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So I have this cyser that's been fermenting for 15 months

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Barrel Char Wood Products
M

McJeff

NewBee
Registered Member
May 17, 2013
1,095
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Farmington, Maine
first off disclaimer, I started this when I was newish to the hobby. So I already know many of the mistakes I made. But I'd like for this to just finish up so I can bottle it and move on.

Now the recipe....

11/25/13
6gallon batch
5gallons Apple cide
15lbs wf honey
Pectin enzyme over night
Next morning tossed in two packs of 71b no rehydration and generic nutrients
SG 1.146 ish? I think

12/30
Racked gravity 1.030, sweeter than I liked

2/27
Added 1/2 tsp malic acid
Think I could ton the sweetness

6/25
Threw in a pack of 1118(dry again :/ )
Hoping it would chew up some of the remain sugars

I've check it every so often and it still producing co2 ever so slightly. Decided to check the actual gravity today. 1.015 and ph is 3.50.

So the question is what can I do at this point? Raise the ph?
 
It actually taste great. Kinda want to bottle it and have it stop taking up space. But I don't want to bottle something that is still fermenting.
 
If you can cold crash it, then stabilize it you can bottle it.

If you can't cold crash, a good dose of sorbate and sulfite may stop it. That approach usually won't work with an active fermentation, but one that is pokey and near the end may be inhibited.

Sent from my THINGAMAJIG with WHATCHAMACALLIT
 
You do the crime you do the time newbie, wanting it done when you want it done instead of when the cider wants to be done another newbie mistake. You could also be undergoing a MLF, putting sorbate on top of an MLF another newbie mistake even if Medsen told you it was ok since none of us knows if you added KM or not at first, and if it is MLF you just added more malic for it to eat, open up that big bottle of patience and pour a little bit of it into the carboy :):) WVMJ
 
OK, I missed the extra addition of EC1118! Is there any KM in this mix or no? Those yeast and everything else in the world love apple cider. Newbies next posting, why did my bottles blow up:):)Just kidding, I got a crabapple bochet just wont stop bubbling away since fall of 2013, just going to be patient and let it do its thing until its done on its own. WVMJ
 
Beyond cleaning no K meta was used at the beginning. I don't believe this is a MLF but i also don't have anything to base that one, can only compare it the the one time I purposely did a MLF.

I'm not so much trying to rush it, but I just want it to finish efficiently, will adjusting the ph help it move along or is it pointless now?
 
I'd leave it alone. If you like the way it tastes, stop and stabilize or let it finish, and the stabilize and backsweeten if needed. However, it sounded like you were anxious to bring it to completion. If you restart a batch like this, a long, slow drop in gravity over months is quite common.

Sent from my THINGAMAJIG with WHATCHAMACALLIT
 
Instead of making a new thread I figured I'd just use this one again.

I'm going to use this batch as the first go with the barrel I bought. The cyser is cold crash involving as we speak and I'll stabalize it tonight and move it to the barrel. So my question, is there any point in trying to clear/fine the mead before I put it in? I figure did be bottling directly from barrel.
 
If it's already pretty clear, then it will just clear more in the barrel and then bottles. It would have to be very, very cloudy at this point not to settle out pretty clear, I would think. I've never done any clearing since I don't care about the appearance...it just always turns out clear in the end anyway after bottling my batches and then bringing the temp down in the fridge. Even the murkiest, ugliest looking raw apple ciders I've used have always come out crystal clear by the end.

For me, the chances of messing something up by trying to do something "extra" and probably not needed anyway, outweighs the likelihood of it turning out just fine on its own. Cysers have been around for millenia...I've only been here 45 yrs now. I think they've got a leg up on me already...
 
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