Low temperatures for champagne yeast in cider

[thisissami]

Hi All,

I'm working on my first cider batch right now. It's been close to 48 hours and there's still no bubbling in my airlock. I'm sure it's temperature related, and have some questions about that. Here's what I've done:

I pressed my own apples (have about 2.5 gallons of juice that I produced), and I mixed in a bit of honey (that friends of mine produce!) + cane sugar into the juice. I pitched a packet of EC-1118 into the bucket, and have let the mixture sit (swirling the bucket around from time to time).

Now, I read online that leaving champagne yeast + cider at low temperatures will help retain a lot of the flavor of the apples. My space has been sitting at around 10 C/50 F. After 2 days of no activity, I'm starting to think that this might be *too* cold for the yeast to start the fermentation process.

So accordingly, I have questions around what the proper balance of low temps for flavor vs higher temps for actually having fermentation should be? There's a different room in my space that has temperatures around 70F... does it make sense to leave the bucket there for a day or two to kick off the fermentation process, and then shift it into a colder environment again? Would that shift just make the yeast stop doing work?

I've also read that having a stable temperature is important. I'm not entirely sure what the proper approach would be - and would appreciate any advice from people experienced with champagne yeast + cider.

 

[paneubert]

"The optimum fermentation temperature is between 57.2 and 64.4 °F". Also, "alcohol tolerance, up to 18%". I would say you are cold, and that you are going to ferment dry with no apple taste remaining.