Have i missed something ?

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Jaffa91

New Cider Brewer
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
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Alright guys,


I attempted my first cider using the apple trees in my Garden, It's currently in the fermentation stages but I really don't think anything is happening, hence my thread.

Collected apples from my various trees
Rinsed them
Cut them and blended them
Added mix to Press

Got roughly 23 litres of Pure apple juice, I gave the juice a taste straight away and it did not taste strongly acidic, rather nice, so I am assuming that my apple trees are not all cookers, good variety added.

I let the juice sit for 1-2 hours in a fermentation bucket, siphoned it 2 times to remove any nasty bits and sediment missed by the straining bags.

Added some Pectolase to kill any nasty bacteria and left for 24 hours.

Gave it another mix and added the yeast, I assumed that the sheer amount of apples would have enough sugar for the fermentation to kick in.

Put the airlock onto the lid of the fermentation bucket with a dash of water, it's been roughly 4+ days now and apart from the scum on the inside of the bucket which is visible nothing else seems to be happening, no bubbling in the airlock, nothing.


Can anyone offer some advice on this situation as to whether I have missed anything or done something wrong.

I've added a few snaps as it was my first attempt, also a few of the mischievous family members being nosy!

Cheers

J

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Pretty much how I make mine (except I have 3 canine helpers!)

The pectolase will not kill any nasties. You would normally add sulphur dioxide (in the form of campden tablets) to inhibit any wild yeasts.
It could be that the lid to the fermenter is not seated correctly, and the CO2 is escaping that way rather than through the air lock.
A sure fire way to tell would be to check with an hydrometer...
 
Alright guys,


I attempted my first cider using the apple trees in my Garden, It's currently in the fermentation stages but I really don't think anything is happening, hence my thread.

Collected apples from my various trees
Rinsed them
Cut them and blended them
Added mix to Press

Got roughly 23 litres of Pure apple juice, I gave the juice a taste straight away and it did not taste strongly acidic, rather nice, so I am assuming that my apple trees are not all cookers, good variety added.

I let the juice sit for 1-2 hours in a fermentation bucket, siphoned it 2 times to remove any nasty bits and sediment missed by the straining bags.

Added some Pectolase to kill any nasty bacteria and left for 24 hours.

Gave it another mix and added the yeast, I assumed that the sheer amount of apples would have enough sugar for the fermentation to kick in.

Put the airlock onto the lid of the fermentation bucket with a dash of water, it's been roughly 4+ days now and apart from the scum on the inside of the bucket which is visible nothing else seems to be happening, no bubbling in the airlock, nothing.


Can anyone offer some advice on this situation as to whether I have missed anything or done something wrong.

I've added a few snaps as it was my first attempt, also a few of the mischievous family members being nosy!

Cheers

J

what yeast did you use + did you rehydrate it before adding it ?
 
Pretty much how I make mine (except I have 3 canine helpers!)

The pectolase will not kill any nasties. You would normally add sulphur dioxide (in the form of campden tablets) to inhibit any wild yeasts.
It could be that the lid to the fermenter is not seated correctly, and the CO2 is escaping that way rather than through the air lock.
A sure fire way to tell would be to check with an hydrometer...

I know I added one of those before fermantation started to avoid mould etc and one needs to be added after fermentation.

I checked the Lid, everything is tight and secure and the airlock is tight with the bung. I will take a reading with the hydrometer after 1 week just to see, it started on I think 1050, will have to go back to my notes to double check this.

Do you add any extra sugar at all personally ? I have plenty of apples left so would like to get another batch on the go once this one has been barrelled.

I also have Co2 bulbs that add onto the barrel top, never used these before so not sure what steps to take if everything goes well once it's fermented.

Thanks for taking your time to reply and advise.

cheers

J
 
Never add any extra sugar to mine - always comes out somewhere in the region of 6.5%.
Always worth adding a good yeast nutrient to get things off to a good start though...
 
I know I added one of those before fermantation started to avoid mould etc and one needs to be added after fermentation.

I checked the Lid, everything is tight and secure and the airlock is tight with the bung. I will take a reading with the hydrometer after 1 week just to see, it started on I think 1050, will have to go back to my notes to double check this.

Do you add any extra sugar at all personally ? I have plenty of apples left so would like to get another batch on the go once this one has been barrelled.

I also have Co2 bulbs that add onto the barrel top, never used these before so not sure what steps to take if everything goes well once it's fermented.

Thanks for taking your time to reply and advise.

cheers

J

Are you saying you added camden tablets just before adding the yeast? If so you'll have killed the yeast. You need to wait for a couple of days after adding camden tablets to allow the sulphur dioxide to dissipate before adding fresh yeast.
 
Are you saying you added camden tablets just before adding the yeast? If so you'll have killed the yeast. You need to wait for a couple of days after adding camden tablets to allow the sulphur dioxide to dissipate before adding fresh yeast.

Thanks for your reply. No i added Pectolase and then waited 24 hours before adding the yeast,I thought once fermentation was complete then I need to add the camden tablets ?

If the yeast is dead and fermentation is not taking place, is it simply a case of just adding another packet to kickstart fermentation ? it's been roughly 4-5 days since initially starting fermentation.

Sorry for the confusion, hope this clears things up a little.


Cheers

J
 
Never add any extra sugar to mine - always comes out somewhere in the region of 6.5%.
Always worth adding a good yeast nutrient to get things off to a good start though...

That's good to hear, I was a little concerned as to why the fermentation was not very active and thought it was down the the lack of added sugar.

Hydrometer was reading 1050 before starting fermentation, I shall give it a check tonight as its been a few days now and get back to you on the reading.

6.5% at what hydrometer reading were you getting at the end stages of fermentation ?


