Help-whats next!!

[joetilley]

We managed to fill a 5 gallon tank with pure apple juice this weekend. Currently I have left it in the shed wrapped in a sleeping blanket with the airlock on. I also added a packet of yeast. It is not bubbling yet. Have I done the right thing??

 

[tubthumper]

so long as the bucket was sterilised/sanitised you have done correctly
now you just need to wait

 

[joetilley]

We cleaned the bucket with boiling water. This good enough?

How long should it take before we start seeing some action. How long should i leave it for. Until it stops fermenting and bubbling?

 

It can some times take up to 48 hrs for signs of activity to show.
Once started it is normally finished in about 10 days.

 

[joetilley]

How do I know when it is done? Should I not open it until 10 days? Do I need to add anything else. Do I bottle it after 10 days. Do campden powder needed to be added?

 

[Aleman]

A Traditional cider normally takes about 5-7 days to ferment (vigorous activity) . . . it then sits in the shed in the cold doing nothing over winter . . . . and then in spring a second fermentation takes place (The malolactic fermentation) which is short lived . . .before bottling takes place. . . I do know cider makers that do this


Personally I would give it 14 days and see what the gravity is . . . it should be below 1.000 . . . usual rule applies three stable readings in a row mean it's finished, and it's safe to bottle.

 

A Traditional cider normally takes about 5-7 days to ferment (vigorous activity) . . . it then sits in the shed in the cold doing nothing over winter . . . . and then in spring a second fermentation takes place (The malolactic fermentation) which is short lived . . .before bottling takes place. . . I do know cider makers that do this

You are a little mine of information!
Does this mean it sits on the "lees" all winter without adverse effects?

 

[Aleman]

A Traditional cider normally takes about 5-7 days to ferment (vigorous activity) . . . it then sits in the shed in the cold doing nothing over winter . . . . and then in spring a second fermentation takes place (The malolactic fermentation) which is short lived . . .before bottling takes place. . . I do know cider makers that do this

You are a little mine of information!

Cheers Homebrew Cider making weekend in Somerset. . . .Pick the apples . . . Crush the Apples . . . Press the apples . . . Let the juice ferment over winter . . . . drink the cider

Does this mean it sits on the "lees" all winter without adverse effects?

Yep . . . . Must admit that while I have never been brave enough to do it, I know several cider makers that have . . . and it produces a dry cider that is much more mellow than the same one a couple of months earlier.

 

[joetilley]

What temperature should the bru be kept at??

 

[joetilley]

Is 15 deg or garage temperature ok in this weather. Not sure if i need to bring it inside.

 

If it's fermenting at what ever temp you have it at, then it's ok.

 

[phoenix68]

It might not fully ferment out if below 18c or above 21c are the optimum, think i would bring it inside if it got as cold as that.

Cheers Graham.

 

[joetilley]

its bubbling away nicely now. So guess should leave it? Should i have added campden powder or will this be at the end??

 

At the moment your brew is being looked after by the CO2 generated by the ferment.
When the ferment is over, the now nonexistant CO2 needs to be replaced.
This is done by adding 1 Campden tablet per 4.5 ltrs, this = 50 ppm SO2.
No real point if you're not bottling!

 

[joetilley]

There seems to be so many conflicting answers. So do I add campden powder before bottling after fermentation has stopped let's say 10 days. Its all very confusing to a newby. Currently I have 5.5 gallons bubbling away nicely. Really don't want to spoil this. So what do I do after fermentation or the bubbling stops.

 

After fermentation has finished I add 1 CT and 1 tsp of pectolas per gallon, I then bottle, Keg or both!
I also sweeten with "Splenda" at the same time.

 

[joetilley]

How much is 1 campden tablet in powder format? Whats the other thing you add. How long do you leave fermentation process??

Thanks

 

[Aleman]

10g of powder dissolved in 1L of water . . . 5ml of of that solution = 1 Tablet