Damn', my 5L batch, painstakingly juiced with an electric juicer, pitched with S04 ale yeast is now officially vinegar. In fact, thinking back, it has had a somewhat sour smell (detected by sniffing at the airlock) from fairly early on, guess it was doomed from the start.
Problem is, I only had a 10L demijohn, so there was a ton of headspace - everyone emphasises that oxygen is a no-no, but I am thinking there must have been a problem with the airlock too, maybe the bung wasn't quite airtight.
Is that really so critical? I guess everyone is going to say it is...!
The odd (or not so odd) thing is that I did a little litre batch with the same juice and same process, but with no yeast added, to see what the wild yeast would do, and it's produced a great-tasting cider, and no vinegar..! Only difference was less headspace and I guess probably a better-fitting airlock...
So is the oxygen likely to be the main culprit?
Problem is, I only had a 10L demijohn, so there was a ton of headspace - everyone emphasises that oxygen is a no-no, but I am thinking there must have been a problem with the airlock too, maybe the bung wasn't quite airtight.
Is that really so critical? I guess everyone is going to say it is...!
The odd (or not so odd) thing is that I did a little litre batch with the same juice and same process, but with no yeast added, to see what the wild yeast would do, and it's produced a great-tasting cider, and no vinegar..! Only difference was less headspace and I guess probably a better-fitting airlock...
So is the oxygen likely to be the main culprit?