First cyser

[Maronleighton]

And when should I rack to secondary?

 

[salcoco]

normally when the specific gravity reaches 1.000 or when the specific gravity stays at the same value for three days straight. I don't recall the yeast you used but they normally have a alcohol tolerance and will stop fermenting when they reach this point rather than when the sugar was gone. depends on sg when you started and the yeast tolerance. in this case three days straight value is used.

 

[Maronleighton]

normally when the specific gravity reaches 1.000 or when the specific gravity stays at the same value for three days straight. I don't recall the yeast you used but they normally have a alcohol tolerance and will stop fermenting when they reach this point rather than when the sugar was gone. depends on sg when you started and the yeast tolerance. in this case three days straight value is used.

Lalvin d47

 

[salcoco]

do you have starting specific gravity?

 

[Maronleighton]

do you have starting specific gravity?

I dont but I follwed a recipe really closely and it should be around 1.138

 

[salcoco]

ok that is probably over the yeast alcohol tolerance so go to secondary when all fermentation stops and sg is the same for three days. keep in secondary for three days and rack off of the gross lees add k-meta. wait three weeks and rack off of fine lees then go into bulk aging.

 

[Maronleighton]

ok that is probably over the yeast alcohol tolerance so go to secondary when all fermentation stops and sg is the same for three days. keep in secondary for three days and rack off of the gross lees add k-meta. wait three weeks and rack off of fine lees then go into bulk aging.

Ok, my understanding is its ok to leave on the d47 lees for quite a while. Is that wrong?

 

[Maronleighton]

Ok, my understanding is its ok to leave on the d47 lees for quite a while. Is that wrong?

And there is still lees dropping to the bottom of the carboys. Should I wait until a nice cake forms, and it clears a little before racking? Its still pretty cloudy as far as I can tell

 

[salcoco]

no. once you rack int the secondary the fermentation is complete and any dead yeast fall to the bottom. any live yeast will eat the dead giving off odors. thus three days rack action.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I would assume that on day six the yeast are still working but in a stressed condition. You have air locks therefore the old adage “patience” is worth remembering. It will take months to clear. (haven’t opened the recipe but for cyser it needs pectase to clear)

So the recipie I followed has an original gravity of 1.138. I took a reading last night, it was at 1.050. So that should put me around 11% abv. So might that explain why there isn't a lot of bubbling or foaming in the must? I'm only 6 days in.i have a hard time thinking it might be done already. Maybe it just slowed down because the yeast is trying to break down more complex sugars?

 

[Maronleighton]

I would assume that on day six the yeast are still working but in a stressed condition. You have air locks therefore the old adage “patience” is worth remembering. It will take months to clear. (haven’t opened the recipe but for cyser it needs pectase to clear)

So leave them to work a little bit longer in primary?

 

[salcoco]

what is the specific gravity now?

 

[Maronleighton]

what is the specific gravity now?

1.050

 

[salcoco]

let it sit for a while longer not ready for the secondary yet.

 

[Maronleighton]

let it sit for a while longer not ready for the secondary yet.

I would assume that on day six the yeast are still working but in a stressed condition. You have air locks therefore the old adage “patience” is worth remembering. It will take months to clear. (haven’t opened the recipe but for cyser it needs pectase to clear)

So in a stressed condition means they will work slower correct? Because I took sg reading for 2 days in a row. And they looked about the same.

 

[salcoco]

stressed means stink check sg in a few days if the same rack off of lees added oxygen while racking might start fermentation again

 

[Rice_Guy]

Yes stress means slow
Potential error in a hydrometer. CO2 bubbles in a ferment makes it hard to get good readings. ,, If your gravity is 1.050 a change of 0.001 represents about 0.10% sugar(s) going upward and 0.2% drop in sugar(s) going downward. Honey is a mixture of several types of sugar and is harder to ferment than the sugar in apple. . . . PATIENCE