New to cider making ? Mold?

[shelleymccann]

Hi all,
I am new to cider making. Bought a house with lots of apple trees so thought I would give wild fermentation and brewing a go. I juiced all my apples last Saturday and have placed about 10litres in a plastic tub. On Day 3 I had mould growing so skimmed this off and stirred it up. The juice is bubbling away now and I am awaiting delivery of demijohn to transfer so under complete air lock as I don't think my plastic tub is. However I now have a red sort of scum forming on top and don't know if this is normal? The juice is quite dark red from the apples I have used. It does not taste mouldy but a bit tangy and fizzy? Please help thanks.

 

[bob3000]

looks like apple scum floating to the top. Likes fine.

 

[shelleymccann]

Do you think I should skim it off?

 

[bob3000]

Nope. leave it and see what its like in a few weeks. From my understanding cider takes time.

 

[sleepy_doggy]

This is exciting. The tang and the fizz are products of the acidity in the apples and the fermentation, respectively. I have just begun my own wild fermentation with wild apples and am quickly finding it to beget great cider. Just keep tasting and a watchful eye on the cap to ensure that it doesn't turn to vinegar. Keep us posted.

 

[Albionwood]

Looks like a nice brown cap! I'd rack out from under it, to slow the fermentation and reduce the chance of mold reappearing, into a demijohn with airlock. Try to fill the demijohn so as to leave little headspace.

Next time try sulfiting the juice to prevent the mold forming before fermentation starts. I mix up a 5% stock solution and then pour about 22 ml onto 5 gallons of juice in a carboy, without stirring it in. This creates a high sulfite concentration at the surface (suppressing mold) but isn't usually enough to kill all the wild yeast.

 

[shelleymccann]

Thanks all great advice