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maturation under airlock
Hi guys, after a million different internet searches I've come up blank, and a trawl of the forum to date, same result. So here goes my first attempt to shamelessly steal your hard-won cider knowledge.
I've racked off my first ever batch of cider, and am now maturing under airlock in a 1 gallon demijohn. All fermentation seems to have ceased, and I threw in a campden tablet afterwards for good meaure (as per my recipe). So I'm assuming that I have no CO2 blanket. Even with a minimal airspace, I'm slightly concerned that in the months before Yule, the small air contact might lead to a vinegar effect. Am I being over-cautious? Should I add a touch of yeast again to try and get some CO2 produced to displace the air at the top? Any thoughts gratefully received.
Remember, perhaps you were once as young and foolish as I..?
If you can't remove the air with some CO2 (try your LHBS for a small CO2 cartridge dispenser), top off your demijohn with some acceptable cider from a different source. You can also top up with some filtered, boiled, and cooled water, but will have to settle for the slight changes in strength/body/color. Two things to keep in mind. Adding yeast will really not accomplish anything as there is nothing additional in there for the yeast to eat. There is still plenty of yeast in suspension already, so if you want to add some food for them (sugar), they will reactivate and produce more CO2. However, that will stir things up a bit and your yeast are going through a dormant phase where they are cleaning up their own slight issues. Even without any active bubbles in your air lock, there is likely still some undetectable activity in the cider, and more than likely, you still have a CO2 blanket in there. If you have removed the air lock and disturbed things, then worry about air getting in. Otherwise, my thoughts are that you may be just fine as is. I am sure the other guys have some thoughts as well. Lets see what the overall consensus is.
One of the things that eliminates the guesswork is a hydrometer. Measure the specific gravity of your must, cider, wort before you pitch the yeast, and when you think it is close to finished. When the SP has stabilized at a level appropriate for that brew, you're done. If it stops at too high an SG, you know there is a problem.
If you didn't measure at the beginning, you can still get a hydrometer and take the SG. For cider you should be in the area of 1.000 or less.
I would say it depends on how much air is sitting on top. If it is very little, I wouldn't worry too much. If concerned, since you are done with the brewing of it, you can go ahead and bottle, leaving as much or little air in individual bottles as you want. If you don't want to do that, or just can't stop thinking about a CO2 blanket, there are several things on the market that you should be able to use to force CO2 into the area above your beverage.
CO2 wine openers - seem to be about $20 when i do a google search.
I have a soda-stream device, that carbonates water for making your own soda. That's what I used, but don't go spending $100 when $20 will do.
Just a couple things off the top of my head...
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