first turbo

[brewmiesterrodd]

OK so i just started my first t.b and well a bit of a boob i think? i have two hydrometers one old and plastic one new and glass.
i put the juice into the demijohn the first one to hand was the plastic one so i used it and it read 1020 not enough i thought so i added sugar and tested it again no different so i added more sugar again no different so i got the glass one out to check and it read 1052 will this be OK and what can i expect it to finish at? or have i just muffed the whole thing up? also will it turn out sweet or dry i am using champagne yeast and i put a bit of nutrient in as i thought it may be too much for the yeast alone :wha: filed plastic one under B best i think

 

[Moley]

With Champagne yeast that should go dry, I would guess around .994, so around 8% abv :party:

You can always sweeten when you bottle with an artificial like Splenda, or with sugar or a splash of lemonade when you come to drink it :

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

what would be a good yeast to use to give me a medium cider but keep a good srength?

 

[tubby_shaw]

what would be a good yeast to use to give me a medium cider but keep a good srength?

CLICKY

 

[Moley]

A Cider yeast, I would assume.

I'm no expert on TC, so I'm sure someone else will advise.
Just ‘Previewed Post’ and see that T_S already has :lol:

I've only done one batch, a few months ago, and it was ok-ish, but I've got another which is just about ready for bottling (well, Lidl had apple juice on offer, 33p a litre, so I had to give it another try).

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

i haven't a clue how long this t.c takes but i started it yesterday and now its going like the clappers cant wait to try it though :

 

[tubby_shaw]

Can take as little as a week from chucking the yeast in, to drinking if you like still cider

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

wicked will keep you posted :drink:

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

yesterday turbo living up to its name uncontrollably fast this morning one bubble every 5 secons or so from the airlock is this normal? or am i being paranoid :wha:

 

[Moley]

this morning one bubble every 5 seconds or so from the airlock is this normal?

Quite normal, perhaps just a tad on the slow side, or do you mean it was going even faster yesterday?

Ignore anything I may have said previously, I obviously know nothing, my own TC seems to have finished at 1.002, I racked it to a couple of DJs last night and it's starting to clear. This morning, no airlock activity whatsoever.

And when I check my notes back to my first TC in April, that finished at 1.002 too.

I know my Harris GP “SuperYeast” will ferment to 18% abv and take almost any wine down to .992, so I'm somewhat curious about this.

 

[tubby_shaw]

I know my Harris GP “SuperYeast” will ferment to 18% abv and take almost any wine down to .992, so I'm somewhat curious about this.

But as a skilled winemaker Moley, you will provide your "Superyeast" with the correct balance of sugars, acid and nutrients to allow it ferment up to 18% and down to .992 :thumb:
As dodgy Turbo Cider makers we are providing a low nutrient, low acid, apple flavoured sugar solution. No wonder the yeast doesn't perform as well as you'd expect

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

yesterday i was getting maybe 3-4 bubbles per second almost a constant rush of gas today very slow i did add half a teaspoon of nutrient and a quater of citric and half tannin for body when i started it will this affect it? :wha:

 

[tubby_shaw]

yesterday i was getting maybe 3-4 bubbles per second almost a constant rush of gas today very slow i did add half a teaspoon of nutrient and a quater of citric and half tannin for body when i started it will this affect it? :wha:

Yes, the nutrient and acid have made the yeast work more efficiently, this will give you a drier more alcoholic cider with less flavour.

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

took a reading with the hydometer last night and it has gone from o.g 1052 to 1000 in two days is this right?

 

[Aleman]

took a reading with the hydometer last night and it has gone from o.g 1052 to 1000 in two days is this right?

Not unknown, in warm conditions yeast can ferment quite quickly . . . problem is you still need to leave it alone for the full fermentation time of 7-10 days to allow it to clean up after itself

 

[brewmiesterrodd]

yeah no plans to bottle until its clear besides its still going just very slowly how long does it need to condition in the bottle? :

 

[corby_brewer]

I drank a couple of pints of mine b4 it even touched the bottle. I think its ready to drink as soon as its clear. :

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Mine's got a hydrometer reading a touch above 1.000 (I just dropped it into the FV, couldn't really see as there's still a bit of foam around the surface and was looking at it from an angle too, but was only trying to get a vague picture of how far it has left)

It's still fermenting slowly, but could I transfer it now to my 5 gallon pressure barrel and let it clear in that? I'm hoping for a sparkling cider, but I don't know much a) about cider making and b) about sparkling brews. Will it be okay to put it in the pressure barrel before it's finished fermenting rather than wait till it ferments out and prime the PB to carbonate?

I understand it may not give quite as high an alcohol yield, but I've little problem with that this time round.

 

[Wez]

If you put it into a keg slightly before fermentation is finished it will prime the keg, they type of keg you are using will determine if you get a sparkle or not, the King Keg type plastic barrels can only handle enough pressure to give it a beer like "life" not sparkle. Cornie kegs will allow you to pressure more and maybe give you what you are after.

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

When you say "can only handle" you don't mean the plastic keg is likely to explode, do you?

Never experienced this exploding malarky myself, so I'm getting more and more cautious of it as I hear more about it!

But a bit of beer-like 'life' will do me fine, ta! I may transfer it this evening. :)