Newbie with cider brew questions
 

Hi folks,

Just doing my first home brew, decided to try a 'John Bull Cider' kit.


For the inital fermentation I put it all into a sterile brewing bucket
using 'brewing sugar', left the lid loose and placed it into the airing

cupboard, nice and warm. After four days the 'foam head' had gone and
using a hydrometer it was down to 1.000, sorry don't know the
temperature, so I assume it had completed its fermentation.


I bottled it into 2 litre PET bottles adding a couple of teaspoons of
sugar along the way.


Now, a couple of days later I am seeing quite a bit of sediment
settling out in the bottom of these bottles as they gradually clear and

wonder if I should have left it a bit longer before bottling?


With the last couple of bottles I had not realised that the siphon tube

had slipped to the bottom of the bucket so would have picked up some
stuff from the bottom. Incidentally, these few bottles developed quite
a 'head' when the sugar was added.


The main thing I want to ask is can I 'rack' them off again? Am I
likely to loose too much 'fizz'? If so, what options do I have to add
the fizz back?
Could/should I add more sugar when 'racking' them off for the second
time?
How long should I leave it before racking them off?


For future reference..


.. Did I bottle too soon? Should I have let it settle a bit longer in
the bucket?


.. Will the couple of bottles which picked up the bottom sediment need
anything extra doing to them to prevent anything bad happening?


So many questions! Any advice greatfully appreciated.


Chris

Newbie with cider brew questions
 

wrote:

> The main thing I want to ask is can I 'rack' them off again? Am I
> likely to loose too much 'fizz'? If so, what options do I have to add
> the fizz back?
> Could/should I add more sugar when 'racking' them off for the second
> time?

I wouldn't worry about it. You'll always have some sediment on the
bottom no matter what. If you have more than usual, no big deal, you
have to decant it anyways. I don't think it's worth it (time, effort,
risk of oxidation) to try and decant it from all your bottles, let it
settle out, and re-bottle.

> . Did I bottle too soon? Should I have let it settle a bit longer in
> the bucket?

Probably. What you could have done was: after the primary fermentation
finished (I think you said 4 days to get down to 1.000), rack your
cider into a glass carboy. That way you can see how much yeast has
settled out. I'm not a cider expert but you would probably be fine
letting it settle out for a couple weeks in the carboy before racking
to a bottling bucket, priming, and bottling. (You can also use gelatin
fining to drop out the yeast very quickly if you're in a rush to
bottle).

But for this time, I'd just enjoy what you've got and make adjustments
next time.

-TC