8 replies to this topic

[laker]

Well I got a batch started today but not with the yeast that I wanted and I know it wasn't a yeast that you guys recommended, its just how things turned out. Maybe some of you can shed some light on how I can fix it at the end . I used 4 gal of fresh cider , 3 pds white sugar , 1 pd brown sugar and here is the bad part , I had found a farmhouse recipe that listed wyeast American lager 2035 and thats what I ordered before you guys told me not too , I didn't want to stick the guy with it and he didn't have the 4766 wyeast in stock that I should have used . So what can I do at the end as far as adding some apple juice etc. any ideas?

[laker]

I have been checking on the cider I did up yesterday and its fermenting very well , there is a 1/2'' mat on top and some sediment or sugar on the bottom and the air lock is working every 20 seconds or so . I moved it from the table to the floor where it might be a little cooler , any suggestions on what I can expect from the lager yeast ?

[laker]

I'm really enjoying the fact that I can see whats going on through this fermenting process with the clear carboy ,when I used the big oak barrels I had no idea what was happening inside. First the cider formed a thick brown mat on top and then over the next couple days I could see where the mat was being eaten by the yeast and now there is a yellowish foam on top . Waiting to see whats next , I think the fermenting is going much faster with the wyeast compared to a wild natural yeast .

[Calder]

I'm sure the yeast will be fine. Since it's a lager yeast, keep it cooler to minimise any flavors it may ceate.

[laker]

I started this brew on 11-25 so its been about 6 weeks , I checked it today and its not bubbling at all from the air lock , is this the time that I could taste it and back sweeten it if needed or does it need more time to age .

[laker]

No I don't have any way of checking the gravity , it worked really hard for quite a few weeks , I was kind of surprised when I checked it yesterday and it wasn't working at all . Can someone explain a little bit about how to back sweeten .

[laker]

One more question , do I need to get this cider out of the carboy now or should I let it age a while .

[laker]

I wasn't sure what to do at this point so I went ahead and racked it to a secondary , it actually tastes pretty good at this point so I'll let it sit a couple more weeks in the secondary and then bottle it up .

[jayb151]

Laker,Here's the thing. If you are bottling, there really isn't a great way to back sweeten. I have had the same problem with all the ciders I have made. Once you add some sugar, the yeast will just keep going. so when you add sugar to sweeten, the yeast will just eat through it and again create a very dry cider. Now, when you back sweeten and bottle, you are almost guaranteed that the bottles will explode.There are somethings you can do to prevent this, but I can't say that I've ever done it.You could pasteurize bottles in the oven after they reach the amount of carbonation you want, but how will you tell when the bottles reach that?You could add splenda, or Lactose, or some other kind of non fermentable sugar.My last idea that I was playing around with was steeping some cara-pils in with the primming sugar, since the majority of Crystal Malts are not fermentable by beer yeasts, but I have no idea how much you would need to use.