Wild yeast for cider attempt

Well, it's not the normal cider from wild yeast where you get your yeast from the apples or the press. I just plucked a raspberry out of the backyard in this cool fall weather. And I've tossed it on my stirplate with about 100ml of apple juice.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1475428923.100580.jpg

We'll have to see if anything comes of it. The kolsch glasses I have are just big enough for my stir bar, and have a flat enough botttom. Had to spin it way down to 3 volts, and it's still trying feebly to purée the raspberry.

How are you going to evaluate?

Microscope?

Drinking the sample?

I've heard of people getting good results from berries. Hope it works out for you!

Ultimately I'll be looking for attenuation, yeast sedimentation, and evaluating aroma and finally taste.

Well, it looks like it has fermented. Looks like active fermentation. But man oh man it's kicking off some fusel alcohol aromas. I've taken it off the stirplate now because I don't think it's needed anymore.

It might not turn out if it throws a huge amount of fusels. Still, let it go (at least the starter) and see what happens.

I may throw a half liter of juice at it after I decant the spent starter and see how that goes. Juice is cheap and the time investment is negligible

I decided to give it a chance, and hope the solventy aroma was from over aerating. So I decanted and dumped 200 ml on my wild yeast, and it smells much better right now. Half inch of creamy frothy krausen, and the layer of settled yeast I had before decanting looked like nice creamy healthy yeast.

He she isView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1477001144.372731.jpg

Did you taste it?

Not yet, I'm waiting for it to ferment out. But I gave it another smell today, and even with fermentation dying down, it smells good

How's it taste?

I haven't worked up the courage to try yet. And now I won't be home til Friday.

I just checked on it and it has dropped clear. Took a tiny taste test and it's nice

I'm glad I didn't dump it after the first round on the stirplate came out all solventy.

Well done then!

I decanted most of the 200 ml that I had stepped up and pitched that into a litre of juice in a gallon jug. Once I see active fermentation I'll be aiding another 3 litre to it. The portion of that small starter that I decanted went into the fridge, and it's pretty tasty.

Things were moving along so I added the other 3 litre of juice this morning, and I've got the whole gallon bubbling nicely

phug said:

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Tasing notes on the final product?

DerSchopferVonEbbelwoi said:

Tasing notes on the final product?

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results from judging at two competitions.
"Good Clarity.Dry, with a touch of vegetal skin/peel character.Dry and quenching.Peel and Core components reminiscent of Russet Apples varietals." 33 points
"Good Clarity. Slight but not unpleasant vegetal aroma. dry finish, some sweetness, good body with medium carbonation. Nice blend of apple flesh (flavour) along with core and skin. Very easy to drink, slightly sweeter than dry, but with a very dry finish."38 points
6 months later
"Brilliant clarity, low apple sweetness, some tart (aroma), low/medium oaky or oxidized aromas, minimal aromas overall. acidic sweetness is moderate. Sweet finish falls off quickly into slightly astringnet dryness. no alcohol perceived. Seems a lot of potential flavour/aroma was fermented out, could use a small amount of backsweetnening" 25 points
"excellent clarity, minimal aroma, sourness that is unappealing, thin body, little apple character. dryness needs to be offset by additional complexity in flavour. Too attenuated" 23 points.

seems like it did best about 4-6 months after fermentation was kicked off, all in all, not too bad though.

Thank you! That is very interesting.