Cider exposed to oxygen

[Choch]

My apple cider was exposed to oxygen. is it recoverable? Im afraid it only produced c02 and not alcohol.

 

[ThorGodOfThunder]

I don't think you understand how the process works.

Yeast produce alcohol and co2. Always. Well, at least as long as they are alive. There is no way for the yeast to produce one and not the other.

O2 is bad for several reasons. It helps bacteria grow, particularly acetobacter, which is what turns cider into vinegar. Acetobacter generally leaves a slimy white layer on top of the liquid, so keep an eye out for that. O2 also just makes things taste bad. Its complicated chemistry, but O2 makes good things taste like cardboard.

So pay close attention and see if you get an acetobacter skin on top. Other than that you are ok. Cider doesn't oxidize quite like beer does, so the flavor won't go completely wonky.

 

[Manzier]

It's ok. Oxygen stops the yeast producing alcohol as you've pointed out. But it will consume all available oxygen and start fermenting once the oxygen is gone and this happens quickly. So, unless you are constantly gassing it with air during the fermentation cycle then it will be making alcohol correctly.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[MarkKF]

It's ok. Oxygen stops the yeast producing alcohol as you've pointed out. But it will consume all available oxygen and start fermenting once the oxygen is gone and this happens quickly. So, unless you are constantly gassing it with air during the fermentation cycle then it will be making alcohol correctly.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

How does oxygen stop yeast from producing alcohol? When I make a starter it has to be shaken or stirred which introduces oxygen. Even if left open to the air a layer of CO2 should form on top of the cider protecting it from oxygen. Am I wrong in these beliefs?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Randzor]

Because an aerobic energy pathway is more efficient and easier on the yeast. So the yeast takes sugar and o2 and makes water and co2 and usually more yeast. Without the o2 the yeast is forced to make alcohol and co2. Its all a matter of the 10th grade biology class we all hated

 

[GlimpseTheVoid]

I've done a few very simple (but successful) ciders and wanted to ask you all have ever noticed you think that brief exposure to oxygen after fermentation can cause off flavors? I know this is a huge problem for beer but thought I'd throw this out there all the same.

 

[bmd2k1]

Reviving this older thread to solidify my understanding of best fermentation practices - specifically as it pertains to samples taken to measure SG. Up till Sat...whenever I took a sample from an active fermentation I've consumed it...but Sat morning...for a batch of ice cider I'm making....I decided to return it to the Speidel. There was still airlock activity prior to opening top....however afterwards....I've yet to see any airlock activity return...though I took another SG and it was down .002 over 2days.

Did I screw the pooch opening the top?

 

[bernardsmith]

Not sure the dead do anything but lumber zombie-like into another pit or two. Always better to start your own thread rather than invade the coffins of the long dead (and often quite forgotten)..
Unlikely that the length of time your fermenter was open is the cause of any problem. Wine makers routinely measure the gravity and return the sample to the fermenter. Wine ain't beer and the need for protection of beer from spoilage organisms and /or O2 simply does not apply to fruit for a host of reasons including the lack of affinity for fruit of lactic bacteria (unlike grain), the pH of the wine (or cider), the alcohol level of the wine etc.
That out of the way, a lack of airlock activity can mean that the seal is poor and the CO2 is escaping through a line of less resistance than the airlock. What was the gravity reading you obtained? Perhaps coincidentally the yeast gave up the ghost at more or less the same time you returned the sample.

 

[bmd2k1]

OG 1.12....latest SG 1.042....so a bit over 10% currently....which is probably pushing it for S04....though my first batch earlier this year...which was 1gal...got to ~11.8%. This batch is a little over 4gals. I'm gonna let it go a full 2weeks & check SG again and depending on activity...cold crash at some point b4 racking.

 

[bernardsmith]

Whoa Nelly! Cider typically has a starting gravity of around 1.050 plus or minus 5 points. Wine typically has a starting gravity of about 1.090. A starting gravity of 1.120 is a drink with a potential ABV of about 16%. ... and made from apples? Is this pseudo brandy? Can apples (in terms of their flavor) really support that amount of alcohol? Hard to imagine and I live in an apple growing part of the States. Why don't you simply ferment the juice from the apples - about 7% ABV and then back sweeten if you prefer a sweeter drink?

 

[bmd2k1]

Whoa Nelly! Cider typically has a starting gravity of around 1.050 plus or minus 5 points. Wine typically has a starting gravity of about 1.090. A starting gravity of 1.120 is a drink with a potential ABV of about 16%. ... and made from apples? Is this pseudo brandy? Can apples (in terms of their flavor) really support that amount of alcohol? Hard to imagine and I live in an apple growing part of the States. Why don't you simply ferment the juice from the apples - about 7% ABV and then back sweeten if you prefer a sweeter drink?

My typical cider is around 7%....this is a "cheaters" ice cider. [emoji111]

My 1st two attempts were 1gal batches...one using S04...the other 71B....both turned out great...though I prefer the S04 both for taste & ease of use.

 

[bernardsmith]

But is this a "cheater's" version? If I wanted to make an "ice cider" (and I think your response might have have been quite different if you applied the "cheater's protocol")), I wouldn't have added more sugar to the same amount of apple juice providing a higher starting gravity with no more flavor to counter balance the heat from the alcohol, I would have frozen the apple juice and collected the first 1/3 of the runnings as I allowed it to gently thaw. This would have upped the gravity to about 1.100 or a little more but reduced the water content by 1/3 and so would have concentrated the flavors. No added sugar just reduced water (from the juice itself). THAT is a cheater's ice cider - coz the apples were not harvested as they ripened in the snow and ice... but the ice was applied after harvesting.. Your version sounds like a cheater's cheater's version..

 

[bmd2k1]

But is this a "cheater's" version? If I wanted to make an "ice cider" (and I think your response might have have been quite different if you applied the "cheater's protocol")), I wouldn't have added more sugar to the same amount of apple juice providing a higher starting gravity with no more flavor to counter balance the heat from the alcohol, I would have frozen the apple juice and collected the first 1/3 of the runnings as I allowed it to gently thaw. This would have upped the gravity to about 1.100 or a little more but reduced the water content by 1/3 and so would have concentrated the flavors. No added sugar just reduced water (from the juice itself). THAT is a cheater's ice cider - coz the apples were not harvested as they ripened in the snow and ice... but the ice was applied after harvesting.. Your version sounds like a cheater's cheater's version..

I use FAJC & 100% AJ only....idea came from others threads here [emoji111]

Ie)
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?threads/478610/

 

[bernardsmith]

I cannot stomach FAJC - never found any that tastes like apple. But I can see that you used the cheater's principle but outsourced the method of concentrating..