Time to rack? Seems to early.

[dbobsbrew]

After 7 days in the primary, my cider(wine) has gone from s.g.: 1.072 to 1.000. Should I rack into the secondary now?

Last year, for my first attemp at brewing, I blew up a carboy in an trying to ferment 5 gallons of brown ale in a 5 gallon carboy. . . so I don't want to rack too soon! And don't want alcohol any higher. Is there any harm in letting it sit in the primary longer?

Also, my cider is quite high in alcohol at this point (~9.5%). I intend to make it a sparkling cider. Any advice on methods to ensure a good flavor outcome would be greatly appreciated

Dbob

 

[Golddiggie]

No harm in letting it sit another week or two. It will clear as it sits there and be less to worry about later. I made a batch of hard cider about three weeks ago that's clearing up rather nicely now. Depending on how it looks this weekend, I might just go to bottle with it. Otherwise, it will probably go another week (or so) before I prime and bottle it up. I'm kind of hoping that the bottles will carbonate for me between when it goes into them and turkey day. That way I can share it with family then. Otherwise, it will be either Chanuka or xmas... Yeah, we do all them.

 

[Joe_in_CT]

I intend to make it a sparkling cider.

Dbob

Dbob,

You might be interested in this:
http://www.cider.org.uk/keeving.html

I'll be starting a batch in a few weeks.

You will need some calcium and PME.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/pm...-available-keeving-french-style-cider-275380/

 

[wreckinball9]

I would rack now just to reduce the chance of furmenting further. At 1.000 you will barely have any residual sweetness and flavor, and it will only get harsher if you let it go down another few points. Rack and cold crash if you can.

 

[dbobsbrew]

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I racked my cider on the 8th day of being in the primary. It's about 5 days since. It is quite dry, a bit harsh, but less so than when I racked.

I didn't cold crash it yet, but I may at this point. Should I add some unfermentable sugar to counter the harshness with sweet, do something else, or just hope that it mellows during bottle conditioning.

Any advice would be much appreciated

-dbob