Holy crap....CIDER EXPLOSION!

[Benny Blanco]

Ok, it's not quite as bad as it sounds. So, after reading a few posts about adding sugar after you have your apple juice/cider in the carboy, i went ahead and decided to put the remaining 10 oz. of dextrose in my fermenter 4 days after fermentation began. I had initially put in only 22oz when I put this batch together and I wanted to make it like Edworts so I went out and got the other 10 oz today to add.....big mistake.

So, I'm in a hurry to catch a plane and I run into my bedroom where my fermenter quietly sits doing it's job. I throw a sanitized funnel in the opening and proceed to dump the dextrose down the neck. Next this I know....BOOM!....the funnel blows out of the top and I'm sitting here, in shock, looking at what appears to be a volcano of cider spouting up about 4 feet in the air and not slowing down.

Needless to say, I freaked out and grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it over the top where it continued to fly up and staggered to the bathtub. I put it in there and when all was said and done..I lost about a gallon and a half.

Holy ****...my bedroom is covered in half-fermented apple juice and I have a plane to catch in an hour and a half. My books....covered. My rug......covered. My shoe rack....covered. Jesus, I gotta go.

Um...let this be a lesson to all of you.......BAH HUMBUG

P.S. I have to say it....is my batch ruined?

 

[SixFoFalcon]

Dayum!

I doubt it's ruined. Sounds like the powdery dextrose provided lots of nucleation sites (like Mentos in Diet Coke). But assuming that you got the airlock back on there after the big fountain show and before any nasties had a chance to get in, you should be fine. Cleanup sounds like it will be a *****, though.

 

[alowishus]

look at it this way - at least you'll have some very young cider to drink while cleaning up when you get back

 

[Benny Blanco]

So, I got home today and my bedroom doesn't smell as bad as i thought it would. I still have to clean a decent portion of the carpet as it's all crusty with apfelwein residue. Well, it did make a fun story to tell during the holidays.

I was surprised to see a dead airlock. Took a reading today and it was at 1.000. Safe to say it's done? I thought these fermented for a couple weeks. I'm gonna give it some time to clear and bottle next Sunday. Also, the sample tasted good, but lacked a little in flavor. I was thinking about sweetening up half the batch by throwing in some lactose halfway thru bottling. Has anyone tried this? If so, how much is a safe and subtle amount to add to 2.5 gallons?

Lesson learned: Never add dextrose to an actively fermenting batch!

 

[Yooper]

Lesson learned: Never add dextrose to an actively fermenting batch!

Don't add ANYTHING without racking into it. Even some seemingly innocous ingredients will cause volcanoes. Undissolved campden tablets, sorbate, etc.

I guess that is a lesson most people learn the hard way! (I did!)

 

[SixFoFalcon]

At 1.000 it is probably at least 98% finished, so it should be safe to bottle.

The lack of flavor is typical at such a young age. A batch I fermented for just about 1 month before drinking had a very weak/subtle flavor (went down like water). A subsequent batch that went for 7 weeks had a lot more flavor. My next batch will sit for a few months minimum.

 

[david_42]

I'd try 4 oz. of lactose for a half batch.

When adding anything to a fermenting batch, it should be dissolved in some boiling water first.

 

[sirsloop]

lol... after all that you still had time to share the story online... thats dedication! HAH!