Yeast stopping?

[Bh750]

Hi all,

Newbie brewer and first time poster here on the forum. My wife got me a home brew cider kit for Christmas and here I am! Actually I knew the limited instructions on the box weren't enough and I just had to figure out how to do it "right". So have been spending a lot of time researching online.

Anyway here's where I am and where I need some guidance...


- purchased some pasteurized apple cider from Whole Foods. No preservatives. Real stuff. I have a refractometer that I use to measure salinity for a saltwater fish tank. and it measured way up above 1.070 SG

- sterilized everything.

- poured Gallon of cider into a sterilized 1 gallon carboy

- added some pectin enzyme and let sit for an hour

- pitched it with Nottingham Ale yeast. (Per instructions primed it by putting it in warm water ahead of time). I put much more than i needed. Heard that's ok to do

- stopped it with an airlock

The next day it was bubbling really well. Over the next few weeks I'd check the SG every night. Bubbling like crazy and SG dropping steadily.

But after say 3 weeks it slowed. SG was at 1.030 No I'm almost at the 4 week mark and the SG is at 1.029. It's barel moved in a week.

So is this normal? I thought my goal should be right around 1.000 or so? I'm planning to "back carbonate" it once it's done.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: after posting doing some reading here and found that using a refractometer might be a bit tricky. I updated my post above to call out that I'm using a refractometer and not a hydrometer.

 

[Drewed]

A refractometer's readings become skewed in the presence of alcohols. There are many on-line calculators that factor this in. I use the Norther Brewer as they are my local brew store, but there may be easier ones to use.

 

[Bh750]

Wow thanks. I just did some reading based on your comments. Seems like I have to determine my correction factor to really know the SG. And to do that really seems like a ton of work!! Oh boy. I thought having this refractometer was gonna make things simpler

Until I can get multiple samples of wort (recommended 30!!) if thinking I should just measure the SG to determine when it stops dropping maybe???

 

[Yooper]

Wow thanks. I just did some reading based on your comments. Seems like I have to determine my correction factor to really know the SG. And to do that really seems like a ton of work!! Oh boy. I thought having this refractometer was gonna make things simpler

Until I can get multiple samples of wort (recommended 30!!) if thinking I should just measure the SG to determine when it stops dropping maybe???

Yes. A hydrometer is about $5 and would be perfect and more useful than any refractometer though.

 

[Bh750]

Yes. A hydrometer is about $5 and would be perfect and more useful than any refractometer though.

Ok great. Had no idea!

So two more questions.

First I actually have two simple hydrometers used for my saltwater tank. Plastic with plastic arms. Can I use?

Second it obviously takes a lot more cider than a few drops to measure. I think I should only measure sparingly otherwise I won't have any brew left! How often?

 

[Kyle05STi]

Ok great. Had no idea!

So two more questions.

First I actually have two simple hydrometers used for my saltwater tank. Plastic with plastic arms. Can I use?

Second it obviously takes a lot more cider than a few drops to measure. I think I should only measure sparingly otherwise I won't have any brew left! How often?

I'd recommend a glass hydrometer, as Yooper said they're only about $5-6 at your local home brew store. Glass is easier to sanitize as any scratches in plastic could harbor bacteria. Also, the hydrometers at your local HBS will be calibrated/scaled in a way that makes sense for brewing/fermenting (technically cider is fermented from must, not brewed from wort).

I use a wine thief ($7-9) to take gravity readings - the hydrometer fits in it and as long as the thief and the hydrometer are sterilized there's no issue with draining the contents back into the vessel from where they came, that way you're not robbing from your finished product/increasing headspace. I usually will leave an oz or so in the thief and drain it into a glass to sample it and make sure the taste is coming along.

 

[Bh750]

I'd recommend a glass hydrometer, as Yooper said they're only about $5-6 at your local home brew store. Glass is easier to sanitize as any scratches in plastic could harbor bacteria. Also, the hydrometers at your local HBS will be calibrated/scaled in a way that makes sense for brewing/fermenting (technically cider is fermented from must, not brewed from wort).

I use a wine thief ($7-9) to take gravity readings - the hydrometer fits in it and as long as the thief and the hydrometer are sterilized there's no issue with draining the contents back into the vessel from where they came, that way you're not robbing from your finished product/increasing headspace. I usually will leave an oz or so in the thief and drain it into a glass to sample it and make sure the taste is coming along.

thanks. that was my next question -- with only a 1 gallon brew right now how do test for SG without losing half a bottle of brew? so its ok to dump it back in if both the hydrometer and thief are sterilized??

 

[Maylar]

Yes. Pour it back in.