Stringy Floaters in Bottled Cider

Hi all! Made a batch of caramel apple cider according to the famous recipe on this forum. Everything went well, and I'm bottled up and carbing. I've noticed a fair amount of stringy floaters settling near the bottom, which get stirred up easily by bubbles when I pop the bottle open. The cider tastes good, smells fine, but the stringees are fairly unappetizing. I didn't notice anything in the bottles right after bottling. I know at least one other member had a similar problem (he called it "seaweed"), and posted about it, but it got a little lost in the back and forth within the actual recipe thread, and I don't think anyone ever answered.

What the heck is this stuff? Is it yeast, or something more sinister? I'm going to stovetop pasteurize the batch in the next day or so. Hopefully I haven't made 5 gallons of drain lube!

crabbyapple said:

Hi all! Made a batch of caramel apple cider according to the famous recipe on this forum. Everything went well, and I'm bottled up and carbing. I've noticed a fair amount of stringy floaters settling near the bottom, which get stirred up easily by bubbles when I pop the bottle open. The cider tastes good, smells fine, but the stringees are fairly unappetizing. I didn't notice anything in the bottles right after bottling. I know at least one other member had a similar problem (he called it "seaweed"), and posted about it, but it got a little lost in the back and forth within the actual recipe thread, and I don't think anyone ever answered.

What the heck is this stuff? Is it yeast, or something more sinister? I'm going to stovetop pasteurize the batch in the next day or so. Hopefully I haven't made 5 gallons of drain lube!

Click to expand...

I believe it is a combination of the syrup, and the cinnamon in the syrup. Chill the bottles in the fridge, and they should settle out in the bottom.

My first batch did the same thing. Still won $100 with it.

crabbyapple said:

Hi all! Made a batch of caramel apple cider according to the famous recipe on this forum. Everything went well, and I'm bottled up and carbing. I've noticed a fair amount of stringy floaters settling near the bottom, which get stirred up easily by bubbles when I pop the bottle open. The cider tastes good, smells fine, but the stringees are fairly unappetizing. I didn't notice anything in the bottles right after bottling. I know at least one other member had a similar problem (he called it "seaweed"), and posted about it, but it got a little lost in the back and forth within the actual recipe thread, and I don't think anyone ever answered.

What the heck is this stuff? Is it yeast, or something more sinister? I'm going to stovetop pasteurize the batch in the next day or so. Hopefully I haven't made 5 gallons of drain lube!

Click to expand...

My bottles did the same thing. Its the syrup and the cinnamon that separated out. Should settle to the bottom once you refrigerate them.

Sounds like a "rope" infection. Pediococus.

Thanks, everyone, for the help. I stovetop pasteurized the batch, then refrigerated, and it has cleared a lot. Still tastes/smells good. By the way, I wouldn't recommend 22oz bottles - I filled 8 of them from this batch thinking they'd be a nice two serving option, but lost 3 of them during pasteurizing. One bomb, two pop off tops. Carb level was the same as the smaller ones.

In any case,things seem to be ok with my batch.

Captain Damage said:

Sounds like a "rope" infection. Pediococus.

Click to expand...

I'd wondered about this, and was also nervous about acetobacter, but I think it really was the caramel syrup separating out. Time will tell, I guess.

Caramel really doesn't ever "separate out." It's soluble and partially fermentable. Pedio makes a lower level of lactic acid than lactobacilis, so you might not be able to taste the additional acid in a cider. Acetobacter needs oxygen to convert alcohol to acetic acid (vinegar), so if you've bottled it's less likely to be an issue.

For what it's worth, I just noticed a very similar thing with a cider I made, and in my case I was determining how much pumpkin spice infusion to put in a keg of finished, brilliantly clear cider, by adding drops of it to a glass. I was dismayed to see the infusion turn to ropey strings right in the glass. I've done infusions like this into beer without that effect, so I'm not sure what would cause this... Just thought you'd like to know what I saw.

Fair enough. I am coming from a beer-centric position. Been doing beer for 5 years, but my second-ever batch of cider went in the fermenter yesterday. The only time we see what you are describing in beer is when it's infected.

I appreciate the insight. To be clear, in either infection case, we're not talking about anything dangerous, right? I'm guessing that pasteurizing has taken care of any potential nasties.

And it did the same thing for me in a keg. I don't think there's anything to worry about

I wouldn't start with that kind of recipe doing a first cider. Start with something simple like 100% natural juice (ingredients count) and a simple fermentation using a good ale yeast. Nottingham is great for basic ciders but if you want to get into ciders that are drier you'll need to add something like Honey or natural brown sugar (turbinado?) to boost the residual flavor. If you use a yeast with high attenuation (like champagne yeast) you'll find that there won't be much flavor left. 3 lbs of honey and local cider with champagne yeast will make an excellent drink.

From a beer background, expect to pitch a cider in about 30 minutes. You will be racking more often but the brew day basically consists of pouring the juice into the carboy, adding honey (optional) and a yeast. For sure, you don't want to start out with anything too crazy so that you can get an idea of how cider was made back in the old days. Use local cider (pasturized or unpasturized) but make sure there is no potassium sorbate added. K-meta will also add clarity and make your product better.