My batch of cider fermented well in about 10 days, dropping to 1.000, or slightly less, using Redstar Pasteur Champagne yeast. It put off a lot of SO2 but I know that is okay.
Racked to secondary and left it another week to clarify. The sulfur smell was pretty much gone after that time, so I racked it to a keg to clarify and carbonate. One week after kegging, when I purge the keg by pulling the poppet there is still a light sulfur smell.
I wanted to bottle now but am concerned about the sulfur smell. Will regular purging of the keg eventually get rid of the sulfur? Should I have left the cider in the secondary longer?
I degass my ciders to get rid of the sulphur smell. I’d suggest you do that to yours, then recarbonate in the keg. I go at least 2 months in the carboy for ciders, but there are certainly people who keg them much sooner.
In my experience (bottling, not kegging), sulfur dioxide usually disappears in 3 to 4 weeks. Occasionally/rarely, it takes a lot longer. But in time, it always disappears, always. I once had a beer that took over a year before the sulfur was gone, but after that, it was just delicious with zero trace of sulfur.
Thanks for the information, guys. I plan on delaying bottling a little longer for my peace of mind.
But, which would be best; transfer the cider back to a carboy with an airlock and leave it there to condition/degas a few more weeks or leave it in the keg and purge occasionally?
I’m leaving it in the keg and giving it some more time. I’m filling a growler for the group to try as we prepare our next 5 gal of cider tomorrow. The first batch was from NC apples and the next batch will be OH apples.
Cider making has been fun and educational, and a nice change of pace from our regular brewing. We look forward to doing it again next cider season. Thanks for all the advice.