Cider Freshness

So back in mid Oct we pressed cider at a neighbor's farm with apples & pears from some folks in the neighborhood. I brought home a 5 gal bucket of it & it's been in the fridge since. Now there was no pasteurization or uv purifying or anything done to it. My question is whether this cider is still viable to ferment?

It's not vinegar, yet, but it is a little fizzy. Can I still treat with Campden or should I dump it & go buy new cider?

Thanks for any advice.

Sounds like it is already fermenting, why not let it ride?

You could treat it, then later pitch the yeast you want less chance of ending up with 5 gallons of vinegar. Does it have a vinegar smell now?

If it's been sealed up, and doesn't smell vinegary, you're probably fine on that front – acetobacter needs oxygen to thrive, and while brett will ferment anaerobically, it won't produce acetic acid without oxygen.

You've probably got some wild yeast that's been going very slowly to work in your cold, un-aerated juice. I'd give it a taste, see what those bugs have been up to. If it's not awful, you can campden that sucker to ensure it won't get any worse; if you kinda like what they've done with the place, you can just pitch your saccharomyces right on top of 'em, or even let 'em finish it up themselves – this is how the French make dry, rustic ciders, although, those ciders come out pretty darn funky.

If you can get fresh juice (sweet cider) that doesn't have preservatives in it, put about a quart of it in a 1/2 gallon jug, add your yeast and make a starter. After it gets going good, take your bucket out of the fridge and let it sit and warm up to 60-65F and pitch your starter. I like White labs English cider yeast for a dry cider or WL 002 English beer yeast for an off-dry. You can use dry wine or cider yeast as well. Drill a hole in the lid of your bucket for a stopper and an airlock if you don't have one yet. I like to ferment in the mid 60's.
Good Luck!

Thanks guys for the advice! I'm going to taste & decide whether to kill it or pitch new yeast right on top. I'll let you know what happens.

feinbera said:

I'd give it a taste, see what those bugs have been up to. If it's not awful, you can campden that sucker to ensure it won't get any worse; if you kinda like what they've done with the place, you can just pitch your saccharomyces right on top of 'em, or even let 'em finish it up themselves – this is how the French make dry, rustic ciders, although, those ciders come out pretty darn funky.

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Are Saccharomyces a particular strain?

CMcPherson said:

Are Saccharomyces a particular strain?

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On the contrary, Saccharomyces are the Genus.. pretty much any type of "yeast"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces

MrFancyPlants said:

On the contrary, Saccharomyces are the Genus.. pretty much any type of "yeast"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces

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So just a fancy pants way of saying yeast?