New in the cider business, please bear with me. The following list describes my process:
Day 1) Juice 150 lbs. apples, 50 lbs. Cortland, 50 lbs. Jona Gold, 50 lbs. Ida Red-OG 1.053, yield 5.5 gal
Day 2) Store at 69F to allow solids to fall
Day 3) Removed lid detected scent of slight fermentation, crush pectic tablets and mix (hoping in event of wild yeast to eliminate). Not being happy with OG add 3 Lbs. of honey reduced in water. Gravity arrives at 1.063
Day 4) Allow to settle with lid and air lock.
Day 5) Siphon to glass carboy to clarify then add 2 tsp pectic enzyme to further clarify. One hour hence, prepare Nottingham Ale yeast and pitch. Still 69F.
Six hours later and no activity. My question is; Is there something wrong with my design? Did I screw up somewhere? I would hate to scrap this one because the juice was delicious! Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
***Another little peculiarity…at the top of the batch sitting on the juice is a ring of film I’d say a quarter inch wide, a perfect circle in fact, about 2 inches less in diameter less than the carboy itself.
Any insight about my brew would really be appreciated!!!
Thanks, Theznake
Looks like you just need to wait longer for fermentation to start.
What did you use to press your apples? Your juice yield was way low.
I assume you mean that you added campden tabs. Did you allow to sit for a full 24hrs before pitching your yeast? It’s usually added immediately after pressing to prevent browning of the juice.
Sorry about that BB, and thanks for the reply. Yes I do mean campden tablets, and I waited about48 hours before pitching the yeast. I juiced by way of a Breville Juicer, and it took fooorever. As of this morning, the cider is bubbling at very long intervals, so it would seem I’m in business.
