First time cider

safc2008ftm

I have completed primary fermentation on the Youngs Brew buddy cider kit.

 

I have then siphoned off to 4 demi-johns and 4 PET bottles and primed them with sugar.  I have put air-locks on the demi's and the lids on the bottles not tight. They are now on a 25 ltr heating tray.  Have I messed this up?  Should I have either put the cider into the demi's without the sugar or just put it straight into the bottles with sugar?  If I have messed this up, how can i rescue it?

 

Thanks in advance for your help

HBO_Staff

It does sound like it has gone a bit off track but should be easily rectified. Firstly it needs to have fermented, which it sounds like you have done, leaving it to ferment after adding the yeast for the first stage, then once it has finished fermenting it is ready for moving on to the next stage.

You need to get them airtight from now on, so transfer to whatever vessels you like, most people use bottles but it is fine to use some bottles and some demijohns (as long as they are PET plastic as glass demijohns cannot withstand pressure). Alternatively transfer it all into PET plastic bottles. It is before you seal them up that you would add some sugar to 'prime' them, it is usually around a level teaspoon per 500ml bottle or a heaped teaspoon per 1 litre bottle, then seal them up.

The bottles can then be left somewhere warm for a few days to help the sugar dissolve and begin carbonating the cider, this is called the 'secondary fermentation' and is when the fizz will be made, and the cider begin to clear and it's full flavours develop. It can then be moved somewhere a bit cooler after the first few days, and left in the bottles until ready to be drank.

The down side of using larger bottles such as PET plastic demijohns, is once the cider is opened, it will begin to lose it's fizz and needs to be drank fairly quickly, whereas with smaller bottles you can open just one as you want them.

To rescue the brew, it depends on how much sugar you added and how long ago, if it was recently then you may not need to add anymore sugar as it won't have started carbonating the brew, if it was a few days ago, you may need to add a little more and seal the bottles up

safc2008ftm

They are glass but only did it 24hours ago. Will siphon into bottles right away.

Thanks very much for your prompt response.

HBO_Staff

That will solve any problem, if you move it over into some strong bottles and seal them up. They probably wont need any more sugar adding, it is risky to add more in case they then created too much pressure. It is probably best to just fill the bottles and seal them up, if they are not quite as fizzy as you might like that will be the reason, but it should still taste good and more than likely will have a good fizz to them too as it takes a while for the secondary fermentation in the sealed bottles. Any problems just ask, and we look forward to hearing how it tastes after a few weeks in the bottles!

alex

Just to add my thoughts, from my experience you will also get more in the way of sediment at the bottom of the bottles doing it this way. It's not a problem just something to be aware of when coming to pour and drink. Good luck!
Alex