Newbie Turbo Cider Question

[DaveA]

Hi
Just into my second small batch of TC.
First was... alright. Improved with age.
This one though, at daughter's preference is a fruity one.
All guess work really, did a 'standard'(?) TC but added 2 punnets of crushed raspberries to the DJ.
Has fermented vey nicely and vigourously for 3 days or so, but has slowed right down now.

Was thinking I should rack off into another DJ to lose all the fruit pulp?
If so, what should I top up with? :hmm:
I thought more apple juice, and let that ferment out too before bottling, but then I guess this will make my OG reading irrelevent for calculating alcohol content?

Any advice welcome! :

Dave

 

[oldbloke]

How much pulp? Could you leave it to the end and still get 8 bottles out of it? Most demis are at least 300ml over the gallon.
If not, rack it.
Always top up with AJ, you want as much apple flavour as poss.
I usually calc my ABV from the known sugars rather than the hydrometer. Mind you I'm not that bothered exactly what it is, I just like to know to the nearest quarter %.
I use a rule of thumb that 20gm/litre gives 1%. It's not exact but it's close.

 

[DaveA]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

There must be about an inch of pulp floating on the top.
I thought I should rack off because I didnt know if it may go a bit mouldy just sat there.
Also cannot check the SG to make sure it's finished before bottling, but not sure if this is an issue?
I added sugar to the bottles last time to make it a bit sparkling, but equally do not want to explode my bottles! :grin:

 

[oldbloke]

It will eventually sink, when it stops producing gas. The gas stops it going bad, too. But as there's quite a bit you may as well rack it.
I always just wait until it clears then I know it's safe to bottle. But you have some RealFruit in there IIRC and so without pectolase it may not clear completely.
When the bubbling is down to "did it do one today?" it'll be fine to bottle!

 

[Grumpy Jack]

How much pulp? Could you leave it to the end and still get 8 bottles out of it? Most demis are at least 300ml over the gallon.

That's exactly what I did recently with some cherry pulp that I had added to standard TC. Let it drop out as far as possible and siphon off above the pulp, I still got 8 full bottles without trouble and they appear to be clearing quite nicely with very minimal sediment.

 

[DaveA]

How much pulp? Could you leave it to the end and still get 8 bottles out of it? Most demis are at least 300ml over the gallon.

That's exactly what I did recently with some cherry pulp that I had added to standard TC. Let it drop out as far as possible and siphon off above the pulp, I still got 8 full bottles without trouble and they appear to be clearing quite nicely with very minimal sediment.

Cherry - I had though of trying that next. Can I ask what quantity of cherries you used?
Sounds good

 

[Crastney]

give it a shake/swirl and some of the pulp will sink - if it's left on top it might go dry and crusty, and if it's doing that then it's not in the liquid fermenting.

rack into another DJ, leave the lees behind once the bubbling has reduced to slow (anywhere between once a minute to once every ten minutes)

 

[Grumpy Jack]

Cherry - I had though of trying that next. Can I ask what quantity of cherries you used?
Sounds good

Dunno what weight it was but basically, two 1 litre ice cream tubs full of cherries before pulping. Not tried it yet, it's six weeks old but I'm trying To ignore it at the back of the cupboard.

 

[DaveA]

I have never been a fan of fruit ciders, the bought ones are always far too sweet for me, but the idea is to try and make one a little drier.
Fermentation has stopped as far as I can tell, so will rack off and top up with more AJ I think, as the initial quantity was only 4 litres AJ plus the raspberries.
After racking off and leaving the pulp behind, the quantity may be quite small.

What would be a good fermentation vessel for larger quantities, is a 5 gallon with a lid any good or is the airlock essential?

 

[DaveA]

Cherry - I had though of trying that next. Can I ask what quantity of cherries you used?
Sounds good

Dunno what weight it was but basically, two 1 litre ice cream tubs full of cherries before pulping. Not tried it yet, it's six weeks old but I'm trying To ignore it at the back of the cupboard.

After six weeks, curiosity would have got the better of me!