Hi,
My first cider and my first post, though I have been following the forum for some time.
I got 30L (approx 7 gallons?) of freshly pressed apple juice 2 weeks ago.
I let it ferment on its wild yeast for approx a week, before I could manage to go to a shop and by some Nottingham yeast and hydrometer.
My first reading read 1.030 (after having fermented for 1 week). I decided to bump the cider up a bit and added approx 5 pounds of normal white sugar. I also pitched the Nottingham yeast straight in to the solution. The reading 3 days later was 1.041, and its both smelling and bubbling away nicely.
So here are my two questions.
1. How will the wild yeast and Nottingham interact? Is there any reason to believe that one string will take over? and in that case which one?
I have no reason to believe that the wild yeast is bad, I'm just curious. The guy I bought the juice from is a cider brewer here in Norway, and he recommended I let the cider ferment on the wild yeast.
2. I added the sugar straight into the fermentation keg/jar. Is that a problem? Do I risk having a lot of unfermented sugar in the bottom of the cider? And if so, should I shake/stir the cider while fermentation is still ongoing and not too much alcohol has yet formed?
Replies are much appreciated
My first cider and my first post, though I have been following the forum for some time.
I got 30L (approx 7 gallons?) of freshly pressed apple juice 2 weeks ago.
I let it ferment on its wild yeast for approx a week, before I could manage to go to a shop and by some Nottingham yeast and hydrometer.
My first reading read 1.030 (after having fermented for 1 week). I decided to bump the cider up a bit and added approx 5 pounds of normal white sugar. I also pitched the Nottingham yeast straight in to the solution. The reading 3 days later was 1.041, and its both smelling and bubbling away nicely.
So here are my two questions.
1. How will the wild yeast and Nottingham interact? Is there any reason to believe that one string will take over? and in that case which one?
I have no reason to believe that the wild yeast is bad, I'm just curious. The guy I bought the juice from is a cider brewer here in Norway, and he recommended I let the cider ferment on the wild yeast.
2. I added the sugar straight into the fermentation keg/jar. Is that a problem? Do I risk having a lot of unfermented sugar in the bottom of the cider? And if so, should I shake/stir the cider while fermentation is still ongoing and not too much alcohol has yet formed?
Replies are much appreciated