Refrigerated Fresh Pressed Juice; how to pitch yeast.

[Evan55]

I picked up 7 gallons of cider blend juice from a local cidery last week, I added 1 tablet of campden per gallon about 24 hours after I got them home and let them sit for a day.
Things came up and I wasn't able to pitch yeast at that time so I put it all in the refrigerator.
Now that I'm ready to pitch yeast, I'm not sure how to proceed. (and probably over-thinking it, but hey this juice was expensive! )

Should I let them sit out and come up to temp before pitching yeast, and risk starting wild yeast fermentation?
Or should I essentially start over and add another campden tablet, then pitch 24 hours later?
Or something else entirely?

thanks in advance!

 

[JimRausch]

You killed anything wild with the Campden, and it's been sealed and refrigerated since then. So there should be very few viable wild bugs, if any. Go ahead and warm it to your yeast's preferred pitching temp.

 

[MarkKF]

I disagree. The wilds may have been stunned but not killed. If warmed up and left alone they’ll eventually come back. It should be up to ferm. temp. before you pitch. Don’t heat it but take it outta the fridge and when it’s 55-65 deg. F. pitch your yeast.

 

[Drewed]

Make a starter for your yeast. Or at least do a long rehydration.
I'd start with making a starter or rehydrating the yeast. Then remove the cider from the fridge and pouring it into the fermentation vessel. When it is up to room temp (hours) then pitch the yeast. The pitch will have enough of a head start that the wild wont have a chance.

 

[globell]

Just warm it up and pitch. That's what I would do (rehydrate yeast if that is what you normally do with the yeast you have) or pitch as per normal.

 

[Maylar]

Most yeast instructions say to pitch at room temperature (70-ish F) and when the lag phase is done (bubbles are evident) then you can lower the fermentation temp if you want. Pitching into cold must will take a lot longer to get started, and it's vital that the yeast and must be within 10 degrees of each other or you risk temperature shocking the yeast. This is especially important if you rehydrate in warm water, you need to cool it by slowly adding small amounts of must before pitching.

 

[Morrey]

Good advice is being offered here, and I am learning myself. I used WLP775 from a starter this year after inhibiting wild yeasts and allowing 48 hours to off gas. Point is that my purposed yeast (775) went wild and was among the most vigorous fermentations I have had even in the mid-60's to throttle this down some. Luckily I didn't get sulfur, but I don't see wild yeast having any chance to gain a foothold if you pitch with heathy yeast from a starter.