Right, I pressed two five gallon fermentation bins of juice (primarily Spartan apples but some granny smiths and james grieves) – sulphited, left it, added champers yeast and B1 nutrient. Now, four days later, one bin is fermenting away brilliantly and the other hasn’t even started. So, I added some more yeast (just in case I had accidentally pitched bin 1 twice and forgot bin 2) and two days later it still hasn’t started.
Any ideas? Given that bin 1 got started right away and bin 2 is pretty much identical but hasn’t started shall I just wait and see if bin 2 will start or just chuck it out?
Cider Advice - Fermentation Not Started
-
DREADSKIN
Re: Cider Advice - Fermentation Not Started
I made my cider press at the weekend (the design using the floor tom drum) and pressed quite alot of apples. i ended up with about 30 ltrs. not as much as i had hope due to only having a bucket , 4"2" and two sets of triceps to smash the apples into pulp. anyhows i have had a similar problem...
one of my 20 ltr batchs went in to the dregs of the lasT TC batch i made. its fermenting madly. in the other two i added youngs cider yeast a day after sulphite. nothing happened, i added more. one has started, but only very slowly while the other has not.
'real' cider makers: is this normal? has our vision just been disjointed and blurred by the highly efficent turbo cider process? am i going to get a bad dose of botchilism?
one of my 20 ltr batchs went in to the dregs of the lasT TC batch i made. its fermenting madly. in the other two i added youngs cider yeast a day after sulphite. nothing happened, i added more. one has started, but only very slowly while the other has not.
'real' cider makers: is this normal? has our vision just been disjointed and blurred by the highly efficent turbo cider process? am i going to get a bad dose of botchilism?
-
Mitchamitri
Re: Cider Advice - Fermentation Not Started
Its started now - albeit slowly - all good things come to those who wait it would seem!!
-
likesbeer
Re: Cider Advice - Fermentation Not Started
My first go of cider making I did about 8 DJ's worth, each one fermented different with the same content the mistery.
FOr future I wouldnt bother with the sulphite as have done a few more since and the latest 60 litre batch is just about ready to bottle all I did was split an already fermenting DJ between the two FV's and away it went no issues.
I recon the sulphiting is the culprit although its supposed to dissapate and not have an effect after a few hours.
FOr future I wouldnt bother with the sulphite as have done a few more since and the latest 60 litre batch is just about ready to bottle all I did was split an already fermenting DJ between the two FV's and away it went no issues.
I recon the sulphiting is the culprit although its supposed to dissapate and not have an effect after a few hours.
-
buzzrtbi
Re: Cider Advice - Fermentation Not Started
i never sulphite
What temperature are you keeping this at? you dont want a high temp for cider. I make loads of the stuff and my view is that the farmhouse cider that is chucked into wooden barrels stays there for months until it is racked out. This is what I do.
However, I made some this year in my conical frementer and it looked quite scary at times. Itr did clear out very well in the conical and I was able to dump the trub and also save some of the yeast.
Leave it alone and all will be fine - try and keep the air from it otherwise it will oxidise.
One of the old tales as mst of you will know was to throw a rat in - many large farmhouse cider presses were open fermenting vats and rats did inevitably fall in but the debris was "eaten" away by the cider. Some of the local commercial farmhouse producers hang a leg of pork in the cider - their view is when the meat falls off the bone the cider is ready. The reason as far as I am informed is that it prevents the cider from oxidising - something to do with iron in the blood or something? never got to the bottom of that one? suffice to say that after the hard work of pressing the apples I cant bring myself to chuck a pork chop or similar in there?
hope that helps? BTW keep the kegged cider somewhere cool for several months and if you dont have pressure release valves on the keg make sure you let the pressure out now and again - it is lively stuff !!
What temperature are you keeping this at? you dont want a high temp for cider. I make loads of the stuff and my view is that the farmhouse cider that is chucked into wooden barrels stays there for months until it is racked out. This is what I do.
However, I made some this year in my conical frementer and it looked quite scary at times. Itr did clear out very well in the conical and I was able to dump the trub and also save some of the yeast.
Leave it alone and all will be fine - try and keep the air from it otherwise it will oxidise.
One of the old tales as mst of you will know was to throw a rat in - many large farmhouse cider presses were open fermenting vats and rats did inevitably fall in but the debris was "eaten" away by the cider. Some of the local commercial farmhouse producers hang a leg of pork in the cider - their view is when the meat falls off the bone the cider is ready. The reason as far as I am informed is that it prevents the cider from oxidising - something to do with iron in the blood or something? never got to the bottom of that one? suffice to say that after the hard work of pressing the apples I cant bring myself to chuck a pork chop or similar in there?
hope that helps? BTW keep the kegged cider somewhere cool for several months and if you dont have pressure release valves on the keg make sure you let the pressure out now and again - it is lively stuff !!