Hi there! I’m making my first batch of cider, and I’m running into a few problems. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
The local home-brew shop had a cider day, where they brought in a bunch of cider from a local orchard. I bought 5 gallons and picked it up in a sterilized plastic brew bucket.
I brought it home and added about 4 campden tablets crushed up (started with 5 but spilled a little bit on the counter, so approx. 4 total actually made it in).
The next day, about 30ish hours later, I pitched a packet of Saffale US-05 dry yeast without rehydrating. My OG was 1.052.
I waited for three days, and nothing was happening in the airlock, so I took another gravity reading, which was still 1.052. I went back to the home-brew shop yesterday (72 hours after pitching the first yeast) and the guy there recommended re-pitching with 2 packets of Lavlin EC-1118 yeast. He also recommended rehydrating it first, and he said I should see some significant fermentation by the next day.
I went home and did this. Now 24 hours later still no action in the airlock, and I noticed a lot of sediment in the bottom. I took another gravity reading, and it’s still 1.052. The cider still tastes fresh and smells like it did last weekend when I started.
Should I just keep waiting? Should I pitch more yeast? Add yeast nutrients? Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jon