First Cider Brew

shocking

Hi

I started my first cider brew last tuesday using one of your starter kits and fermentation was very good to begin with but now on sunday (5 days later) has really dropped off and is only just still going i think. Is this normal? 

Any info / tips would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Simon

HBO_Staff

That sounds like exactly what you would expect although there is no hard and fast rule as it is affected by various things, if it's nice and warm the initial fermentation will often be strong, then slow right down. The best way to tell is with a hydrometer, most kits give a hydrometer reading to aim for, or a timescale and then check the reading stays constant for at least 2 consecutive days. Once the readings are constant and/or all signs of bubbles have stopped rising from the liquid, it is ready for moving on to the barrel or bottles. There is a handy guide on this link which may be of interest;

http://homebrewonline.vanillaforums.com/discussion/137/just-starting-heres-a-handy-checklist-and-useful-things-to-know#latest

shocking

Thanks for the reply. Brew was kept at around 23 - 24 degrees and fermentation was very strong and has now totally stopped. I juiced my own apples following a simple recipie so didn't have a reading to go by. Hydrometer is saying ready to bottle so will do that tomorrow.

Again many thanks

Simon

HBO_Staff

That is a good warm temperature so will often ferment quite vigorously to begin with, to be sure it's finished fermenting take hydrometer readings for a few days in a row and they should be the same, if they change then the fermentation is not yet complete. If you were to bottle too early it could create excess pressure inside the bottles