Sudden Spontaneous Ferment

[blasterooni]

I bought some juice from the store, I made my nutrient additions, and pectic enzyme, wrapped it with my ferm-wrap, set the temp for 93F since I am pitching a kveik, also PE works best at higher temps. Its only day two, and I was about to pitch and noticed the air lock bubbling away ncely, and little bit of foam forming on top of the juice. I sort of want to see where this spontaneous ferment goes, but I am also concerned that the batch might come out less than desirable. I suppose I am seeking a little advice as to whether I should let it go, or to pitch the Oslo Kveik. I prefer wild fermented cider over cultivated yeast. I suppose I could just get anouther 5 gallons and do another batch; I have a carboy or two available to run another batch in...

Any thoughts?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I would drop the temp down to 55-60°F gradually over a few hours and let it ride.

Could just be the last yeast you had in the carboy and not necessarily wild yeast.

 

[blasterooni]

I would drop the temp down to 55-60°F gradually over a few hours and let it ride.

Could just be the last yeast you had in the carboy and not necessarily wild yeast.

Thats exactly what I decided to do, andpulled the plug on the ferm-wrap Though the thought that it could have been some yeast left behind, the carboy was thoroughly cleaned with PBW and soaked with Star San, so the likelihood is fairly low. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. Looks like even though juice is pasteurized, you can still get spontaneous fermentation.

In this batch, I used aspartic acid and glutamine in place of DAP, along with Ferm O and K. I was hoping to run a comparison between a batch that I just finished to the one that went wild. Welp, going have to get another 3 gallons of Gravenstein and 2 gallons of Ratzklaff Ranch juice. There's going to be a lot of cider around soon...ish

 

[Seamonkey84]

What about the chances of the nutrients having microbes in it. Once opened, anything is subject to contamination.

 

[blasterooni]

I am happy to report that this batch came out really nice. There is one thing that's a little interesting however, and I believe it is the result from the high fermentation temperature at the beginning, that being the HANGOVER. I didn't get one, but my wife certainly has one, and from only 2 pints if that. This cider has a buzz reminiscent of Old English, you know, that cheap malt liquor that gets you spinning if you drink more than a 40oz. I am thinking that this batch has some of those higher alcohols, or fusel alcohols, there is something different about it. It tastes great, and I am willing to try it again, but without the initial high temps. Since the apples were grown in wine country, I am confident that there are some nice wild yeasts in the juice, though I know its a gamble. I bottled 4 liters to see what happens as it ages, if anything.

 

[blasterooni]

Given the result of this cider, I decided to look up fusel alcohol production. The link to the article is included below. An interesting thing that I noted, is that fusels are produced between the 10 and 24 hour mark. This cider was fermenting at 93F, the recommended temp for many of the kveik strains for the first two days. The article also states that the higher the temperature that greater amounts of fusels are produced. Anyhow, here is the article should you be interested in reading it. Its by Scott Janish, and its a really easy read, not at all technical like a pubmed article. Though the study is based on beer, I think the information will cross over to cider production.

http://scottjanish.com/esters-and-fusel-alcohols/

 

[RPh_Guy]

Maybe, but you would be able to taste excessive fusels.

Hangover is more likely from excessive alcohol consumption and/or inadequate hydration.