Yadirmct (Yet Another Did I...)

[dcrookston]

Yet Another Did I Ruin My Cider Thread

So last night I moved my cider from primary to secondary. Prior to using any of the equipment I let it sit in star-san for a bit over two minutes, then took it out and set it in the (just finished running) dishwasher to let it drip dry. Well... I had quite a bit of foam in the equipment (both in the carboy and in the siphon) that didn't clear out, so I just went ahead and racked it anyway. Afterward I added some brown sugar (boiled, with water, then poured into the carboy using a sanitized measuring cup) to the secondary container. It's almost 12 hours later and I see *zero* sign of fermentation, so I'm worried that I might have killed the yeast in there, either by adding near-boiling brown sugar syrup, or by leaving too much star-san (in the form of foam) in my equipment. That said, when I pick up the bottle and swirl it I do get some glug-glugs in the airlock, but I don't see any visible bubbles.

Should I just bottle it now before it turns to vinegar? Or am I freaking out way too soon, and really I just need to sit back, relax and have a homebrew? (I forget what the acronym for that is )

 

[LeBreton]

Chill out. 12 hrs is not enough time.

 

[Alchemy]

Check the gravity over the course of a day or two. How close was it to finished when you racked it? The bowling water could have killed the yeast, it only takes about a minute or two at 160 degrees from what I understand...you might have pasteurized it.

 

[GinKings]

The foam is fine and adding a small volume of hot sugar /water should kill minimal yeast.

What is your reason for adding brown sugar? If it's part of the recipe, you should've put it in primary. If it's backsweetening or priming sugar, you added it too early because it will just ferment in secondary.

 

[dcrookston]

What is your reason for adding brown sugar? If it's part of the recipe, you should've put it in primary. If it's backsweetening or priming sugar, you added it too early because it will just ferment in secondary.

I figured there would be a lot of headspace at the top of the carboy, and I didn't want to have oxygen sitting in there to potentially turn my cider into vinegar. So I thought, what the hell - add some more sugar, they'll ferment it and the CO2 will drive out the O2 - plus I'll have a prettier color.

I'm thinking about waiting until the fermenting gets going a little bit, then bottling it. Then a day or so later I'll pasteurize the bottles. I guess I could have added the sugar just prior to bottling (or do you put the sugar in the bottle itself, then add cider?) but this seemed easier.

This is my first batch ever, btw. If I don't notice any fermentation soon, I'll probably just bottle and pasteurize it and call it good. It can sit for a few months to mellow while I try another batch

Edited to add: 24 hours later and the jug is COMPLETELY still. No bubbles, swirling gives no glugs, no nothing. Looks like I've got some sweet, still cider in the basement just waiting to be bottled. Ahh well, not the worst thing to happen - I could have made vinegar on accident.

Also - how exactly does one check the SG? I know you use a device to measure it, and the use of such a device is not what I'm asking about. I'm wondering how you get the liquid out of the carboy in the first place, and (once you measure it) whether you replace it, or if you consider it contaminated at that point and just dispose of / drink it. Or do you just leave the measuring-thing (it's a hygrometer, right?) in the carboy while it's fermenting?

 

[Alchemy]

Also - how exactly does one check the SG? I know you use a device to measure it, and the use of such a device is not what I'm asking about. I'm wondering how you get the liquid out of the carboy in the first place, and (once you measure it) whether you replace it, or if you consider it contaminated at that point and just dispose of / drink it. Or do you just leave the measuring-thing (it's a hygrometer, right?) in the carboy while it's fermenting?

There are a few ways of taking out the liquid to measure SG, a lot of people use a wine thief http://www.amazon.com/Fermtech-Wine-Thief/dp/B0064O93RC

You basically just dip it in and pull it out and you can either put your hydrometer in there or you can transfer the liquid from the wine thief to a cylinder for hydrometer testing by pressing the little nozzle at the bottom to the side of the container and it will drain out.

Personally i use a wine thief for my 5 gallon or more batches but find it overkill for my smaller 1 gallon test batches so for those i use a turkey baster! It usually takes out just the amount i need.

Some people also use a refractometer to measure SG and that requires a much smaller amount of liquid to test. Just a drop works but a good refractometer can be expensive.

 

[kurtism]

this is all about gravity....what was the OG, the SG at racking, the SG after the sugar addition and the SG today. That will guide you. If your primary fermenation reached near the FG you want for your cider...bottling now isn't a bad idea but it will be sweeter than you expected because of the extra sugar added. If the SG has not moved from when added the sugar to the secondary in 48 hrs, i'd say you killed the yeast. its does seem unlikely, but possible. star san shouldn't have harmed the yeast if mixed properly...the right dilution is key.

if you can't get a wine thief at your LHBS and don't want to wait for one from amazon, just get a dedicated turkey baster as suggested above and sanitize it well. that said, i personally drink the sample from my hydrometer tube...i never return it to the fermenter. i know alot of people that use a wine thief return the sample to the bucket but i don't do that, i was told sampling is really one of the best ways to learn about tastes/aging/etc, so that's what i do.

 

[divi2323]

Ever consider pitching more yeast? Another pack tossed in at room temp might rekick it in the pants.

 

[buffalo]

Ever consider pitching more yeast? Another pack tossed in at room temp might rekick it in the pants.

This is what i was thinking,it could very well work.

 

[Tw0fish]

definitely been like a month and a half. if you dont see any activity, now's the time to repitch.