Cider Digest #1470

eZine lover (@eZine)

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Cider Digest

 · 7 months ago

Subject: Cider Digest #1470, 12 October 2008 
From: cider-request@talisman.com 

 
Cider Digest #1470                                         12 October 2008 

                 Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues 
                      Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor 

Contents: 
  Re: Campden tabets and Yeast (Claude Jolicoeur) 
  2nd attempt (Joan Fletcher) 
  Campden Tablets and Yeast (Andrew Lea) 

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Subject: Re: Campden tabets and Yeast 
From: Claude Jolicoeur <cjoli@gmc.ulaval.ca> 
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:00:51 -0400 

In Cider Digest #1469, 7 October 2008, David wrote: 
>Subject: Campden tabets and Yeast 
>From: David Blakely <dabnews@hotmail.com> 
>Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 21:40:34 -0700 
> 
>I am making a 5 gallon batch of cider using apples on my property. If I 
>use campden tablets to prepare my juice for cider and I am making 6 gallon 
>batchs can you tell me how much campden should be used and how long should 
>I wait to pitch my good yeast. 

David, 
For my part, if I pick the apples from the trees, and they have no rot, I 
find it unnessary to add any sulfite (or Campden teblets) to the juice 
before fermentation. I have never spoiled a batch in 20 years because I 
didn't add sulfite to the juice. Now, if you do it commercially, you may 
not want to take a chance and choose to add sulfite, that's OK - but if you 
do it for yourself, why would you add it - sulfite is not really healthy... 
So my point of view is if I do cider for myself, I don't want to have all 
the additives commercial producers have to add, and I think I get a much 
better and healthier product that way. 
Claude Jolicoeur 

------------------------------ 

Subject: 2nd attempt 
From: Joan Fletcher <cyberwyrd@telus.net> 
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 20:16:05 -0700 

The verdict is in?on my second ever batch of cider. Last year I got   
50 gallons of late-season juice from Bill the Squeeze (Thanks,   
Bill!). I froze 5 of the 5-gallon buckets, and pitched 1 envelope of   
Lalvin EC1118 per bucket of each of the other five as soon as they   
arrived, after a 2-hour drive and 5-hour ferry trip (don't ask!).  No   
sulphite. I hoped that if the Lalvin got a good robust fermentation   
going quickly it would overwhelm any free-range yeast that happened   
to be present, The hydrometer reading was 045, i.e, just on the edge   
of keepability. After the first fermentation was complete, I racked   
it into carboys, and half-thawed one of the remaining buckets,   
leaving half as a core of ice, and added approximately 2 litres of   
the concentrated thawed juice to each of the carboys. Another very   
vigourous and longer-lasting fermentation took place.  It finished   
fermenting and cleared naturally around the middle of February.  I   
then racked and bottled each 5 gallons with 1.5 litres of clear juice   
(sadly, I was in the middle of moving and wound up using Sun-Rype).   
The results have been, to my inexperienced eye and palate, AWESOME!   
Clear, very dry, no aftertaste, nothing but fermented apple. We have   
been happily guzzling it up all summer. Thanks to all you folks for   
your advice and general handholding, Couldn't have done it without you. 

------------------------------ 

Subject: Campden Tablets and Yeast 
From: Andrew Lea <andrew@HarpHill.co.uk> 
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:29:44 +0100 

 
David Blakeley asked: 

> If I 
> use campden tablets to prepare my juice for cider and I am making 6 gallon 
> batchs can you tell me how much campden should be used and how long should 
> I wait to pitch my good yeast. 

The amount you need depends on the pH of the juice, which you will have  
to measure. There is a table on my website which shows how much to add.  
See http://cider.org.uk/phandacid.htm 

If you have absolutely no way of measuring pH, you can take a flier and  
just add one Campden tablet per gallon. This gives you 50 ppm SO2.  
Unless the juice is very acid indeed (eg UK Bramley or similar), you  
will probably be OK with this and it will not inhibit the added yeast  
too much. 

You should wait overnight after addition of sulphite, before adding a yeast. 

Andrew Lea 

www.cider.org.uk 

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End of Cider Digest #1470 
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