Cider started fermenting before I could add my yeast

[KMac537]

Hi, maybe a bit of a sticky wicket here, but hopefully not. I had 2 - 6gal carboys filled at an orchard I go to. It was a couple of days before I picked it up. They covered the top in tinfoil. Shame on me for not getting an airlock on them, pronto. My cider kit I got from my local brew supplier has camped tablets to add. Will this take care of what has started to ferment and also a few mold spores? Should I empty the carboys and heat the cider on the stove and put back into carboys after sanitizing them?

I have 2 carboys as I'm trying to do a semisweet batch and a somewhat dry batch. Also should I add xylitol to sweeten after fermenting?

 

[bernardsmith]

Not so sticky a wicket but it sounds like the cider has started to ferment with the indigenous yeast that was either in the apples or on the pressing equipment at the orchard. Now there is nothing inherently bad about that. The one problem might be that the flavors this wild yeast highlights or hides or produces may not be the ones you would have selected with your choice of yeast, but cider made from indigenous yeast can be quite delicious. But that said, I am kinda surprised that this fermentation took off so quickly. Is there no requirement in MA to pasteurize apple juice that is commercially sold. In NY there is such a requirement and I thought that that was a federal requirement to protect people from e-coli and listeria which is a distinct possibility when drops are added included (where animals walk around those drops and poop on them...
Should you add an artificial sweetener? I cannot say. Not something I would choose to do when I buy quality juice but then I like my cider dry and am happy to prime.

 

[Maylar]

Add your Campden/K-Meta right away, wait a day and pitch your yeast. Chances are real good that whatever wild ferment might have started will be overpowered by the commercial yeast.

 

[bucketnative]

In NY there is such a requirement and I thought that that was a federal requirement to protect people from e-coli and listeria which is a distinct possibility when drops are added included (where animals walk around those drops and poop on them...

Per the code of federal regulations (21 CFR 120), the FDA imposes regulations on both interstate and intrastate juice producers, which require them to comply with the HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS. The HACCP systems are designed to minimize the risk to consumers, mostly from microbial contamination. However, per FDA guidance on the HACCP (https://goo.gl/2tkwxo) this does not apply to retail establishments that produce and sell juice direct to the consumer. Otherwise, a "fresh-squeezed" lemonade stand or smoothie shop would need to pasteurize, thereby negating the freshness.

Some states have their own laws regarding agricultural products.

 

[bernardsmith]

Right you are if you say so but in NY all apple juice must be pasteurized if sold to anyone.. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/five-years-under-nys-cider-pasteurization-law/#.WgM1DWeWyic

 

[bucketnative]

Right you are if you say so but in NY all apple juice must be pasteurized if sold to anyone.. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/five-years-under-nys-cider-pasteurization-law/#.WgM1DWeWyic

I think NY may be the only state with that type of regulation.

 

[ceegman]

Kmac,

I regularly wild-ferment my cider produced with fresh juice from a local orchard. The taste does tend to differ from batch to batch, but I have never had problems - either gut, taste, or otherwise - with wild-fermented ciders.

You are also free to stabilize it with chemicals if you would like.

If you have a yeast that you would like to use, I would simply pitch it later today. Chances are that the cider will hardly taste any different than if you had used only the commercial yeast, particularly if you are producing this cider low-tech.

Try not to get too worried about anything in the cider process. Your cider will likely taste just fine.

P.S. Whatever you do, do NOT heat your cider. Heat will cause your cider to taste not fine.

 

[KMac537]

We are not required to pasteurize here. I thought it odd a while back when I bought some cider on L.I. The girls explained to me that NY requires everything to be pasteurized. The farm I get this from in Sterling, Ma, the owner showed me the ones that she lets the natural yeasts ferment. Said she didn't have a bad batch yet.

 

[KMac537]

Thanks for the replies. I may be pitching my yeast shortly as I have it warming from the fridge.

 

[bernardsmith]

We are not required to pasteurize here. I thought it odd a while back when I bought some cider on L.I. The girls explained to me that NY requires everything to be pasteurized. The farm I get this from in Sterling, Ma, the owner showed me the ones that she lets the natural yeasts ferment. Said she didn't have a bad batch yet.

It's not about a "bad batch" but if the orchard uses apples that have dropped to the ground and the ground is walked on by deer or farm animals then there is likely to be excretion on the skins and if the apples are poorly washed then pathogens are a possibility. If the only apples used are picked from trees (unlikely) or there are no herds of animals that share the space with the trees then there is no concern. Here, the orchards I am familiar with, use UV light to remove pathogens.

 

[MarkKF]

I don’t think U.V. Pasteurized changes the flavor at all. It just throws out the chance of a wild fermentation.

 

[madscientist451]

I've been making 20-40 gallons of apple/pear cider a year for about 5 years, and at a lower volume for about 5 years before that. Sometimes the yeast gets pitched right away, sometimes I let it ride for a week or two or more and sometimes I do a complete wild yeast cider. I try to avoid adding chemicals, although they don't don't really hurt anything, but the wild yeast doesn't seem to hurt anything either. Some pro cidermakers say that a wild ferment before adding a commercial strain "adds complexity". So don't worry, you can add chemicals to kill the wild yeast or just skip it, the cider will mostly make itself.

 

[Evan55]

If the only apples used are picked from trees (unlikely)

I thought it was illegal to sell drops / juice from drops?