Hi, I'm kinda new to this forum but there seems to be lots of really interesting topics being discussed here. I have made a batch of hard apple cider but I am having trouble with the fermentation. I was hoping that someone could give me a bit of guidance 
So what I did was I got 19.5L bottled apple juice from the supermarket, about 9-10kg sugar, CL23 vinters yeast (able to ferment up to 18%) and Tronozymol yeast nutrient. I washed and sanitized all of my equipment, melted the sugar (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) and added it to my 25L fermenter. I added the apple juice, and tested the specific gravity and it came to 1.124 (should fully ferment to around 16.8%). I then let it cool off and added the yeast nutrient and yeast.
It has been brewing for 21 days now, and the bubble airlock is giving off around 4 bubbles per minute. The SG is 1.033. I was told that the primary fermentation should take about 2 weeks (obviously not). I am not very good at being patient, and I am really eager to try my brew. How long would this normally take to fully ferment, and is there a way of stopping the fermentation without having to worry about it starting up again once bottled (I have campden tablets but I was told that if there is residual sugar, it can start up again)?
Also, it is coming into winter here and the days are getting colder quite quickly. Does temperature have much of an effect on the rate of fermentation, and if so is it worth investing in a warming belt?
Thank you in advance for your help,
CJ
So what I did was I got 19.5L bottled apple juice from the supermarket, about 9-10kg sugar, CL23 vinters yeast (able to ferment up to 18%) and Tronozymol yeast nutrient. I washed and sanitized all of my equipment, melted the sugar (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) and added it to my 25L fermenter. I added the apple juice, and tested the specific gravity and it came to 1.124 (should fully ferment to around 16.8%). I then let it cool off and added the yeast nutrient and yeast.
It has been brewing for 21 days now, and the bubble airlock is giving off around 4 bubbles per minute. The SG is 1.033. I was told that the primary fermentation should take about 2 weeks (obviously not). I am not very good at being patient, and I am really eager to try my brew. How long would this normally take to fully ferment, and is there a way of stopping the fermentation without having to worry about it starting up again once bottled (I have campden tablets but I was told that if there is residual sugar, it can start up again)?
Also, it is coming into winter here and the days are getting colder quite quickly. Does temperature have much of an effect on the rate of fermentation, and if so is it worth investing in a warming belt?
Thank you in advance for your help,
CJ
