nottingham and campden

[tomb1]

I'm new to the forum and new to cider making. My 4 batches in the last year have all been made with Cote de Blanc. I used Nottingham in my latest batch. Pitched 24 hours after letting 5 gallons rest with 5 crushed campden, yeast nutrient, and pectin. It's not fermenting. Found out Nottingham is not yeast tolerant above 15ppm after further reading. Can I rack off 3-4 gallons and add more juice to dilute and get the yeast to fire up?

 

[estricklin]

15 ppm of sodium metabisulfate (campdet tablet chemical)?

24 hours isn't that long, give it some time. If anything couldn't you just pitch another type of yeast?

Maybe some of the cider guys will chime in here and give you a better answer.

 

[tomb1]

It's been a week for yeast. Pitched 24 hours after mixing other ingredients in primary. I want to know if it's dormant or dead due to all the campden. Plan to pitch cote de blanc in the 3-4 gallons I rack off. Trying to salvage the Nottingham if possible.

 

[tomb1]

5 campden tablets in 5 gallons is 50ppm.

 

[LeBreton]

Found out Nottingham is not yeast tolerant above 15ppm after further reading.

Where did you learn this? I've had Nottingham work just fine at 50+ppm.

Maybe it was a bad packet of yeast? Expired or mishandled aren't unheard of.

 

[tomb1]

http://northcornerbrewing.com/page/cider.aspx

Near the bottom of the page are notes on yeast.

The yeast foamed, seemed active, during 15 minute activation in warm water.

Is safale s-04 campden tolerant? Have a packet of that on hand I could pitch instead of trying to split off and dilute batch.

 

[LeBreton]

Foaming during rehydration is not indicative of yeast life. S-04 is a good choice as a backup which should result in a similar flavor profile, once again I've used it at 50ppm no problem.

 

[tomb1]

Thanks for the help. S-04 it is.

How do you know when yeast is good?

Is the 15 ppm campden limit on other site misguided? I'd like to keep using campden for all it's advantages.

 

[LeBreton]

Is the 15 ppm campden limit on other site misguided? I'd like to keep using campden for all it's advantages.

Yes, I'm not sure where they pulled that number our of but I use sulfites in all of my ciders and have used most of the common ale/lager yeasts with no problem (nottingham, S04, S05, S23, WB06, muntons, etc etc.) I even sulfer my wild ferments.

 

[tomb1]

Thanks again. I'll be sure to post when this batch is done

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Simply stirring/aerating the must should dissipate the excess sulfites enough for the yeast to take off. Standard procedure really.
Regards, GF.

 

[tomb1]

It was aerated at pitching the notty, and again two and three days after, with no results.

 

[tomb1]

Bottomed out at 1.012 after five weeks, start was 1.049. Can I bottle carb this w/o bombs? Expected it to finish at 1.000. Add usual priming sugar and bottle?

 

[CiderRules]

Bottomed out at 1.012 after five weeks, start was 1.049. Can I bottle carb this w/o bombs? Expected it to finish at 1.000. Add usual priming sugar and bottle?

Have you tried putting it in a slightly warmer place to see if it will start back up?

 

[MarkKF]

I just started two batches with Nottingham. Added dried yeast to 1/4 gal. of unfiltered fresh cider. Aerated every 6-8 hours. After 24 hours seemed to be alive and well. That's when I added to the carboy which contained the rest of 5 gal. of cider that had 4 pounds cane sugar, 5 camden tabs, yeast nutrient added 24 hours previous. After another 24 hours it's bubbling away. I'm a big fan of using a yeast starter and yeast nutrient.

 

[tomb1]

Sorry I didn't elaborate more. The batch started with notty and never took off. Added Safale SO4 to get going. Batch has yeast nutrients and was vigorously aerated three times in the first weeks trying to get it to go. Its been 5 weeks after adding the SO4.

 

[MarkKF]

I racked my Notty cider yesterday after 2-3 weeks in the primary
Bubbles had slowed and S.G. was down to 1.015-1.020

Now 25 hrs later its bubbling away, 1 every 2-3 seconds
Amazing how racking restarts fermentation every time