Cider Digest #0197

Published in

· 8 months ago

Subject:      Cider Rookie 
Date:         Mon, 12 Oct 92 17:35:28 CDT 
From: Darren Evans-Young <DARREN@UA1VM.UA.EDU> 

Well, I'm about to try my 1st hard cider.  Hey, gotta start somewhere. 
I'm listing my recipe below.  Anything I should change or add? 

2.5 gallons apple cider 
 48 ounces  100% apple juice concentrate 
  1 pound brown sugar 
  1 quart Whitbread ale yeast starter 

I'm not sure the amount of brown sugar is acceptable, this is just a guess. 
In the Zymurgy article on cider, it talks about adding tannin for acidity. 
Will lemon juice work?  Seems like lemon juice would be ideal for adding 
tartness to a cider. 

Darren 

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Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 1:31:36 PDT 
From: Buckaroo Banzai <u_banzai@mcl.mcl.ucsb.edu> 
Subject: Problems starting cider fermenting 

I recently bought a case of 4 gallons of Apple Cider, unpreserved, no sugar, 
from Trader Joe's. 

I took a gravity reading, and it was 1.050, and I said, "I can ferment this 
just the way it is!" 

I rehydrated a packet of ale yeast in 110F water for 10 minutes, then pitched 
into a 1 gallon jug.  I added a pinch of Yeast Nutrient, and put an airlock on. 
As an afterthought I took a pH reading, and it was at 4.5 or below. (my paper 
is 4.5-7.5 range, and it was very strongly on the 4.5 end) 

After no activity in 24 hours, I tried adding some vigorously fermenting 
beer wort to the cider.  5 hours later, nothing. 

I'm wondering a few things: 
1) Do I need to oxygenate the cider, as it was probably pasturized, and hence 
   has no dissolved O2 that my yeast wants for aerobic activity? 

2) Do I need to buffer the cider so the pH is closer to 7.  If so, what with? 

3) Is there something else I should do to this off-the-shelf item to make my 
   cider get off the ground, and start fermenting. 

Thanks for any help... 
(I have 4 more gallons waiting to start...oh, joy!) 

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