# How long for fermentation



## moonspoon (29/3/18)

Hey guys just trying a basic youtube cider apple juice and sugar and yeast. Seen many of then online. Was wondering how long should it take to start fementation? Been a few hours now and nothing seems to be happening.


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## MHB (29/3/18)

No where near enough information given to give anything like an accurate answer.
Just remember that yeast shouldn't go off like a hand grenade, it should spend some time acclimatising to the to the new environment (is it a must in cider, like in wine making?), the yeast should then reproduce, that requires nutrients and Oxygen. Apple juice is very low in nutrients other than sugars, so this can take longer than it would in a beer wort.
100% juice will contain something like 0.1-0.2% total Protein, a fraction of what is in beer wort. Juice is nearly fat free, so little or no lipids and sterols.
Adds up to an environment that really isn't conducive to a quick start (or finish for that matter) to fermentation.
This is probably why most people use some nutrient, or at least something to supply some nitrogen compounds like DAP.

Even ignoring questions like what type of yeast you are using, how big your pitch was, under ideal conditions you wouldn't really be expecting to see much in the way signs of fermentation for 6-12hours often longer.

Because juice lacks much in the way of head building agents you rarely get a foamy krausen, often the first signs are bubbles forming on the inside of the container (one of the reasons I like fermenting in glass).
Mark


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## brewgasm (30/3/18)

Should show signs within 24 hours but please share details and pictures. Stuff like what yeast you used, did you pitch dry, what temperature is it at ect. I haven't done a turbo cider in ages. As they say a watched pot never boils so come back with some details. I am keen to know


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)

I used cider yeast. It said on the packet 10-30 degrees and its sitting at 27


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)




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## brewgasm (30/3/18)

Haven't seen one of those since I binned mine, I forgot how cool they look


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## brewgasm (30/3/18)

Did fermentation kick off?


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)

Not as of yet atleast i dont think so


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)

I didnt add any co2 as i figured that was more for 2nd stage fermentation


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## brewgasm (30/3/18)

Is the guage showing pressure?


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## brewgasm (30/3/18)

If not can you see activity in the juice?


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)

No to both


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)

At closer inspection there are small amount of bubbles in fermenter and the psi gage is actully up off the peg nut still less then 5. But no bubbles in airlock


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## brewgasm (30/3/18)

I wouldn't worry about bubbles I think that the prv will burp around 14 psi
If you have bubbles in the liquid wait to see how things are in the morning


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## moonspoon (30/3/18)

Cool thanks just checked it again when i went to grab a beer and it was up to about 6psi so somthing must be happening. Also they guy in store said the pack of yeast is for 25l. When i said i only had 10l he said half the pack will be fine. True or faulse should i put the rest in?


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## moonspoon (31/3/18)

It's up to 14 psi and airlock is bubbling now


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## brewgasm (31/3/18)

Happy days [emoji3]


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## moonspoon (31/3/18)

Cheers for the help. Any idea how many carb drops to use foe cider?


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## brewgasm (31/3/18)

No worries mate. Are you going to bottle or are you going to carb in the beer machine?


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## brewgasm (31/3/18)

moonspoon said:


> Cool thanks just checked it again when i went to grab a beer and it was up to about 6psi so somthing must be happening. Also they guy in store said the pack of yeast is for 25l. When i said i only had 10l he said half the pack will be fine. True or faulse should i put the rest in?


Half of the packet would be fine


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## moonspoon (31/3/18)

Ill prob bottle as i found the beer machine isnt very good as a keg


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## moonspoon (31/3/18)

Plus that means i can brew more wile drinking the 1st batch


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## brewgasm (31/3/18)

Nice, bottling will save those annoying little co2 bulbs. Confirm this with the brains trust on here but I believe that the beverage will be carbonated as it is fermenting under pressure so you will need to account for this when priming your bottles. Do you have any gear like counter pressure fillers or bottling wands/gun?


