Want to try something new

[sgoehner]

Hey all,

I have been gone a long time from the forum and with starting a new job and getting my Masters degree I haven't brewed any beer or made and cider for a while. Plus all my equipment is 6 hours away. So here is the question.

I have a gallon of fresh unpasteurized cider with no additives from a cider mill 10 miles from here. I want to go as simple as possible. Can I just get an airlock and bung that fits the gallon plastic jug and let it go? Or should I add some sugar and put the cider in a wider mouth jar and get some more wild yeast?

Again, just want to go as natural easy as possible.

 

[bernardsmith]

Congrats on your masters and the new job.
Fresh apple juice will self-ferment from the yeasts in the juice so you can certainly simply add a bung and an airlock but during active fermentation you don't need a bung or airlock. You can simply cover the jug with some cloth and a rubber band to prevent bugs getting at the must. The cloth will also allow wild yeasts that are in the air to inoculate the must. The thing about native rather than lab cultured yeast is that you don't know for sure the kinds of flavors those yeasts might produce so sometimes the scrumpy you make will be great and sometimes it won't be so good.
Apple juice naturally has a gravity of about 1.050 (a potential ABV of about 6-7% ABV so there is no need to add sugar if you are making cider.
Good luck.

 

[AkTom]

One of the best ciders I ever had... fresh squeezed apple juice that sat in the back of a pickup truck driving up the Alcan hwy. Natural fermentation from the apples. Absolutely delicious. Get a couple more gallons going.
Cheers

 

[MarkKF]

One of the best ciders I ever had... fresh squeezed apple juice that sat in the back of a pickup truck driving up the Alcan hwy. Natural fermentation from the apples. Absolutely delicious. Get a couple more gallons going.
Cheers

The agitation prob. helped keep it going.

 

[sgoehner]

Thanks all, I am going to pull it out of the fridge and let it go. It's a bit warm here, going to advise the Mrs. to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't overflow.

ETA, cheese clothe over opening and we are off, excited to see how this goes.

 

[Drewed]

I'd pour off a small glass so you have some headroom in the gallon.

 

[sgoehner]

Drewed, I did make sure to do that before I put the cheesecloth on.

On an off topic note Drewed, we currently live in MI, but I am from Sussex, WI and lived in Elm Grove Before moving here.

 

[sgoehner]

Fermentation is going strong, glad I poured off a little or it would have gone over. Smells great and has a definite caramel note in the smell so far.

 

[Drewed]

Drewed, I did make sure to do that before I put the cheesecloth on.

On an off topic note Drewed, we currently live in MI, but I am from Sussex, WI and lived in Elm Grove Before moving here.

Then you know right where Waukesha is, and almost how to say it correctly! A lot of good OLD orchards in MI, you should have a lot of ciders to start from. I've found if you talk to the farmers, a good portion of them have a special pressing for hard cider makers. Make friends with them!

 

[TGFB]

Reading your experiment, curious to hear how it turns out!