cider with white skin

hello all.
first off sorry if this has been covered loads already.

basically this is the second year ive collected wind drop apples pressed them my self and made cider. laast year all was well.

this year after adding the yeast and after fermentation, i siphoned it off into my other fermentor to leave it to clear. just gone to bottle it up this evening and its got a white skin covering it. almost looks powdery.

ive tasted it and tastes better than last year and doesnt smell no where near as 'raw'.

ive done some quick reading on campden tablets, but is it too late to add these?

can i just transfer and carefully leave the skin behind?

whats the best plan of action? i dont want to waste all 23 litres of it

thanks for any help!!!

Sounds like an infection.

The basic solution is to rack out from underneath the film to a new container, leaving behind as much film as possible. Then dose the cider with ~50ppm sulfites. The new container should minimize any cider/air contact. Alternatively, you could bottle ASAP (leaving the film behind again) and pasteurize to minimize any effects on your product.
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Sure, just be cause it has a 'white' skin, there's something wrong with it?

With regards to cider from dropped apples, then yes, anything that isn't ordinary certainly means that it could be wrong.
Is it? Dunno but it should be treated somehow if there's any concern. Bacterial growth can be inhibited by alcohol, but it doesn't necessarily kill it (just like yeast). I'd leave the white film, dose with stabilizers and maybe even pasteurize too -if indeed this film is not the must degassing itself or something.
Does the must smell ok? Any other indications that it's off? Is your sanitation procedure solid?

It happened to me as well with my cider made from fresh apple juice. In my very un-professional opinion, it smelled fine so I didn't sound any alarms. I filtered it in another glass 23L container with an airlock, leaving the deposit behind.

I think (I'll need some gurus to validate this) that it's called Krausen and it's a normal process.

Oddly, after the first filtration, it re-started fermenting because of some stacked sugar. At that point I could have added more clarifying agents to stop it but I wanted to see where it would go.

Filtered it again a week and a half later and now it's clear and smells fine.

Hope this helps

which or what sulphates/ stabilizers should i use? i never had to use chemicals before so no nothing about them.


no no other signs of anything wrong. smells and tastes pretty good.

yes sanitation is pretty good id say. made quite a few batchs of all grain beer and done countless brews from the stuff in the tins. never had a problem with any of these.
however, like you say the apples are from the ground and home pressed so loads of chance of infection from that.

cheers guys

Campden tablets are the most popular. Most LHBS and online suppliers stock them.

okay will order some right now. thanks so much guys. will let you know how it goes

Look into potassium sorbate as well, it's a common preservative that is used often in wine making (in conjunction with campden) to prevent yeast from reproducing. This process will give you a little peace of mind as far as safety, and will enhance the lifespan of the product if you plan to age any for a while

vwwvgolf said:

which or what sulphates/ stabilizers should i use? i never had to use chemicals before so no nothing about them.

Click to expand...

Here is what I did (I followed the instructions the gurus at the store gave me):

Day 1: Metabisulphite (1/4tsp /23L) & Ascorbic Acid (1tsp/23L - Prevents oxydation)

Day 2: Pectic Enzyme (1/2tsp/gal) & Yeast

End of fermentation: Potassium Sorbate (1tsp/23L - Clarifying agent) & Metabisulphite (1/4tsp /23L - prevents re-fermentation... although mine did... maybe I should have put more)

Let clarify
Filter
bottle.

As I said earlier, I had to filter twice because my cider had that odd film on it before. I let it sit a week between filterings.

Hope this helps

P.S. 23L = 6.05 UsGal

tthanks for all the input guys.
i have ordered some campden tablets, and would have ordered some of the other suggestions however, it was too late and the postage is quite expensive from my shop. i do already have some clarifying agents tho.

once i have racked off into clean bucket, added campden, how long should i leave before bottling?

i have just racked off it too clean fermenter and added the campden.
how long should i leave before bottling??
also had a small taste and tasted a litttle bit water, can anyone make more sesne of what has/had happened??
thanks