First Cider

[69franx]

@jtoots

wow, great looking dog.  JACKED shoulders and legs!!

Thank you, we were very happy to find her

[69franx]

I would either rack and stabilize to preserve sweetness or leave it on the yeast until terminal gravity is reached. Just like beer, racking cider that isn’t finished fermenting is asking for stressed yeast, slow finish, and/or bottle bombs. My cider is often in primary for 6 weeks.

What do I need to do to stabilize before bottling? It has been at 1.015 for readings over 3 weeks now. I think its done. If I plan to bottle, then refrigerate, is stabilizing even necessary. I have no intention of aging this first cider. So again, any thoughts from the crowd?

[jonhughey_att.net (HoosierBrew)]

@69franx

I would either rack and stabilize to preserve sweetness or leave it on the yeast until terminal gravity is reached. Just like beer, racking cider that isn’t finished fermenting is asking for stressed yeast, slow finish, and/or bottle bombs. My cider is often in primary for 6 weeks.

What do I need to do to stabilize before bottling? It has been at 1.015 for readings over 3 weeks now. I think its done. If I plan to bottle, then refrigerate, is stabilizing even necessary. I have no intention of aging this first cider. So again, any thoughts from the crowd?

Gotta be honest - I’ve never seen a cider finish that high, or have that appearance. So I would absolutely stabilize, especially if you bottle. Crush a Campden tablet/gallon along with using 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate/gallon - add this to a cup or two of your cider and mix to dissolve. Then you can gently stir into your cider. Wait a couple days and then package. No backsweetening needed here.