Appreciate your time

Cheers

J
 
That's good to hear, I was a little concerned as to why the fermentation was not very active and thought it was down the the lack of added sugar.

Hydrometer was reading 1050 before starting fermentation, I shall give it a check tonight as its been a few days now and get back to you on the reading.

6.5% at what hydrometer reading were you getting at the end stages of fermentation ?


Appreciate your time

Cheers

J

i personally dont like keep opening the lid if i dont need to - i only really would to add additional ingredients or i was trying to get a higher alcohol content i would add more sugar in stages to allow the yeast to get a higher tolerance hehe

quite a few on here use the 2-2-2 method

2 weeks fermenting
2 weeks in the warm
2 weeks in a cooler constant temp for conditioning
 
I use Young's cider yeast, always seems to perform well.
Final gravity reading is always 1.000 or lower - often down to .996ish...
 
i personally dont like keep opening the lid if i dont need to - i only really would to add additional ingredients or i was trying to get a higher alcohol content i would add more sugar in stages to allow the yeast to get a higher tolerance hehe

quite a few on here use the 2-2-2 method

2 weeks fermenting
2 weeks in the warm
2 weeks in a cooler constant temp for conditioning

Thanks for the info.
I will be fermenting for 2 weeks, I have checked the Hydrometer reading and it's looking very positive that it's doing it's thing.

Once fermentation finishes, I usually Siphon into another fermentation bucket and then siphone a second time to either bottles or barrel.

You mention you leave it in the warm for 2 weeks and then in a cool surrounding for 2 weeks, is this in bottles / barrels ?

Do you also add any further sugar before bottling/barrelling and do you use any Co2 bulbs to add a fizz ?

Apologies for picking your brains, hoping this one comes out nicely for my first attempt.

I use Young's cider yeast, always seems to perform well.
Final gravity reading is always 1.000 or lower - often down to .996ish...

Brilliant thanks for your response, gives me a guidance of what I am roughly expecting.

Also if you have any info on my reply to the above quote that would be great too.


Cheers all, you've been great.

J
 
Thanks for the info.
I will be fermenting for 2 weeks, I have checked the Hydrometer reading and it's looking very positive that it's doing it's thing.

Once fermentation finishes, I usually Siphon into another fermentation bucket and then siphone a second time to either bottles or barrel.

You mention you leave it in the warm for 2 weeks and then in a cool surrounding for 2 weeks, is this in bottles / barrels ?

Do you also add any further sugar before bottling/barrelling and do you use any Co2 bulbs to add a fizz ?

Apologies for picking your brains, hoping this one comes out nicely for my first attempt.



Brilliant thanks for your response, gives me a guidance of what I am roughly expecting.

Also if you have any info on my reply to the above quote that would be great too.


Cheers all, you've been great.

J

Same time conditioning for either bottles or a keg , I would bout 5 grams of sugar per litre roughly in a keg - but to be honest if you have a high tolerance yeast then add more hehe:twisted:
 
Same time conditioning for either bottles or a keg , I would bout 5 grams of sugar per litre roughly in a keg - but to be honest if you have a high tolerance yeast then add more hehe:twisted:

Thank you, You've all been a great help, learnt so much already on this thread.

I will post up the results in Brewdays once it's finished.

Fingers Crossed :thumb:
 
I added pectolase 24 hours before I started fermentation, but I'm now finding more sites stating that I needed to add Camden tablets before fermentation too.

Will this have a bad outcome on the final result ?

Regards

J
 
I added pectolase 24 hours before I started fermentation, but I'm now finding more sites stating that I needed to add Camden tablets before fermentation too.

Will this have a bad outcome on the final result ?

Regards

J

Probably not - just be positive :)

This is going to come out all right - have faith :grin:
 
I added pectolase 24 hours before I started fermentation, but I'm now finding more sites stating that I needed to add Camden tablets before fermentation too.

Will this have a bad outcome on the final result ?

Regards

J
Adding campden tablets before fermentation releases sulphur dioxide which supresses the wild yeasts for a short period (about 24 hours), giving your introduced yeasts a better fighting chance...

I've made perfectly good cider many times without using them.
 
Probably not - just be positive :)

This is going to come out all right - have faith :grin:

I have a little faith, I'd be over the moon if my first batch turned out good :) which means I'll be straight out in the garden again collecting more apples for the next batch and i may even add some blackberries for something different.

Adding campden tablets before fermentation releases sulphur dioxide which supresses the wild yeasts for a short period (about 24 hours), giving your introduced yeasts a better fighting chance...

I've made perfectly good cider many times without using them.

That's relaxed me a little, I was starting to get worried when I kept reading it.


On a learning note though, I should usually add the Pectolase AND the camden tablets 24 hours before fermentation correct ? and then hydrate the dried yeast and add it.

Cheers all

Regards

J
 
I have a little faith, I'd be over the moon if my first batch turned out good :) which means I'll be straight out in the garden again collecting more apples for the next batch and i may even add some blackberries for something different.



That's relaxed me a little, I was starting to get worried when I kept reading it.


On a learning note though, I should usually add the Pectolase AND the camden tablets 24 hours before fermentation correct ? and then hydrate the dried yeast and add it.

Cheers all

Regards

J

i have never had the pleasure of making cider with apples before - closest was making fiery ginger beer and that involved boiling a few ingredients for some time - most likely to kill off the wild yeast - which i presume the campden tablet will do- that or stunt it giving your beasties a chance to get to action
 
On a learning note though, I should usually add the Pectolase AND the camden tablets 24 hours before fermentation correct ? and then hydrate the dried yeast and add it.


I don't add pectolase or bother to re-hydrate the yeast.
Just press the apples, add one crushed campden tablet per gallon.
After 24(ish) hours I sprinkle on one sachet of Young's cider yeast, then leave it to get on with it!

Hope this helps...
 
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