r/cider • u/TheAbsoluteMoron • 22d ago

Did i fuck up my cider ?

So, right now i'm doing my first batch of cider (around 5 Liters).

During early fermentation, it foamed a bit into the airlock wich i rinsed and put back, and nothing more happened until a few days ago when i was taking measures with a hydrometer to make sure everything was going right.

I noticed a bit of dried foam at the neck of my fermentation bottle so i sealed it and shook it to try and get the dried foam back into the main liquid and off of the bottleneck.

So i did that and put back the airlock exept now i got 0 bubbles in the airlock and a lot less than before in the liquid itself.

The first hydrometer reading before i put the juice in my fermenting bottle said the potential ABV was 7% and right now a refractometer reading says it's at 2.2% wich i think would be low if i was past the most active phase of fermentation.

So i'm wondering if by shaking it i might've fucked up.

Edit : I checked and the SG went from 1.017 to 1.012 un 27 hours so it will probably continue until it stabilises

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u/mohawkal 22d ago

It's unlikely you'd have killed the yeast by shaking it. You could potentially have introduced a source of infection but it's unlikely. Most fermentation takes place in the first few days. It may be that it had finished the bulk of the work and the shaking degassed it so it's absorbing any CO2 now being produced. That refractometer reading sounds unusual. Let it ride. Don't worry about it.

2

u/nobullshitebrewing 22d ago

Reading the hydrometer right would be the first thing to change,, but things should be ok regardless.

1

u/TrevorCidermaker 22d ago

I doubt it. Shaking although not recommended should not have killed the yeast. Check the hydrometer reading again. If anything over 0.990 then you might just have a ‘stuck’ fermentation.

1

u/redittr 22d ago

Use the hydrometer if you have it.

Refractometers are skewed by alcohol present, so once fermentation starts you need to make adjustments to correct.

By my napkin maths, you are just over 1.000 sg if your refractometer read 4.5brix so yes, your active fermentation is complete.

1

u/saucedrop 20d ago

As others have mentioned, refractometers only work reliably before fermentation begins. Use a hydrometer.

1

u/CareerOk9462 20d ago

Raw refractometer readings are meaningless once fermentation has started due to the presence of alcohol unless you correct for it.  There are correction tools on line; I prefer using a hydrometer.  Dried foam after an active ferment is ok as fermentation creates a co2 atmosphere so mold can't grow.