This is pretty sketchy but...

Hey all,

I've been trying to get a lazy friend into brewing for a while now. Over the course of a conversation I suggested to him that, yes, technically he could probably just dump a bit of wine yeast into a jug of Tree Top and he'd make cider....but then he got annoyed with the idea of getting 'complicated equipment', ie: an airlock....oh well.

But as a joke (or maybe not) what would happen if you were to take a jug of Tree Top, pitch in the wine yeast, then cover the top with aluminum foil? Would you actually get something drinkable out of that?

(FYI: I explained that this was almost getting to the 'prison level' of brewing which made for a good chuckle.)

-WW

Alot of people use foil or a towel for primary fermentation on wines and ciders.

Balloon, tin foil, etc, anything that keeps airborne yeast, bacteria, spores etc from dropping in while letting CO2 escape works and has been used quite often.
I think your lazy friend would be much happier just drinking your stuff and not having to buy anything.
I know I would be.

I did just that a couple of weeks ago, except I used bread yeast we had lying around, and a balloon over the mouth of the jug. It's getting close to finishing, and it already tastes pretty good a little bready but that's fine. I was just looking for a "proof of concept" before I invested in the equipment (meaning airlock and ale yeast). Tell your friend to give it a try, it will probably turn out better than he expects!

A lot of guys I know started off doing small batches with a balloon as an airlock. I don't know why it's such a huge deal to spend $5 on a bung and airlock but...

Get him to buy a bottle of Treetop, open it and pitch some Montrachet, cover with a balloon and poke a hole in the balloon with a pin. Kind of ghetto but maybe it'll get him hooked.

latex gloves work well too... BONUS: tape the thumb, index and last two fingers down - and your Yeastie Beasties can give you the bird for being too cheap to buy a a bung and an airlock...

I started using aluminum foil instead of airlocks. This reduces the pressure inside the fermenter which, from what I understand, the yeast appreciate.

OK I'm going to give it a shot. I picked up some juice today, but still have a few questions.

1. I have a few Cooper's yeast packs kicking around. What would be the effect of using them instead of the champagne yeast? If it's risking making a mess then I'll just wait to get down to the LHBS.

2. When using foil to seal the opening, do you just wrap a piece of sanitized foil over the top and then secure with an elastic band? Is it a very tight wrap?

3. The apple juice is pretty close to the top of the jug. Do you need to dump a bit out first to avoid spillover?

Thanks,
WW

The juice itself is the most expensive part!

Montrachet wine yeast is only $1. Hit Ed Wort's Apelwein recipe for the cheapest good stuff around.

Yah, it's not the money it's that I have the juice, foil, sanitizer, and the Cooper's yeast right in front of me and I want to make it NOW!

But...I'll wait <kicks sofa>, I guess.

WriterWriter said:

Yah, it's not the money it's that I have the juice, foil, sanitizer, and the Cooper's yeast right in front of me and I want to make it NOW!

But...I'll wait <kicks sofa>, I guess.

Click to expand...

if you are looking for a Cider that finishes slightly sweet instead of dry, the cooper ale yeast you have should work fine - careful though - some ale yeasts have a tendancy to form a krausen during the peak fermentation - could make a mess if you lack headspace.
I just started an S04 cider yesterday morning - it peaked a little krausen overnight - and then calmed down some it's bubbling away quite happily - it's not nearly as energetic as the EC-1118 I've tried or Montrachet I usually use
but I'm shooting for a slightly sweeter strong cider that I can bottle carb (trying to create somethng that appeals more to SWMBO's palete - she doesn't quite love the dry Apfelwein I create with the montrachet -I love it - but I'm not in this just to please myself.) I think your ghetto foil, with cooper's and a bottle of juice should work OK as is... go for it