Using a bottle of the previous batch instead of yeast?

[zadamxtr]

Since there is still yeast alive in a finished batch, would it be possible to start the next batch of cider by just adding a bottle of the previous batch to the Apple juice rather than yeast?

 

[Drewch]

It's certainly possible ... but you might want to read up on propagating bottle dregs because one bottle's cell count is probably an under-pitch for most batch sizes.

 

[z-bob]

Yes, I did that just recently. But it was a bottle of beer with a *lot* of sediment and a very aggressive ale yeast that I wanted to try. I added the dregs from a 500ml bottle to a half gallon of apple juice, then stepped it up to a gallon once it was fermenting good, then poured all that into another 3 gallons of juice for 4 gallons total.

The yeast I normally use for cider is so cheap it's not worth that effort.

An easier way to recycle the yeast is when you bottle a batch, pour fresh juice on the lees left behind in the fermenter to start the next batch. That should be a big overpitch which is okay.

 

[CKuhns]

Yes possible. But might be better to use the trub " sediment" from the previous batch and wash the visble yeast from it.