Cider smells like Cat Pee

[Michigan_Wolfman]

You didn't see this character lurking about did you?

 

[ericbw]

I don't know. I have fermented many gallons of cider and apple wine and have never succeeded in getting my cider or wine to smell of rotten eggs. What do you do to get that result? I guess because I provide the yeast nutrients, aerate several times a day, use a wine yeast and ferment at the lowest temperature that the yeast prefers I have never been able to get that smell that you say is always found in cider...I guess I am just unlucky that way...

My guess is that you just don't smell it. But that's just a guess.

It's not do much rotten eggs, it's sulfur, and rotten eggs also smell that way.

 

[mwilcox]

Great points about low temperature fermentation and slow fermentation - That applies to bread as well as wine.. but I am not sure I agree with what I think you are suggesting about there being no need to feed the yeast nutrients. Grapes are near perfect in the nutrients they can provide yeast. Honey is at the extreme opposite in its lack of nutrients and most fruit fall somewhere in the middle. I guess I routinely add DAP because I would rather make an unnecessary nitrogen addition than ask my yeast to struggle with too little

a lot of people agree with you, and that's fair. What I'm saying is that when the yeast are not working that hard (slowly) they are not needing as many nutrients. Think of keeving, which I do only occasionally - we are intentionally trying to starve the yeast of nutrients. Basically what I am saying is that there are plenty of nutrients for a slow fermentation, just not a fast one. I go out of my way for those low nitrogen sources, so I'm not going to add it back in (granted I am after high sugar content too, not just low N.) But, if people have a system that works, they should keep doing it. (I absolutely do staggered nutrient additions with my mead)

 

[bernardsmith]

I thought that keeving was in fact very challenging ... and a great deal of preparation needs to be done to ensure that it is successful.