NEED HELP! Don't know what I'm doing - CIDER in danger

[Charles Daniels]

A bit panicky as I have no clue what to do here.
Simple problem really, but I've never tried homebrew before at all.

I have two plastic demijohns and I followed all the steps I had.

So I think it's all sorted as far as the amount of yeast, campden tablets, etc

However, I noticed at the very last minute that the plastic demijohns I bought didn't come with bungs or airlocks or anything.

So there was this exposed pink open plug hole on top of the demijohn lids.

Now, I'm really a novice and I didn't know what to do.
This was yesterday (Saturday) afternoon.
The shop I got the demijohns from won't be open again until Wednesday.

So I needed to work out what to do with this big hole.
I thought having it fully exposed to air was bad.
And I thought having the CO2 build up would be bad

I placed some brown tape over the lid. But I'm worried I might have done too good a job of that, and maybe nothing can get in or out?

The cider doesn't seem to be doing anything right now.
So, I need to figure out what I can do with the materials on hand until Wednesday.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[stephent]

borrow airlock and bungs from someone locally.

Where abouts are you?

 

[Charles Daniels]

borrow airlock and bungs from someone locally.

Where abouts are you?

I was lucky and able to get in touch with a colleague who does homebrew beer

He told me that for the first few days all that matters is that you keep flies and bacteria out.

So he told me to place some cling film over the top and secure it with rubber bands.

Then in a few days I can get an airlock.

I'm in Oxford by the way!

Thanks for the reply!

I'm rather nervous about having gallons of vinegar! :)

 

[Moley]

Loosely plug it with cotton wool, it'll be fine for a few days :thumb:

PS: have you got a branch of Wilkinson's nearby? They open on Sundays and sell airlocks and bungs.

 

[Charles Daniels]

Loosely plug it with cotton wool, it'll be fine for a few days :thumb:

Cheers!
Will do!

PS: have you got a branch of Wilkinson's nearby? They open on Sundays and sell airlocks and bungs.

There is one, but they don't seem to have any homebrew kit in stock there.
I asked one of the shop assistants and they looked entirely baffled.

It's not a very big one. So that probably explains it.

 

[Charles Daniels]

Okay here's a simple question -

I have two one gallon demijohns on the go.
I put in cider yeast, and added yeast nutrient, but I also added in one crushed campden tablet into each of the demijohns.

At the moment it looks like apple juice, with a bunch of sediment in it.

I'm keeping it for now in a cupboard inside my kitchen.

When should this thing start looking like there's some serious action going on?
Like when should I start seeing foam or something?

Just very curious how this is going to develop.

 

[Moley]

I put in cider yeast, and added yeast nutrient, but I also added in one crushed campden tablet into each of the demijohns.

Why?

Is this Turbo Cider, or what?

You might be needing more yeast when you visit your homebrew shop.
Campden tablets stun yeasts and guard against infection.
Fermentation is a type of infection which we find very useful. :
Campden tablets aren't selective.
If you use CTs in a must, yeast usually gets pitched the next day.

 

[Charles Daniels]

I put in cider yeast, and added yeast nutrient, but I also added in one crushed campden tablet into each of the demijohns.

Why?

I read you might get undesireable mold or other problems if you didn't add the campden tablet.
And that while the campden tablet might slow down fermentation, it wouldn't be a big deal in the long run.

Is that wrong?

Is this Turbo Cider, or what?

I'll have to look up what Turbo Cider is.
This is just fresh pressed apple juice from a farmer.
I haven't added sugar or anything.

You might be needing more yeast when you visit your homebrew shop.

The yeast they had was very cheap, so I bought loads.

Campden tablets stun yeasts and guard against infection.
Fermentation is a type of infection which we find very useful. :
Campden tablets aren't selective.
If you use CTs in a must, yeast usually gets pitched the next day.

Oh I see.

So do you think I killed off the yeast?
How long should I wait to see if anything happens?

 

[Moley]

Sorry for the delay in replying, I only just logged on again.

Fresh pressed juice from the farmer, adding campdens is probably a good idea :thumb:

Pitching yeast at the same time is not such a great idea, give it 24-36 hours and pitch some more if nothing much appears to be happening.

 

[Charles Daniels]

Sorry for the delay in replying, I only just logged on again.

Fresh pressed juice from the farmer, adding campdens is probably a good idea :thumb:

Pitching yeast at the same time is not such a great idea, give it 24-36 hours and pitch some more if nothing much appears to be happening.

Sure thing!
Will do!

Yeah at the moment I see no change at all. It seems all the yeast has sunk down with the sediment and it's all just sitting there.

