So recently a few friends of mine and I got the idea that we being poor college students it would be a good idea to try and ferment our own hard cider.
Anyways as you can probably tell we ended up buying commercial cider which contained the preservative potassium sorbate. My question is if it is at all possible, how would one go about fermenting a cider that contains this.
I have done some research online and have gotten some conflicting answers. I know that it doesn't kill the yeast but just inhibits its growth. I have also read that adding bread yeast to the mix can "soak up" the potassium sorbate before adding the correct brewing yeast. Does anyone know if this method is viable at all?
Also I have heard that it is possible to create a starter using apples, honey and sugar to create a yeast colony that will be big enough to ferment the entire batch. Is this the best bet when trying to ferment cider containing potassium sorbate?
Thanks
Josh
Anyways as you can probably tell we ended up buying commercial cider which contained the preservative potassium sorbate. My question is if it is at all possible, how would one go about fermenting a cider that contains this.
I have done some research online and have gotten some conflicting answers. I know that it doesn't kill the yeast but just inhibits its growth. I have also read that adding bread yeast to the mix can "soak up" the potassium sorbate before adding the correct brewing yeast. Does anyone know if this method is viable at all?
Also I have heard that it is possible to create a starter using apples, honey and sugar to create a yeast colony that will be big enough to ferment the entire batch. Is this the best bet when trying to ferment cider containing potassium sorbate?
Thanks
Josh