Young Brew Buddy cider

boxingdaymassacre

Hi all

 

First time poster and first time brewer, i bought a brew buddy kit of ebay that came with the cider ingredients.

 

I have had my brew on for 8 days now and the fermentation seems to have finished, but the cider isnt clearing should i leave it a few more days before i bottle ? i have taken a hydrometer readind and it showing 1004

 

Any help would be great

HBO_Staff

You get a good idea of when it's finished fermenting by the hydrometer reading, it must be low which yours is, and also constant for a couple of days in a row, as a constant reading is a good sign it has stopped fermenting. If it continued to go lower then it must be left until it's stopped. Also there should be no bubbles visible rising from the liquid, which after 8 days at room temperature there probably wont be. The brew wont clear at this stage, so you should go ahead and carefully bottle it, leaving as much sediment behind as possible. Then prime your bottles with some sugar, and leave somewhere warm for a few days, before moving somewhere a bit cooler to condition. It is now that the cider will clear and carbonate, and the longer you leave it the better it will be. If you managed to leave nearly all the sediment behind then it will clear better and have very little sediment in the bottom of the bottles too