Elderflower Cider with no added yeast, Help!

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zaptop

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Hello guys,

Me and a couple of friends made a 60L batch of elderflower cider. The expected SG is 1.067. We followed the recipe from "River Cottage" which said that elderflower has natural yeast and most of the time don't need any added yeast.

Well the first day of the fermentation process it started to suck in air, which we could tell by the water in the airlock wanting to go back. Today(The second day) it started to bubble in the airlock and smell like alcohole.

Here's the part I don't understand, there is no foamy layer on top of it. Just small bubbles in the elderflowers which slowly goes up to the surface.

Should we keep waiting or shall we add yeast?
 
Sounds like it's starting to ferment, it just takes a bit longer because you're relying on wild yeasts. If you're impatient, go ahead and add some yeast. If you're patient and curious what flavour the wild yeasts will impart, just keep waiting.

In either case, stirring it to release some CO2 and mix in some oxygen (which at this stage is beneficial) should speed things up a little.
 
So after one week I threw in 12g of rehydrated yeast in the 60l batch.

After 2 days it still hasn't shown any sign of fermentation, what is wrong?!

Is the batch destroyed or can it be saved?
Is 12g of yeast too small of an amount to 60l with a gravity of 1.051?
 
Foam isn't always present during fermentation. I've got 3 gallons of cider fermenting with Montrachet yeast (just the yeast I had at hand) right now. So many bubbles it sounds like sizzling bacon and the airlock is bubbling continuously. The surface of the fermentation is perfectly clear though. No foam at all.
 
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