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## moonspoon (31/3/18)

I have a wand that came with the coopers diy beer kit not sure if it would fit in the beer machine. Other then that im pretty much expermanting with this


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## brewgasm (1/4/18)

I had to rig something up with pvc tubing and hose clamps and they did have a genuine bottling system. I found the real headache was getting the cider out. I remember using bulbs to push it to the bottles but I am unsure if I tried opening the cap to allow gravity to do the job


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## moonspoon (1/4/18)

I had trouble getting a sample so im hoping with psi now in there i can get samples and bottle.


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## moonspoon (6/4/18)

Now that its been going its sitting about 12 psi how long till i bottle it? Its been 8 days nows and its still bubbling quite fast.


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## brewgasm (6/4/18)

Sounds like it's still fermenting. I once had a turbo cider take 17 days to ferment. It wasn't a slow fermentation there's just a lot of sugar. The juice on its own will give you 4-5% abv


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## moonspoon (6/4/18)

Ok so i assume i just wait till the bubbles stop?


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## gap (6/4/18)

The safe way to check if the fermentation has actually finished is to take gravity readings. If at about expected terminal gravity for a few days then fermentation should be finished..


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## brewgasm (6/4/18)

If you are going to take gravity readings then I would wait another 5 days take a sample, wait another 2 or 3 days and take another sample if the readings are the same go ahead and bottle. Keep in mind that you will have co2 in solution and temp differences to account for.

Personally I don't mess around much with samples. I take one for og at pitch time wait 14-21 days and keg and take a sample for fg


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## moonspoon (6/4/18)

Yes but i assume i do that once the bubbles have stopped?


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## moonspoon (9/4/18)

Hey guys so my bubbles have come almost to a stop in the airlock. So i took a sample to see were we are at. So the sample is now 1004 down from 1045. It looks like cider tastes like cider but have floaty brown bits in it would that be yeast?


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## brewgasm (10/4/18)

I'm unsure of the floaties but it's probably to do with the yeast. I Kegged a beer a couple of days ago and there was brown flakes on the yeast cake. Not something that I have seen very often but not alarming. I think that it is krausen in my case.

It will drop out of suspension. You can speed it up if you are able to fit the beer machine into the fridge for a few days


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## brewgasm (10/4/18)

It will also drop out in the bottle too


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## moonspoon (10/4/18)

I can fit it into thr fridge do if i do that woyld it be ready to bottle tomorrow?


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## moonspoon (10/4/18)

Just checked it agian now that im home and it 1001 was very foamy but settled in a few seconds. Maybe its not quite done. Was very slow bubbles in airlock yesterday but was a little quicker today. Also no bubbles after getting the sample


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## brewgasm (17/4/18)

How is it going? Have you bottled yet?


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## moonspoon (17/4/18)

Yeah bottled last friday day 13 fg 1001. Og 1050 if i calculated right should be about 4.5%


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## Fro-Daddy (18/4/18)

1.050 to 1.001 comes out to about 6.63%


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## moonspoon (18/4/18)

How do you calculate


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## theSeekerr (18/4/18)

This calculator is good: https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

The alternate equation option may be a little more accurate, but they'll be within about 0.2% until you get to fairly high ABV anyway.


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## moonspoon (18/4/18)

Cool i was using og-fg x131.25


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## theSeekerr (19/4/18)

moonspoon said:


> Cool i was using og-fg x131.25



That's a reasonable approximation, but you must have messed up your original calculation: (1.050 - 1.001) = 0.049, 0.049 * 131.25 = 6.43%


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## peterlonz (20/4/18)

Regarding yeast nutrient for cider making: I usually add about 200 grams of of plain light malt extract to provide nutrient. Mainly because I rarely see commercial nutrient for sale. Anyway I believe the malt improves the flavour profile.


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## Fro-Daddy (30/4/18)

Day 13 seems quick, mine is currently on day 23 and the gravity is still dropping (1.010 on day 21). I am fermenting at 12°C which might slow things down.


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