Cider fermentation and carbonation

Question

I'm a novice "homebrewer" about to attempt my first ever brew. I've been reading about a homebrewing process in which yeast is added directly to a juice for a period of time in order to achieve alcoholic content.

I want my yeast to be able to carbonate my brew, but I also don't want to bottle too soon so that I have a bad sulfurous smell.

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My Planned Process

I am aiming to make a carbonated alcoholic cider at least 5% abv (I do not plan on clarifying the brew):

• Sanitation: Star San for consistency.
• Juice: Simply Apple, > 20 g of sugar per serving, minimum preservatives (no sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate), pasteurized (not sure which process, apparently cold (UV) pasteurized is preferred?)
• Container: 1 Gallon Carboy with airlock
• Yeast: Lallemand Belle Saison
• Starter: Introduce yeast into juice in separate bottle, seal, shake, rest for 6 hours or until bubbling.
• Ferment, then bottle.

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Reading about apple cider brews, it came to my attention that they can yield unpleasant armomas, like in this question, where the remedy was to simply wait, unless the brew was "infected" (I believe my sanitation process should prevent this). Simple guides on the subject suggest a 3 day wait until bottling if carbonation is desired, while the stackexchange post suggest a 2 week wait to wait for the sulfurous smell to be released.

How long should I wait till bottling my brew so that I can achieve a smell-free carbonated brew?

Answer 1

Sulfur odor is usually gassed off in a vigorous fermentation.

Couple suggestions.

1. Saison yeast may not be the best choice, it can add a peppery ester that may not work well in a cider. I would simply use a wine or Champaign yeast.

2. Fully ferment the cider don't try to bottle it at that magic point to achieve carbonation. Most ciders will be fully fermented in a couple weeks or less. Only a gravity reading will tell you for sure, when it's done.

3. If it's a 1 gallon batch. After fermentaion is complete. Add about 2 cups of the same unfermented juice to the batch then bottle it. This will "prime" it again with sugar for the yeast that's already in suspension to naturally carbonate the bottles. 2 weeks is the normal wait time for bottle conditioning.