Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Cider Digest #0232
Subject: Amazed by Problems
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 21:00 EST
From: Phil Hultin <HULTINP@QUCDN.QueensU.CA>
I guess I am really surprised by all these reports of explosivly active
fermentations etc. I have never seen anything even approaching that
level of activity using either Wyeast or dry champagne yeast. I make
cider only in the fall, using local sweet cider (unpreserved) at an
O.G. of 1.040. On one occasion the cider was under gravity so I added
corn sugar. No violence ever observed, just slow, steady action over
several months.
Now, note that I do my ferments in my cool cellar in Kingston Ontario,
where the temperature in late-october is about 12-15 C, stays in that
range all winter until bottling time in February. This will of course
moderate the yeast activity. It also means I get a nice amount of
fruit character left in the product, rather than blown out with the
CO2.
Don't know what to say to you all except KEEP IT COOL. Good Luck. P.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 09:21:00 +0000
From: "Rick (R.) Cavasin" <cav@bnr.ca>
Subject: re:Desperate plea
Doug,
Did your fermentation start? Was it fairly vigorous to begin with?
What's the gravity now? Did you do anything to 'sterilize' your must
(ie. pasturize, add sulphite, etc.)? It's hard to make a virtual
diagnosis without more info.
If your current gravity is basically the same as your starting gravity,
(ie. little to no fermentation has taken place), you could aerate the
must by racking it to another vessel and ensuring alot of splashing
while you're doing so, and repitching with a yeast starter.
If the must has sat there for several days with no fermentation, you
might want to contemplate pasturizing or sulphiting it to suppress
any uninvited guests that may have taken up residence.
No need to be too paranoid about this however, some make cider with
the indigenous yeasts.
If some fermentation has taken place, aeration is a bad idea but you
could repitch with an actively fermenting starter. Although yeast
nutrient might be helpful, it should not be necessary. You could
add it to your starter so that the yeast will be well fortified before
going into the must. You can make a starter with a quart of commercial
apple juice (pasturized for your convenience) and the yeast of your
choice in an apppropiate vessel (say a 1/2 gallon or gallon glass jug -
or a wine magnum - anything you can sanitize and put an airlock on).
Aerate the juice (adding nutrient if you want), pitch your yeast and
put the air lock on. When it forms a head of krausen, pitch it in your
cider. Remember, the cider doesn't usually ferment as quickly as beer
wort so be patient. Good luck! - Rick C.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 09:41:05 -0500
From: waflowers@quantum.qnx.com (Bill Flowers)
Subject: Another plea for recipes
I joined this list late so I missed any recipes that went by
previously. I have a fair bit of beer brewing experience and have made
1.5 batches (one is still fermenting) of cyser (apple-mead or
apple-honey wine). What is in the bottle is wonderful! Smooth like a
good sherry, with a full apple flavour well blended with the honey and
still slightly sweet. It came out crystal clear (without filtering
but with multiple rackings) and a wonderful straw color with almost
15% alcohol! Now I'm looking to make some cider while fresh pressed
apples are readily available to me. But I don't know what to do!
As an experiment I sanitized a 4L jug and filled it with some fresh
"cider" and put an airlock on it. Fermentation started within days.
Almost 3 weeks later it is essentially quiet after some quite vigorous
activity. There's lots of precipitate so I racked it last night.
This morning there is almost as much again! Maybe it will actually
clarify at some stage? It is still quite cloudy and the yeast is still
present in both the taste and arome. My wifes comment last night when
she tasted it was: nice, not too dry, but somewhat "thin".
Knowing that using sugar when making beer results in cidery flavours,
which is a bad thing, I'm thinking that this is a good thing when
making hard cider. White cane sugar (which will be the cideriest (?))
is real cheap here: $0.99 for 2Kg (4.4 lbs). Would almost a pound of
sugar per US gallon be OK (2Kg/19L)? Too much? Not enough?
What would be a good yeast? I don't want a real dry cider, so I'm
thinking a non-attenuative ale yeast would be best. Suggestions?
Can cider by naturally carbonated by adding some additional sugar at
bottling time as is done with beer? Some sparkling cider might be
nice.
Should fining agents be used? Which?
Should yeast nutrient be used or are there enough nutrients in the
apples? Should an acid blend be used? How much?
My apologies for the length of this post and the number of questions,
but I have much to learn and little time to do so. TIA.
W.A. (Bill) Flowers email: waflowers@quantum.qnx.com
Quantum Software Systems, Ltd. QUICS: bill (613) 591-0934 (data)
(613) 591-0931 (voice) mail: 175 Terrence Matthews
(613) 591-3579 (fax) Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2M 1W8
------------------------------