Thanks for your helpful advice again! :)

 

[Charles Daniels]

Just checked, one of them has a very thin layer of foam on top! YAY!

 

[Charles Daniels]

dude, depending on how much cider you made, you might want to just start all over. might have a funny taste. when i make cider, i put about 2 pounds of brown sugar for every 3 gallons (which always gets me excited to see so much action) because the yeast have more to consume, so more alcohol. it constantly bubbles for days. just try it again without using a tablet except when you are trying to get your yeast out of the hooch. Also, about your airlock i don't even use brew shop ones, i just poke a hole in the lid of your container and run plastic tubing into a beer bottle with water in it. or a balloon or a condom with a little hole poked in the top.
Hope i helped in some way.

thanks! yeah i think i'll just go for broke with this first batch.
if it tastes freaky or i go blind, then i'll just apply what i learned to my next batch.

better to go through the whole process so i can make every first timer mistake now and up front.
like the sound of the set up you describe!

 

[Charles Daniels]

Just had another quick look at them, one is definitely doing something, the colour has changed and there's a bit of foam on top.
The other is bubbling away quite dramatically!

 

[Charles Daniels]

cool beans! if they're still active then put the airlock on and let em sit for a week or too. you can get that tubing from alot of places like hardware stores and pet stores

Cool yeah, there's a homewares shop that definitely sells the tubing. I'll get some.

This afternoon I took out the cotton that I'd jammed into the gromits and replace them with airlocks.
I thought "Well, the DJs don't look too active. I HOPE it's actually doing something." And walked off.

I just walked by and the airlocks are literally SHOOTING water into the air, extremely violently. And there's a weird GOOP! GOOP! noise going like mad.

It was just so much more violent that I expected!
Wicked!

 

[Samarith]

Nice when you get a strong fermentation, a couple of my brews just kicked into high gear with the warmer weather this week. I love the bubbling noise, I find it hypnotic like the crackle of a real fire.

If the airlock is shooting water then you probably over filled it (which is self correcting ), if you're using the bubbled S-bend type then fill the airlock to the top of the first bubble. This puts it too the top of the second bubble once the ferment is going.

Meaning you have less chance of sucking fluid back into the wine when you removed the bung, probably not an issue if you are using the plastic screw top DJs though.

 

[Garry35]

I'm in Oxford by the way!

If you're ever in trouble there's Headington Homewares (in Headington) and Gills Irongmonger in central Oxford which both stock homebrew stuff, including airlocks.

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier!

G35

 

[Charles Daniels]

Nice when you get a strong fermentation, a couple of my brews just kicked into high gear with the warmer weather this week. I love the bubbling noise, I find it hypnotic like the crackle of a real fire.

My DJs are going nice and strong now!
Inside the DJs white bubbles are shooting up fast and steady, and there is the hypnotic bubbling going away like mad.
I'm loving it!

If the airlock is shooting water then you probably over filled it (which is self correcting ), if you're using the bubbled S-bend type then fill the airlock to the top of the first bubble. This puts it too the top of the second bubble once the ferment is going.

Yeah I overfilled one, and that was the problem but that's sorted itself.
The other one is exactly like you say, I filled it to the top of the first bubble and now it's been pushed to the second.

Meaning you have less chance of sucking fluid back into the wine when you removed the bung, probably not an issue if you are using the plastic screw top DJs though.

Yup! Cheap and Cheerful plastic Djs!

 

[Charles Daniels]

I'm in Oxford by the way!

If you're ever in trouble there's Headington Homewares (in Headington) and Gills Irongmonger in central Oxford which both stock homebrew stuff, including airlocks.
Sorry I didn't see this post earlier!
G35

Hiya Garry! Thanks for the information!

I've been going out to Headington Homewares for everything, BUT Gills Ironmonger is a lot closer to me! So, thanks for letting me know they stock things, I'd never had thought of them!

 

[ohbeary]

Cheaper and more cheerful, Well's squash £2 for 5ltrs(5ltr squash for -70p, plastic DJ £2:70!!) from Morrisons and others grommet 50p frome Homehardware, airlock, well youre going to buy one anyway!, or just use cling film :grin:.

 

[Charles Daniels]

Just was wondering, is there any obvious visual sign if it's stopped fermenting?

There are a lot of white bubbles along the rim of the liquid, but they aren't very active. The are just steadily sitting there.

Also it looks like the air is still being pushed a bit in the airlock, so instead of a bubble on each side being filled, it's pushed so that the tube and two bubbles are filled.

Just wondering if the bubbles would clear away, or if there was anything else to watch for.

It kicked off about 15 days ago.