Adding campden to mixed fermentation (sour) cider

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ElkSherpa

Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
1
Location
Texas
I made a cider/perry in December of 2010 from pears grown on my parents land and pitched a vial of trappist ale yeast. Fermentation was VERY slow moving. In the beginning of February, a pellicle had formed. I have let it ride since then and pulled a few tastes. I'm no expert on the matter but through a bit of research and deductive reasoning, I'm quite certain I picked up brettanomyces(bubbly pellicle), pediococcus(slime like ropiness), and probably acetobacter as well(thin white rubber-like circles on surface).

I would let it ride further but the possible acetobacter concerns me. The tartness is about where I want it. I intend to bottle half of the 4 gallons, and save two for blending with other beer.

How should I go about ceasing the bugs? Would adding crushed campden tablets be the most appropriate solution?
 
I have killed Brett by fining with gelatin, crash cooling, racking, and then adding 1 campden tablet per gallon. A few days later you can re-yeast and bottle.

I wouldn’t worry about Acetobacter unless you are smelling/tasting vinegar, or letting a lot of oxygen in. It is very hard to tell what microbes you have visually, different strains/conditions manifest themselves in different ways.

You’re saying the texture of the actual cider is slimy/viscous, not just the pellicle? If you do have Pedio “sickness” I would ride it out, you need the Brett to help clean it up.

I did a sour/funky cider 18 months ago, but it never really got that sour/funky.
 
The pellicle is "slimy", not so much the entire cider itself.

I've been following your blog, Oldsock, and you've really put a wealth of information out there for guys like me to geek out on. Thanks!
 
Back
Top