Recent content by Ronnb

I agree. open fermentation is not uncommon. The batch just seems to be infected. I would try to start by cleaning my containers better with star san to avoid contamination with mold and whatnot and making sure my fermentation area was free of mold issues. Spontaneous fermentation with apples...

P.S. Take notes on everything!! Many times good things happen (or not so good) and notes help to avoid or recreate some of our efforts.

If the yeast has really finished working and there is no more sugar or anything for it to eat, there should be no pellicle though there will be live yeast present. I've noted elsewhere that if this happens in the bottle, one can give it a bit of a shake and it is fine. Funny thing but to beer...

Geez, it's a pelicle. Don't worry. Many times pellicles look like this or a solid white film or even bubble-looking nodules, depending upon the yeast at work. This looks a bit like a type of brett. but I would not know without a lab workup on it. Yeasts are everywhere in nature and considering...

Mind you in some parts people refer to cider apples as "spitters" because they are so acidic, so don't be afraid of using some of these fruit or try making a test batch using those "spitters" just to see what you can get from them.

"Crabapples" as simply a smaller, more acidity variety of apple which can be useful in making cider if one needs more acidity in their batch. If you've got some, by all means use them so long as they are ripe.

I've heard one English farmer say he used to let their apples soften up over time because they were easier to pulp and press but, if you are using a modern pulper, you could press sooner.

I concur. I would let it sit for at least a month.

Consider when cooking with basil. If put in at the beginning of the recipe, the basil is expressed far less than if put into the pot (hot), after turning off the heat and letting the plant essence come out at the end. If you use a tea method, try the same, make sure the liquid medium is not...

I've read where this sort of smell happens when fermentation occurs at lower temperatures when the yeast is stressed. I did find some other ideas about dealing with this: https://www.homecidermaking.com/why-does-my-cider-smell-like-sulfur/ As mentioned herein, copper can be used to get rid of...

Quince are very hard and have little juice. When Koreans make a tea from it, they chop them thinly and let them set in a jar packed with sugar, which after a few months has acquired that quince flavor, which in turn the fruit is used with hot water for a tea. Likewise, I would simply chop this...

Thank you very much for the information. I will consider this further. I'm playing with Artemisia Vulgaris (mugwort) just now, since I use this in our vermouth, thus I have this in a newly dried and in tincture form.

I am familiar with adding herbal ingredients in beer brewing but, if I wish to macerate an herb that has mild anti-fungal qualities, in the cider, should I do this after primary fermentation, after racking or towards the end of primary? I worry a bit about introducing oxygen, after racking, to...

I did have one question regarding temperature and the Belle Saison yeast. Has anyone allowed temperature to fluctuate with the time of day, say 18–23 C (65-74 F) range?