Cider Session - Fermentation Part 1

The juice has sat overnight with the campden tablets. Now I've just pitched the yeast

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• homebrew
• cider
• apple
• brewvic

[RohirrimWarrior]

u dnt need to add yeast apples if hand picked and organic have there own yeast like grapes.

[brewvic]

@RohirrimWarrior - Yes, the apples come with natural yeasts on them (along with Brettanomyces, Pediococcus and a bunch of other 'bugs'), but which ones? In what concentrations? The point of using the campden tablets is to kill all the bugs in the juice, then I can pitch a particular yeast that I want to ferment the juice. That way, I have much more reliable results.

[lauriL90]

Isnt it more like apple vine, because you let the gases out. If you compleatly seal it after around 2-3days and then wait few weeks, you will get a cider with gases.

[brewvic]

Yeah - the problem with that is that the carboy glass is not strong enough to hold the pressure - and I don't like cleaning broken glass and 23 litres of cider up off of my floor.

Instead, I let it ferment completely, then racked it into a 'corny keg' and force carbonated with a CO2 cylinder there.

[lauriL90]

Ok. I have the right barrel that can hold the pressure. I trying to make ~40l of cider in it. After around 1,5 month i still dont have much alcohol inside it. Maiby around 1% by taste. I must have done something wrong.

[brewvic]

The test of whether it's fermented is if it is sweet tasting. If there's no sweetness left, it's probably fully fermented.

If it's still sweet, get 'Champagne' yeast, rehydrate it, and pitch it back in. Champagne yeast will ferment all the sugar in the juice for sure. If you want more alcohol, you can also dissolve a bunch of sugar in a little bit of water and pour that in with the yeast.

[Adol666]

@brewvic I hate Arguing with these twits on youtube about using wild yeast. Glad to see someone who doesnt want their cider to taste like leather and smell like a wet animal( Brettanomyces) thats if it would even ferment at all befor bacterial contams got to it.

[MrThommo1971]

If I don't use a yeast supplement do I still need to use a campden tablet?

[manzilla86]

@dyoung6 Technically one yeast cell can reproduce enough to brew a batch, it would just take a really long time (according to my brew books (The Complete Joy of Home Brewing)).

I wouldn't risk it even if you have the skins off because some of the yeast on the apples will ferment to make vinegar, and I really don't need 5 gallons of vinegar. I do really need 5 gallons of cider!

[manzilla86]

@lauriL90 That's probably not a good idea.

If you keg it just follow brewvic's advice. If you want to bottle it just add a solution of corn sugar and water (1/2cup sugar to 1 cup h2o for 5 gallons) at bottling time and then let it sit for a couple of weeks. The remaining yeast in cider will kick into action and produce a safe amount of carbonation without making a bomb.

[dyoung6]

@brewvic I believe the yeast content is mainly in the skins of the apple, as is most of the other things (bacteria and other types of nasties). If you used a cider press I wouldn't see you having much of a yeast content. I believer, correct me if I'm wrong. If you'd used a juicer, then I think the yeast content would be a little higher but not to any noticeable effects. Pitching you're own yeast is fine, I'm just reassuring what you already know I believe.

[lauriL90]

Thanks, il try it. I have 1 more question. What did you mean by rehydrateing it? Sry, english is not my native. I also dont have any idie, where cold i get Champagne yeast. Is ordinary yeast okey?