Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Eating and Drinking => Homebrew => Topic started by: Will1983 on July 09, 2010, 19:28

Title: turbo cider stalled??
Post by: Will1983 on July 09, 2010, 19:28

hi i started a batch of turbo cider on tuesday with asda apple juice, wine yeast and nutrient.

24 hours later and it was bubbling furiously through the air lock, you could actually see the bubbles rising up through the liquid also it had gone from a clear orangey brown colour to a yellowy cloudy colour

it stayed like this yesterday but ive just checked it when i came home and although the colour has remained the same the bubbling has slowed right down to barely 2 or 3 bubbles a minute. the only thing that i have changed is i put it in the pantry under the stairs where obviously it is dark though i cant image that the light would make a difference to the fermentation process.

has anyone any ideas what has happened?

Title: Re: turbo cider stalled??
Post by: SG6 on July 10, 2010, 16:22

Probably the light. I have noticed that my DJ's of wine speed up in even moderate sunlight. The mead certainly slowed when not in the sun and the temperature didn't change where it was sat. Possibly got warmer as it was in the kitchen and I cook food there (oven), but being out all day the heating was never on.

2-3 bubbles a minute isn't slowed right down, one bubble every 30 minutes is slow. BUT 1 bubble every 30 minutes isn't stopped.

The wine will have to slow down to clear as the rising bubbles keep it slightly agitated.

Title: Re: turbo cider stalled??
Post by: nobby90 on July 17, 2010, 13:22

Sun light i.e. Ultra Violet light is a big NO for any fermenting.  It can cause all sorts of problems.

Have you checked it with a hydrometer?? it might have finished fermenting.  The main cause of stalled fermenting is lack of Oxygen at the start.  You need to aerate any brew before you pitch the yeast.  If it still got a high specific gravity then you can at some oxygen safely by pouring into anther container then back into the demijohn.

Yeast has 2 stages an Aerobic stage where it uses oxygen to multiply.  Then the Anaerobic stage that turns sugars into Alcohol and CO2.  If there was insufficient Oxygen then there could be a lack of yeast to convert all the sugar to Alcohol.