Repitching a cider with a different yeast, since the first did not start

[DonWanBrews]

Heres the short and sweet:

So, I started a cider this last sunday ( 10/23/16 ). I pitched yeast at about 74 degrees F. I used a "cider house select" packet that i got at my local home brew store, it was the only cider strain they had, i actually wanted to try something else.. i pitched Around 8am.

Throughout the last 3 days I have monitored the Fermentation chamber and airlock in every way possible. Listening for any sounds, looking for leaks, watching bubbler for prolonged periods. After 72 hours now I decided I needed to repitch.

Only issue is that I only had bought that one packet of cider yeast. I did have one hand some "safale s04" that I got to use for a stout recipe in the future. So, I pitched that yeast this morning since it was all I had.

I post this story here because I am relatively new to brewing ( only 2 or 3 years and a couple beers in ) and this is something I had never experience ( a yeast not starting). So, should I be worried mixing yeast? Anything I should monitor now or know? Or should I just continue on as if I never repitched.

Thanks ahead of time for any responses, happy to finally have something to post here at this great site.

 

[madscientist451]

What was your source for the apple juice?
I've used cider house select many times and has been a very reliable yeast.
You can actually re-pitch it many times, I haven't had any problems with it.
Is there a chance there were preservatives in your apple juice?

 

[DonWanBrews]

My "recipe" was:

4 gallons mussel man's apple juice

2 gallons field day organic apple cider

1/4 pound organic raisins boiled and mashed, and the resulting raisin water added but not the raisins themselves

I am at work but when I get home I can get the brand of raisins, I forget. But I do remember they said ingredients: organic raisins... I wonder if there were sulphites in raisins?

 

[DonWanBrews]

Update: 10/26/16

This is 24 hours after pitching the second yeast, safale s04, directly to cider. This morning I just now looked and did not see any signs of airlock activity. I DID however hear a fizzing sound.

This leads me to believe I might have a small air leak around the lid of my fermenting bucket. Perhaps the cider yeast was indeed started and fermenting those three days but I had no airlock activity because of a air leak in lid...

Unfortunately I did not take an original gravity reading. I might just continue to let it sit and on transfer take a reading. If I can get it to 1.000 then I'll know it fermented, though I ain't necessarily know which yeast strain had dominance lol. Or, perhaps I'll get home from work today and the air lock will be actively bubbling, indicating the fizz sounds this morning were it just getting started.

I'll try to keep updating, in the past I have read threads here beginning to end following similar experiences from others and learned a bit.

 

[DonWanBrews]

Update, 10/26 evening.

Getting home from work i looked at my Fermentation bucket and saw that the airlock still was motionless. The fizzing sound died down alot but is still there just barely. I am thinking that Fermentation has been active at least for today and yesterday with the s04 yeast. That particular strain is supposed to be vigorous I believe so that would explain the fizzing sound. Likely, my ail pail has a less than flush seal on its lid and gas would rather escape the leak than disturb the airlock in any way. I will not be able to confirm this until I take a gravity reading on transfer to secondary...

Also, of note, I might never know if my cider yeast was active. Though now I suspect it had been fine all along and I might have had no reason to repitch another strain. In which case, I could have on my hands cider brewed with two strains???? I wonder how that will turn out if that is the case! Regardless I'll still keep updating here