Issues with turbo cider

[matth]

I decided yesterday to have a go at turbocider having never brewed before (got a mini micro brewery on the build), and i'm affraid i am not great at following instructions so please let me know if i have b*ggered it up.
My main issue is that it does not appear to be bubbling.

Basically all i have done is put 18 litres of sainsburys from concentrate apple juice into my FV with attached airlock, added around 170gm sugar (light brown) 1 pkt 6gm champagne yeast (the packet stated sufficient for 23 ltrs).

the temerature pf the wart when i took the reading was 17 degrees c and it read 1056 on my hydrometer. I then just sprinkled the yeast on

Is the wort too cold for the yeast to work, i did put the FV next to the oven while i cooked my dinner, and also put it next to the radiator (which isnt on very often) in the spare room wrapped in a sleeping bag.
I retrned to it this morning and it didn't look like any foam on top and the air lock doesn't appear to be bubbling.

What is it that i have done wrong and is there anything i can do to rectify it before i have to chuck the lot out.

Thanks.
matt

 

[gilgamesh]

Don't throw it! :shock:
Given that it is a large volume it will take a long time to warm up anyway. Some champagne yeast (for example Gervin Yeast - No. 2) suggests it will ferment down at 17 degrees C but I would have thought that this would be very slow. I would suggest you move it to a warmer place and give it time, today is far too early to worry. Some of my wines have taken days to show signs of activity. Give it a few days and if there are no bubbles, listen to the vessle and see if there is a fizzing noise. Finally I would check it with your hydrometer. It may have moved down anyway without troubling the airlock due to a leak.

Good luck

 

[matth]

Great thanks,
Like i say this is my first time brewing so i don't really know what to expect, at the moment the 18 ltrs is in a vessell thats about 26 litrs or so big, but it has a small screw on cap - this would be difficult to get hydrometer reading from. whould there be less bubling if there is a large amount of empty space at the top of the FV?. I didn't use yeast nutrient as i read somewhere that the packet yeast already contains it - is this correct? I will leave it next to the radiator then and see what happens - if nowt happens is there a rescue method? sorry for sounding a bit paranoid

Thanks
Matt

 

[matth]

Also - will i be ok putting this in to standard real ale type bottles - quite thick ones (like the old cains ones and 3 bees) - should i prime it a little if i have used champagne yeast?

Thanks again
Matt

 

[matth]

Hi all, as i have been trawling round the forum i've read about champagne yeast being quite highly carbonated, and priming causing bottle bombs (but not both together) - i would like to bottle condition the tc but am quite paranoid about bottle bombs, should i bottle it with crown caps without priming or should i prime it?

Thanks
Matt

 

[gsidford]

Hi all, as i have been trawling round the forum i've read about champagne yeast being quite highly carbonated, and priming causing bottle bombs (but not both together) - i would like to bottle condition the tc but am quite paranoid about bottle bombs, should i bottle it with crown caps without priming or should i prime it?

Thanks
Matt

Why not use PET bottles such as used for ginger beer/coke etc, I used these for my Fiery Ginger Beer after I used champagne yeast and primed. There was a lot of pressure attested by how hard these bottles got but no problem containing it. I certainly would not like to play with glass with these pressures.

As an aside, I have used these bottles for water bottle rockets which I have pressure tested to 100psi without any failures.

 

[matth]

Hi Thanks,
I guess thats the way to go - the only thing is that i have been saving galss bottles for ages and have loads - plastic on the other hand, i have none - which i'm fine buying, probably just a bit of snobbery, but i always felt that drinbksd in glass are better. I was just wondering about priming, is it necessary and if i didn't would there still be a gass bulild up - or if i completely stopped the fermentation with a campden tablet would there be no carbonation whatsoever in the bottle and would it not last as long bottled - sorry if it sounds garbled -its just something i have not got my head around yet.

Thanks
Matt

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Hi Matt,
When I do TC I use Young's cider yeast, it ferments well, clears quick and never had any problems carbonating in glass bottles. :thumb:

BB

 

[Aleman]

Hi all, as i have been trawling round the forum i've read about champagne yeast being quite highly carbonated, and priming causing bottle bombs

Yeast is not highly carbonated . . . that only applies to beverages

The degree to which a beverage becomes carbonated depends on the amount of sugar present in the beverage when it is bottled. If you bottle too early (primary fermentation not finished) then you could end up with bottle bombs . . .on the other hands it may just be over carbonated, and gush everywhere whenever opened.

