Yeast nutrient

[Dex Pistol]

Hello. It's been recommended that I purchase yeast nutrient for cider making. Are there benefits to purchasing a nutrient combination with DAP and other things, or is DAP enough?

It's recommended that DAP is added a few days into fermentation. Huge newbie question but wouldn't opening the lid of the fermentation bucket or carboy oxidize the cider?

Lastly I am making 6 gallons of cider. Would 1 tsp per litre be enough?

 

[Chalkyt]

I add DAP which is about 21% nitrogen with the yeast at 1/2 - 1 teaspoon per gallon (in my case 5 litres). l

Without getting too technical, I believe this represents 100 -200 ppm of YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen, which yeast need), and according to Claude Jolicoeur most apples already have 80 -120 mg/L (or ppm) of YAN which "is good for slow to mid-speed complete fermentation". So, the addition of the above amount of DAP should cause a reasonably fast fermentation, which in my experience, it does. A teaspoon per litre would be far too much. I don't know what effect overdosing with DAP would have.

I do my primary ferment in an open bucket with a lid or cover so that the yeast has access to O2 which they need in the early stages of the ferment. Once the fermentation really gets going the generated CO2 sits on top of the turbulent foam and protects it from O2. Once the foam settles (usually around SG 1.030 after a week or two) I then rack off the bulk lees into a carboy under airlock then leave it there for secondary fermentation for as long as I like.

Sometimes I will stop secondary fermentation between 1.008 and 1.012 then bottle and pasteurise for a sweeter and/or carbonated batch.

This works for me but others might have a different approach, using Fermaid and other products.