1st cider done on yeast cake. need tips

[ssuchem]

So I racked my 1 gallon apple black cherry today into another gallon jug. Then I decided what the hell and thought I'd try to make another batch on the yeast cake. Well anyway I thawed out 3 cans of concentrate. I have like 5 sitting in my freezer still as it was on sale so I stocked up. Then I added 2 cups sugar and half a cup molasses along with one cinnamon stick and then added h20 to constitute the juice. Well it seemed to start up right away. Anyway this seems very convienent to me. How many times can I make batches on the same yeast cake. Is there any downside to this. Could I maybe keep a yeast culture going?

 

[jflongo]

I alot of this depends on the yeast type you used, and how high of alcohol you are making. Could you give us more info on the yeast type and your hydrometer readings?

 

[ssuchem]

I used American ale yeast. I think it is us 05. It came in a red packet from whole foods. The guy who works in the home brew section recommended it. Also I currently can't take hydrometer readings as I dropped mine the other day while cleaning haven't made it to whole foods yet. But I will go sometime this week. The yeast still seem plenty alive tho. As they started bubbling up almost immediately.

 

[jflongo]

Give it a try then is all I can say. If your alcohol level is 10%+, not sure how long they can be used again. If it's more around 5 - 8% like a lot of beers, you can probably reuse is multiple times.

 

[ssuchem]

Give it a try then is all I can say. If your alcohol level is 10%+, not sure how long they can be used again. If it's more around 5 - 8% like a lot of beers, you can probably reuse is multiple times.

OK. Thank you for the advice. I don't think it was near 10% it was a cider made solely from juice and yeast. We shall see. The yeast are plugging away as we speak. So hopefully it will be nice. Saving a few bux would be nice too

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

On my one gallon batches I reuse yeast all the time by pitching on a cake. I've not been brave enough to pitch a third time, but I'm sure it would be fine.

On my 5-10 gallon batches...thats a different story. I'd hate to take a chance on a funky mutation or off flavors. Thats a lot of cider to choke down to save a couple of bucks. I'm sure it would still be fine, but I don't take the chance.

 

[ssuchem]

Well the yeast really have picked up nicely. Roughly a bubble per second. I hope it will taste alright though. Only time will tell. Also what is a good amount of cinnamon to add per gallon for a light cinnamon taste?

 

[mcgray8]

I typically use a ratio of 2tsp/gallon, but I prefer just a hint of cinnamon.

 

[ssuchem]

I typically use a ratio of 2tsp/gallon, but I prefer just a hint of cinnamon.

K cool. I added 1 whole stick to the 1 gallon I pitched on the yeast. Fermentaition lock couldn't keep up so it made a huge mess. Luckily I have the jug sitting in a bucket now. I will clean it up once it cools down the pace a bit. Is the cider still good tho. Some of the foam has filled up the lock and made the liquid brown. But its clearly just cider that bubbled up. Is this OK?

 

[jflongo]

You should take off and clean up the airlock, sanitize the bung, put the airlock in again, and attach a hose to it, run that hose into a jar, bucket, whatever, with some sanitizer, to use it as a blow off tube.

 

[Meadiator]

+1 on the blowoff tube. At least for a while. After the bubbles slow down, I'm sure you can replace the airlock. As far as the yeast cake goes, I'm sure you'll be fine a third time so long as the current batch doesn't take the abv too high. I'm just repeating what's already been said here though. Good luck!