Cider questions from a converted beer brewer

[luke trollope]

Hi I had a couple of questions regarding brewing cider any help is appreciated.

I was wondering can I use 100% apple juice ( no preservatives ) pitch the yeast let it ferment completely in a 30 L (8 gallon ) screw lid fermenter then bottle it and add carbonation drops ( for a carbonated cider) and bottle age it? The same as beer? I don't mind a bit of yeast sediment in the bottle.

Will that be OK?

Also please see the attached photo I fermented (am fermenting) the apple juice in the bottles the juice came in (sorry it is dark) now my question is once fermentation is complete can I just cap the bottles they are in and age them in those bottles? (again I don't mind the sediment) this time for a still cider? or is there too much air in there or something else? If there is too much air or something can I just funnel them into smaller bottles with no air to age?

The lids on the bottles are not fully screwed on in case your worried about my safety!

I like to keep it simple if possible.

Thanks for any responses and sorry if all this has been covered before.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

As to your 1st set of questions, yes. Ferment in the fermenter, bottle & carb like beer, you'll be good to go.
Now for your 2nd set of questions. 1st off it looks like a lot of headspace in those bottles, you might want to top up with a little more juice. I'd also replace those screw-on caps with bungs & airlocks. Usually you want to get the cider off the lees (sediment) before aging. Aging on lees can lead to off flavors (there are exceptions to this).

I Usually ferment in a bucket style fermenter for primary, then rack to a carbouy for secondary. Usually that's all the racking my cider needs, though I have racked a batch or two to tertiary; just depends on the amount of sediment in the carbouy. I always use a bottling bucket to bulk prime & bottle, it helps further fine the cider, makes priming easy & uniform; though if you're using carb drops, I suppose you could just bottle from secondary if you want, some do. I'd recommend racking & topping up at the very least.
Regards, GF.

 

[madscientist451]

I've fermented in bottles like that, when its done, put them in the fridge and the yeast will settle out. Carefully pour the clear cider to another bottle, fill it all the way up if you are going to age it, or put it back in the fridge and drink it now. It doesn't need to be carbonated, but if you want to, get some smaller bottles.

 

[luke trollope]

Thanks a lot for the responses.

I think I will ferment in the fermenter, bottle & carb like beer from the 30L fermenter as you mentioned gratus fermentatio.

so it is OK to put the smaller 3/4 full juice bottles in the fridge to clear it up then tip them into smaller bottles to age making sure the smaller bottles are full as you mentioned madscientist451 Does that sound OK? I ordered more airlocks on Ebay just waiting for them...

Just a side note I put a 3/4 full fully fermented juice bottle in the fridge for 48 hours and it was OK had a slight bite to it but with the addition of 1/4 fresh juice to the mix it was very good.

I don't mind the lees so much here in Australia we make a spread out of them for our bread called vegemite check out the link if your interested https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/VegemiteHistory.htm