseyfert3]

You only need the OG for ABV calculation. If the cider reads 1.000 or thereabouts, it's probably finished. The recommendation here seems to be to take two readings a few days apart and if they are the same both days, it's done (caveat: If it's above 1.004 or so, and doesn't change, then it's probably stuck and not done).

I just did one reading on my first two batches, the first one was 0.999 and the second was 1.000. I called it done and kegged it. However, I was kegging. I don't have to worry about bottle bombs if I'm a couple gravity points short of full fermentation.

With bottles, I'd err on the side of caution and take two measurements.

 

[lordspudz]

Thanks, I took a reading today on both batches and it was in the 1.000 region. I'll take another reading in a couple of days. I'm a little concerned that the first batch, now in its 14th day, is not getting any clearer. Would racking it to another DJ and putting it in a fridge help? Had a little taste and......hmm.......it seemed a bit on the dry side, is it best to add sugar to the 2nd DJ or direct when I bottle it up? Soooo much to learn

 

[Chalkyt]

Yep, starting off is hard work.

"Blooping" isn't always a reliable indicator of where fermentation is at. I recently had two batches which had got to slower than one bloop per couple of minutes so I figured that they were close to done. A check with the hydrometer showed that they were still around 1.012 whereas I was expecting less than 1.010. The storeroom temperature was around 10C-12C so clearly things were going quite slowly. I was waiting until below 1.010 to bottle then heat pasteurise at around 1.005 for a sweet carbonated cider.

Any added sugar will be eaten by the yeast so it won't add to the sweetness, just more carbonation once bottled. As a rough rule of thumb you get one atmosphere of carbonation (15psi) for every two gravity points, so bottling at 1.006 or above can take you up near 100psi if your FG ends up at 1.000. Typical beer bottles (which many of us use) are only rated to around 100psi which is bottle bomb territory. For a dry cider I use SO4 which can finish above 1.000 (there are other yeasts that can do this as well). I will add sugar or AJ to 0.004 above the FG at bottling to get a light carbonation with just a touch of sweetness.

Your hydrometer is your friend! Spend a few bucks and get a "finishing" hydrometer. These cover the range from just below 1.000 to 1.020 and make reading the gravity much easier when you get down to low numbers.

 

[lordspudz]

Thanks Chalkyt. I topped up the AJ in my 2nd batch yesterday (which had stopped bubbling after 3 days), gave it a gentle shake and this morning it was bubbling away nicely again. I'll take a reading again in a couple of days and look into the finishing hydrometer.