My cider brew (5 gal) has experienced a large drop in its specific gravity readings over a 24 hour period. Yesterday it was measured at 1.05 with the kit recommending bottling at 1.04 or lower. Today I measured the brew and the specific gravity was measured at 1.008. What happened? Should I bottle at this point?
This is my first brew so any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
It's best to let it hit terminal gravity, then add priming sugar before bottling. (dry, sparkling)
Ciders can ferment very quiclky, so your drop is not a concern.
Ciders have many styles when and how you bottle depends greatly on the desired sweetness and carbonation. Ranges from dry to sweet and still to sparkling.
Sweet / Sparkling being the most difficult to achieve with bottle conditioning. Dry / Still being the easiest and safest.
Without knowing the potential terminal gravity, when to bottle using existing fermentables can be risky. Bottling too early can make some bottle bombs. It's not uncommon for ciders to hit 0.990 and typically only 0.002-0.004 gravity points are needed for carbonation.
