Beer Forum

My first batch of cider is in fermentation right now, I am fermenting with Red Star Cote Des Blancs yeast at about 69 degrees for 5 days now. It appears to be a slow fermentation from the start, but I attribute this to a characteristic of the specific yeast strain. My three peice air-lock is bubbling at a significant lower rate from when i first pitched my yeast, about 8 times per minute. This is about 50% slower from when fermentation initially started. My questions are as follows, does this appear to be a normal fermentation for this specific yeast strain? If so, when should I move my batch into a secondary carboy?

Thanks to all who post.

"Secondary" not strictly necessary. Haven't used that yeast in particular, but the lack of nutrients in cider (unless you add them) may sometimes result in a slower ferment compared to beer. What was the OG on your cider?

My original gravity reading was 1.054, I added nothing to it, just straight apple juice.
I pitched 1 tsp. into a one gallon batch. I left some head space because I was expecting a vigorous fermentation, but now I have learned that it is not necessary when doing cider.

Rehydrate the yeast & use some nutrient. That would help with the sluggish ferment for next time. Just have to ride this one out.

Will do, thanks.