Firstnten
Well-Known Member
I left 4 gallons out for two days and it looks like they started to ferment. The containers expanded. Should I dump them?
No, what you've got is wild yeast fermenting the cider. I'd pour them in a fermenter and let them run. Or just put some foil over the openings and then you'll be able to compare the results.
too late for that my wife put them in the fridge out of fear they would explode...I guess I should have mentioned that...sorry
There's no reason you can't take them out of the fridge and pour them into a fermenter. The yeast will "wake up" as the temperature rises.
Put airlocks on them and see how they do. Try to keep them cool - around 60 degrees or lower. Wild yeasts can run away and ferment out all the yeast in no time. They also tend to get bad tasting below 1.020, depending on the mix of wild yeasts present. They will actually be easier to deal with in gallons because wild yeasts can be really tough to crash. Also, wild yeast ferments dont like to be handled much at all, so I would not advise pouring them into a new carboy. Keep them in the original containers and try to keep everything that touches them as sterile as possible
Maybe add sugar to one or two, later in the ferment, but you cant add much because the wild yeasts can only convert so much sugar to alcohol before they start going weird. You're probably going to get more apple taste with no sugar but if you have four gallons it might be worth experimenting
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