Used too much corn sugar

[AMERCIDER]

I've got 5 gallons of cider in secondary after a long fermentation with an ale yeast. I tasted a lot of sugar and a lot of alcohol. I put 10 cups of dextrose a 5 gallon batch. How can I get rid of the access sugar?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

What is "a long fermentation"? I would say it wasn't long enough. Leave it there for longer or bottle and leave it there.

I have a cider that I made in November 2014. It's just now getting good.

 

[DaMonkey]

I've got 5 gallons of cider in secondary after a long fermentation with an ale yeast. I tasted a lot of sugar and a lot of alcohol. I put 10 cups of dextrose a 5 gallon batch. How can I get rid of the access sugar?

10 cups is a lot. Maybe your yeast couldn't handle it. Whats the original gravity and current gravity? If you don't have a hydrometer. Then add nutrients and/or add yeast to get fermentation restarted. If you think the yeast died, I would use a different strain. With the high ABV you are going for you should have used a wine yeast.

 

[abrewnoob]

I use about that same ratio of sugar to make a strong dry cider so i dont think thats too much. But how 'long' did your primary go for?
I use ale yeasts for my ciders and that ammount of alc doesnt kill them but the strain your using may be more sensitive.definetly take some readings, i dont think your finished fermenting.

 

[AMERCIDER]

My primary went for a month and a week

 

[AMERCIDER]

It was a Nottingham ale yeast

 

[AMERCIDER]

10 cups is a lot. Maybe your yeast couldn't handle it. Whats the original gravity and current gravity? If you don't have a hydrometer. Then add nutrients and/or add yeast to get fermentation restarted. If you think the yeast died, I would use a different strain. With the high ABV you are going for you should have used a wine yeast.

I did not test with hydrometer

 

[AMERCIDER]

10 cups is a lot. Maybe your yeast couldn't handle it. Whats the original gravity and current gravity? If you don't have a hydrometer. Then add nutrients and/or add yeast to get fermentation restarted. If you think the yeast died, I would use a different strain. With the high ABV you are going for you should have used a wine yeast.

Do you think a champagne yeast would be nice, whats the downside to using yeast twice

 

[DaMonkey]

Do you think a champagne yeast would be nice, whats the downside to using yeast twice

Yea that would work as well. I like Lalvin D47. I am not aware of a downside of using 2 different yeasts. There certainly is no downside to using too much yeast.

I have had bad luck with Notty yeast crapping out. I do not think its a good cider yeast for that reason.

 

[MindenMan]

Your first yeast has probably crapped out at ABV tolerance. Adding a champagne type yeast to finish off the sugar is a fairly common thing for high alcohol ciders. Keep in mind your apple wine will need to age for an extended period of time to take the "burn" out from the alcohol. You might ask Yooper as she has been making apfelwine for decades, and is a well known source of knowledge and good advice.

 

[bernardsmith]

I think what you want to do is take a reading of the gravity today.. I don't think that Nottingham should have crapped out if you added 10 cups of sugar to 5 gallons of apple juice. By my gu-estimate, the cider without any added sugar would have given you a gravity of about 1.045. One cup of sugar is what? about 7 oz? so 10 cups = 70 oz. Seventy oz is about 4.5 lbs which is less than 1 lb per gallon and so that would raise the gravity from 1.045 to about 1.080 (plus or minus) or to a potential ABV of about 10.5%. If you measure the gravity now you will see how much sugar is still unfermented (if fully fermented you'd expect the gravity to be below 1.000) and what the actual ABV is likely to be...(by subtracting the current gravity from the presumed (guestimated) OG and multiplying that result by 131)

 

[AMERCIDER]

All this gravity stuff is killing me. I just added a teaspoon of nutrient and a packet of pasture champagne it took 2 nights and a day for.fermentation to restart. Let's see.what happens