The advice is to wait until you have the same hydrometer reading for 3 days . . . which indicates fermentation has ceased, it is then safe to transfer to bottles together with a precise amount of sugar (1/2 tsp per bottle). which will generate the condition in the beverage.

 

[matth]

Great thanks, that has set my mind at ease.

Cheers
Matt

 

[matth]

Got my 3rd TC on the go yesterday. First one was really quite good - i made 23 litres and drank most of it quite quickly, but stashed some bottles away for a couple of months and the difference ageing made was quite astonishing, and my second attempt was a gallon of ginger TC -which i over sweetened with splendour so was a bit of a disappointment, and not very gingery just a bit of heat - however after leaving that for a few months that also improved.

I realise its not really turbo if you leave it to age but it is definitely worth it.

So my 3rd batch i wanted to have an improved fuller taste, started with 26 ltrs of apple juice (read somewhere that real cider is best if you get as many different varieties of apple as you can - so i bought different apple juices instead) Aldi rio doro, Morrisons Value, Sainburys normal apple juice, sainsburys basics.
One bramley blended (not sure if one will make any difference to 26 ltrs)
2 cups of strong tea,
350 grams Honey (didn't want to over do the honey, but did want a hint),
150grams golden caster sugar,
1 pkt champagne yeast (so far i prefer the resulting dryness of champagne yeast to wine yeast, but not tried any others)

I boiled the blended bramley in 1 litre of apple juice in the hope it would give off a bit more flavour, but it smelt quite apple pieish - also dissolved the honey in it.

My intentions is not to drink it until at least July if i can help it.

Just one question - i have since spotted some elderflowers growing, although they don't seem to be particularly fragrant at the moment. would it be worth chucking some of these in? I have made elderflower champagne in the past but i hardly sterilised anything and it turned out ok - having sterilised all my TC equipment i wouldn't want to compromise my brew by chucking a few flowers with bacteria on - any advise much appreciated.

I also read somewhere that a few rose petals can help in adding flavour - i have some rose water that i got from Morocco and it needs using up does anyone know if a bit of that would have a similar effect?

Thanks

 

[HLA91]

Well you could but I would soak the elderflowers in either water with a campden tablet in or sodium metabisulphate I cant remember which one for sanitising ingredients. A more experienced member will be able to tell you which one.

I dont see why not what harm could it do?
Personally I would go for elder & apple, before rose & apple.

 

[matth]

Cheers, i have some campden tablets, but no sodium metabisulphate - so may give that a go and see what happens, don't want it to be particularly noticeable as elderflower, just a note to improve the overall flavour, just don't want 26 ltrs of nastiness. also don't want any of the campden stuff to harm my fermentation.

Cheers

 

[oldbloke]

Cheers, i have some campden tablets, but no sodium metabisulphate

Campden tablets ARE sodium metabisulphite.

Unless they're potassium metabisulphite, of course.
Works the same, anyway.

More of a wild yeast(etc) killer than a full sanitiser, but good enough if you don't have any other sanitising compounds.

 

[HLA91]

Ahh ok I get it know, wurzel suggested it for sanitising apples so I assumed you could use it for elderflower as well. According to this post here its 8campdens to a pint or 1tsp of sodium metabisulphite and you can get it for £4.14 for 250g on ebay here

 

[SamWise72]

Campden only stuns yeasties, and is gone after 24 hrs, so you could rinse them with that, and add the next day. I'm planning elderflower cider; gonna brew a biggish batch of TC, then "dry hop" it with a big bag of elderflowers for24-48 hours. I want a really pronounced flavour and aroma.

 

[matth]

Great thanks
sorry for the delay i replying keep forgetting my password. I think i'll follow the 'dry hopping' approach, but not over flavour, just a hint. Theres not going to be anything in the elderfloweres that is going to restart fermentation is there? just don't want bottle bombs as i am planning on ageing it for a couple of months.

Also has anyone tried raisins? any good?
Cheers

 

[HLA91]

I have a batch of TC with 250g of sultanas in on the go now. Should be finished by the time I get home Friday and will probably bottle next week depending on how long it takes to clear, I will let you know what its like.

 

[matth]

Ace, have been fermenting now for nearly a week still bubbling away, but am tempted to chuck some raisins or sultanas in and see what happens. Do you need to boil them?
Cheers

 

[HLA91]

They are usually covered in a vegetable oil so I soak mine in boiling water for an hour or two then rinse once and off you go.