What happening in my cider?

[Samuel robi]

Cider has been brewing for a week now, checked it this morning and it looked like this, is it normal? This is a natural fermentation with no pectin enzymes added.

 

[Kickass]

It looks like it’s fermenting. You’re on your way to cider, congrats. Natural/spontaneous fermentation can be a roll of the dice. Those who get it right swear it’s worth it. Me, I pitch my desired yeast but that’s beside the point. Cheers and good luck!

 

[Samuel robi]

Thanks for your reply. I hope you are right, but I figured I might give a bit more context here just in case…
Few days after pressing my apples and put the juice in the carboy I could see that the fermentation process was going. Nice foam on top, airlock bubbling frequently..
But yesterday I’ve noticed those withe spots on the side (that’s what I was trying to show in the picture), and this morning those white spots have increased in number, and the airlock isn’t bubbling as much.

 

[Kickass]

All sounds perfectly normal. As fermentation begins to wrap up there’s less sugar being converted to alcohol and CO2 which is being reflected by less airlock activity. Additionally, yeast begins to flocculate (clump together and settle to the bottom). I think you’re seeing flocculating yeast hang up on contours and ridges inside your carboy.

 

[brewSJ]

That looks like yeast that's settled on the sides of the glass.. The gaps occur when a bubble knocks some of it back into the cider, giving it that mottled appearance. I've seen it before on my own ciders.

 

[Samuel robi]

Thanks for your reply, it gave me hope that I didn’t screw it up haha.

But now I might have another question…

It’s seems like the fermentation process kicked back full blast!! First time that it happened to me and I’m not sure what should I do about the airlock..
Should I take it of to wash it but would that be risking contamination? Should I take some liquid out of it, but it seems like it’s only gonna fil up again or leave it and let it over flow?

 

[Rish]

If you have tubing that will fit in the airlock hole of the stopper, sanitize it, replace the airlock with the tube and put the other end of the tube in a container of water or sanitizer to keep air from getting into the cider. It's called a blow off tube.

 

[Gary Call]

1- Did you thoroughly clean and sanitize your carboy? Some times yeast will bind to particles left from a previous fermentation left on the neck and sidewalls.
2- Check the flavor of your brew. If you are happy - "life is good"
3- Track the specific gravity of the brew, and keep an eye on the bubbler.
4- Clean and sterilize a food grade plastic "stir stick", agitate the brew to loosen the yeast and reincorporate it into the brew. Or, let it be.
If the taste and aroma remain pleasing, remember what you did and "do it again"
Peace