Cider storage questions

[Dysonno1]

Hi there

Im on my first cider brew and Im planning to leave the brew in the primary for a good few days after fermantation has finished to give the yeast time to settle & clean up.. I then plan to rack into a secondary and leave for another week or 2 before bottling.

First question is will I need to put an airlock onto the secondary for this storage period or should I just seal it tight?

Second is how long can the cider stay in the secondary before bottling and will this effect/harm the yeast as I want to prime the bottles for carbonation?

Thanks

 

[31bb3]

No need to have an airlock on the second fv however be careful if you let the yeast drop out in the first fv and then transfer into the secondary for 2 weeks there won't be any yeast in suspension to activate when you bottle and prime

 

[Dysonno1]

Thanks... How would I ensure that the yeast didnt drop out and stayed in suspension? Would I be best not leaving it for too long in the primary once fermentation had stoooed or would it be better to just bottle it straight away?

Or would the cider benefit from 24 hours in a secondary to help it clear?

 

[31bb3]

I'd let it ferment out rack it off into another fv so it's off most of the sediment then leave it probably a couple of days at most for some more to settle then bottle

 

[alanywiseman.]

I have 40L of cider that has been in the secondary for the last 5-6 months for ML fermentation. As the cider is not that strong the yeast should still be viable so when transfering to the bottling bucket I will stir up a bit of the sedement to I can carbonate in the bottle.

 

[graysalchemy]

I had one in secondary for 10 months before bottling. It also carbonated a treat with out any yeast addition in the bottle. :thumb: