Second bash

[sheep600fx]

Hi all, Well on my second batch of Zider, I got 19 litres of Tesco value apple juice, Chucked it in a sterilised bin and had a SG reading of about 1048 (aint that acurate) its been brewing for 3 days and the reading is just above 1000, I cant believe its fermenting so fast as the kit I did last time took twice as long? I am using a left over youngs cider yeast which I assume is ok, Now I read somewhere that my start SG should have been about 160-165 is this right and if so is it to late to add some sugar at this stage to bolster it up a bit ? I thought the possible ABV was about 8% at 1048 is that right?. Again sorry for all the questions but this is turning out to be my favourite hobby :whistle: :drunk: lol

PS I just leave the brew until the hydrometer stops moving(is that right), And am I right in thinking that if I want it sweeter I should try to stop the fermentation earlier and dryer longer ect?.

 

[ano]

It's been a bit warm lately which may have helped the fermentation to run its course quicker.

What the original gravity was at the start would depend on how much sugar you added, if you added none then 1.048 seems about right, but fermenting down to 1.000 is more like 6.4% by this calculator.

I'm not sure about adding sugar at this stage, if you do decide to then a light stir to get some more yeast back into suspension (being careful not to introduce air into the brew) will help. At 6.4% it's already pretty strong.

You're right about arresting the fermentation earlier for a sweeter cider. An alternative is to add a non-fermentable sweetener, I think some of the lowcal sweeteners aren't proper sugar, so the tongue sees it as sweet but yeast wouldn't do anything with it.

 

[sheep600fx]

Thanks for the quick reply, The biggest thing that confuses me is about stopping the fermentation, I like a dry cider so I assume just leaving it to do its job is the best thing, How low is it possible for the SG to go with the yeast I am using??
Thanks :thumb:

 

[ano]

Liking dry cider is handy! I can't comment on how low you ought to expect it to drop, but I would have thought it should be nearing the end or slowing down by now! Keep checking the gravity on a daily basis and when you get two readings the same it's done.

 

[sheep600fx]

Got given a load of apples today and am going to use a juicer , Do I need to de-pip them first(juicer can take it all) or is it ok to chuck it all in? as I heard pips can make it bitter?