Liquid yeast starter and cider

The instructions call for adding the yeast to a starter. The starter they describe is made of dried malt extract and water.

How do I make a cider starter?

Thanks

Well, I'd dissolve the yeast in some of the juice diluted with water and a pinch of yeast nutrient. That should be good. Maybe 1/2 juice and 1/2 water (a cup or so of each) would be enough to get it going well.

Thanks....

The instructions call for boiling the wort, should i boil the cider?

I don't boil cider or juices that have been pasteurized. I don't boil cider or juice that hasn't been pasteurized, either, but then I use campden tablets.

If you boil cider, you'll set the pectin (think apple jelly) so, no, I wouldn't.

An easy technique that I learned from a fellow brewer is to buy some of those cheap six packs of 10 oz bottles of apple juice from Walmart and when you need a starter, just open one, pour about 1/2 of it out, shake it up to aerate it, add your yeast to it and replace the cap or even better use an airlock. Check it frequently as the last one I did came alive and had about 1.5 inches of foam on top in only 3 hours.

315er said:

Thanks....

The instructions call for boiling the wort, should i boil the cider?

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Yes. And I don't dilute. I find some unpasteurized, fresh pressed cider from a farm stand usually, but u can get I've got it from Amazon.com too. I bought six gallons once, made a starter with 1 liter and kept the rest. I boils the entire liter in the flask and then placed it in an ice bath to cool to 70F degrees, then pitch yeast and stir it on plate for 24 hrs. Or u can just shake it and put an airlock on it.