I bought me 2.5 gals of fresh cider from a local orchard, unpasteurized no preservatives. I took the half gallon and warmed it up over the stove and mixed in 1lbs of amber DME, and about 0.25 lbs of Maltodextrin to add soem sweetness. Then I put it in my carboy with the 2 gallons of fresh cider. Pitched some Nottingham Yeast. SG was about 1.058 ish. Thoughts?
First run at a hard cider...thoughts??
- Thread starter Thekeez
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ChaosStout
Well-Known Member
Unless you boiled that cider you'll most likely have wild yeast and infection problems. Next time take the Cider, crush acouple campden tabs(Potassium or Sodium metabisulfite)to kill any nastys, and let it sit over night. Then pitch your yeast the next day
Jacob_Marley
Well-Known Member
Should turn out ok. It might not totally clear (if you were intending clear cider) because, depending on the heat, it may have the set the pectin in that half gallon portion (which occurs at about 180*) ... but hey, that’s certainly not a problem.
BTW, I would never boil cider as it changes the flavor.
I’ve never used malt or maltodextrin in cider ... sounds interesting tho.
My main use for maltodextrin is in a bizarre ale I sometimes make that does not use malt but instead uses “manglewurzels” ... which is an ancient, giant ancestor of the beet, known in the 1700’s as the “root of scarcity” ... (it’s a Jacob Marley thing ya know). I do add maltodextrin to that. I digress.
As far as the yeast, Nottingham is a version of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is, in fact, the strain known as “killer yeast” because it secretes a toxin which allows it to overpower other yeasts. However I do not know whether nottingham is like it’s fearsome, bare-knuckled cousin K1-V1116 ... or whether the nottingham version is a gentler, milder version of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. If I had to guess, I’d say that you will be ok verses the wild yeasts.
Other than that, I’d say that strict sanitation and limiting oxygen exposure are important with the raw unpasteurized cider ... but that goes for all fermenting processes anyway.
BTW, I would never boil cider as it changes the flavor.
I’ve never used malt or maltodextrin in cider ... sounds interesting tho.
My main use for maltodextrin is in a bizarre ale I sometimes make that does not use malt but instead uses “manglewurzels” ... which is an ancient, giant ancestor of the beet, known in the 1700’s as the “root of scarcity” ... (it’s a Jacob Marley thing ya know). I do add maltodextrin to that. I digress.
As far as the yeast, Nottingham is a version of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is, in fact, the strain known as “killer yeast” because it secretes a toxin which allows it to overpower other yeasts. However I do not know whether nottingham is like it’s fearsome, bare-knuckled cousin K1-V1116 ... or whether the nottingham version is a gentler, milder version of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. If I had to guess, I’d say that you will be ok verses the wild yeasts.
Other than that, I’d say that strict sanitation and limiting oxygen exposure are important with the raw unpasteurized cider ... but that goes for all fermenting processes anyway.
dinnerstick
Well-Known Member
this might be well meaning but it's just not correct! you can make perfectly fine cider by just pitching yeast into some fresh juice. it might be a little less predictable than if you had used sulfites first, but the pitched yeast will take over and you will be fine
ChaosStout
Well-Known Member
If you want to play Russian Roulet with your cider be my guest
dinnerstick
Well-Known Member
it's sort of like playing russian roulette, if you have a chamber that holds 1000 bullets and you put one or two in. maybe it's belorussian roulette... i have made many batches of cider with fresh juice and yeast and nothing else. i have (knock on my peg leg) never yet had an infection or a batch come up with anything 'off', nor vinegar, in fact i have never even had one of these batches undergo a spontaneous MLF, whereas my ciders fermented with wild yeasts sometimes do. so i would say it is 'least likely' that thekeez will have an infection rather than 'most likely'
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