Need info

[Graham and Sue Anderson]

This is the first time I've attempted to make hard cider.  I am unfamiliar with the cider making jargon, so please bear with me.  With the help of my brother, I pressed the apples and did all the things I was supposed to do to start fermentation.  Nothing happened.  We figured the cider was not warm enough so I warmed it to 87 degrees (I was trying for 75) and added more mead. 

 

It started moving a bit, then stopped.  Now I have 5 gallons of non-fermenting cider and don't know what to do.  My brother, a pilot, has left the country for the week and suggested this site.  I'd love some help.

 

Thank you,

 

Sue

[Claude Jolicoeur]

Sue Anderson wrote:
> This is the first time I've attempted to make hard cider.  I am unfamiliar with the cider making jargon, so please bear with me.  With the help of my brother, I pressed the apples and did all the things I was supposed to do to start fermentation.  Nothing happened.  We figured the cider was not warm enough so I warmed it to 87 degrees (I was trying for 75) and added more mead.  
>
> It started moving a bit, then stopped.  Now I have 5 gallons of non-fermenting cider and don't know what to do.  My brother, a pilot, has left the country for the week and suggested this site.  I'd love some help.

Unfortunately, it is very hard to give any advice as you don't give
enough details of what you did (and didn't do). Just saying "did all
the things I was supposed to do to start fermentation" doesn't say
much! Also 87 degrees (I suppose this is in F) is quite high, no one
ferments at such high temperature. But I don't think it would have
killed the yeast. What do you mean when you say you added some mead?

I would recommend you buy or borrow at a library a few good books on
cider and read a bit on the subject. My favorite book for basics is
Proulx & Nichols, "Sweet and Hard Cider", and if you want to go
farther, there is Lea, "Craft Cider Making".

[Andrew Lea]

Graham and Sue Anderson wrote:
>
> I pressed the apples and did all the things I
> was supposed to do to start fermentation.

What are those things and who told you about them? Did you add
metabisulphite aka Campden tablets? If so, how much? Did you add yeast?
If so what type? Did you add any nutrient? How long have you been
waiting since you did these things?

> I warmed it to 87 degrees (I was trying for 75) and added more mead.

Did it get over 87 degrees at any time? For instance, did you boil it
and let it cool? Is that F or C? Adding mead is a very unusual idea -
why did you do that?

You will have to give us a bit more detail if we are to try to help you.

Andrew
www.cider.org.uk

[GREG DAVIES]

Hello Sue , I assume from your "hard cider" you are in the USA . You don't give much detail of the method you used in making your cider and I would be interested to know where you got this bizarre method from . There is quite a lot of information available on the internet and a number of good books on the subject but none of them will advise the use of honey and high temperatures ! Assuming you are using eating and cooking fruit and not cider varieties of apples I would recommend the method I have been using for a few years with pretty good results ;
Once you have extracted the juice from your apples put it into sterile containers with airlocks and leave at the normal ambient temperature for at least 6 months . Don't add anything whatsoever . The fermentation may be slow and almost imperceptible and this is how you want it . Don't interfere with it until you need to rack off the cider into sterile vessels after about 3 months when the fermentation is more or less over you can top up the gap with water or apple juice . The apple juice contains everything you need to make cider , nature is a wonderful thing ! Greg
 

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From: anders...@comcast.net
To: cider-w...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Cider Workshop] Need info
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:02:03 -0800

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[Sue]

You're right - I didn't give enough details as my brother gave me what
I needed to get started and I didn't write anything down.
Fortunately, my cider started to ferment after all and everything is
going well. Thank you for the replies.