Cider stuck at 1.030

[smagic14]

So here's my situation I made a 2.5 gallon (in my Mr beer fermenter) with apple juice and sugar. Only thing is I forgot to divide the sugar in half as I usually made 5 gallons worth...and had a SG of 1.125ish

Used montrachet yeast (rehydrated In water) and it got down to around 1.030. I the used champagne yeast to try and get it lower ( along with nutrient and energizer) and in 2 weeks no change still at 1.030

Trying to figure out what to do next

Option 1 bottle it as normal with priming sugar and use a plastic soda bottle to check carbonation then pasteurize when it's ready if this is even possible

Option 2 kill yeast and make still cider

Option 3 transfer to new fermenter and add more yeast

Option 4 ???

Cider tastes pretty sweet right now but may be drinkable if I mix with something else

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Randzor]

Your Sg sounds to high. It may have be at the alcohol tolerance of that yeast.

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

You are at almost 13% ABV if my calculations are correct. I'd say that might be all you get out of Montrachet. If you want to dry it up some more you could possibly pitch a pack of Lalvin EC-1118 and get it closer to 1.000.

If you pitch the 1118, just leave it in the original vessel, I wouldn't take the chance on oxidizing it or getting an infection by transferring it. It will need some aging if you push towards 18% abv, so just wait and rack in a couple of weeks. Also, you'll need to warm it up a little to high 60s or even 70 to get it running again.

If it were me, I'd bottle it, put it in the fridge and drink it as an apertif. A nice, sweet (high abv) cider is nice after a big dinner. You could even warm it a little with a cinnamon stick.

 

[Newsman]

Option #4: Make it into a 5 gallon batch by adding more juice.

 

[smagic14]

If I were to just bottle it would it have to go right in the fridge or could it sit out until I'm ready to drink it?

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

It's hard to say. If you fermented it at 52ºF, the yeast may have just fallen out of suspension and they might wake up if you put them on a counter with an ambient temp of 68ºF. My guess is just as Randzor suggested...you hit the alcohol tolerance of the montrachet and they were killed off in a toxic soup.

I mentioned the fridge as a "just in case" scenario. They might just be fine at room temps.

 

[MindenMan]

That is a lot of alcohol %, damn. You could exercise Option #4 like mentioned above, or you could partial freeze it, pour off some of the alcohol, let it thaw, then add more AJ, and let it ferment again. I happen to like the schnapps sort of concentrate from partially frozen hard cider. Just a thought.

 

[smagic14]

Sounds good I'll add some cinnamon and bottle it up with one in a plastic soda bottle to check if it carbs at all I can put them outside or in the fridge

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[RukusDM]

Its not a total loss....you should be able to run the car on it and save some gas money

 

[MindenMan]

I definitely agree with the idea of using a soda bottle to gauge carbonation, but you need a reference bottle. Get a new bottle of soda, and use it to check carbonation levels against the sample. I got nervous about bottle bombs, so I pasteurized way too soon. I should have sweetened to the level I wanted and then added the priming sugar. I like my hard cider not completely dry, because it doesn't taste as apple-y to me. I do have a suggestion, a very small amount of apricot extract brightens the apple flavor immensely, but use it sparingly as the longer the cider is in the bottle, the stronger the apple and apricot flavors. This is within reason of course, in 5 or 6 months the cider will be at it's peak flavor, and eventually I am sure the peak will fade. I have to be honest and state I don't know how long the peak will last, as I can't seem to keep anything around more than six months.