Mold on cider - what are my options?

[tor tor]

Hi all,

I have two 30l buckets of cider that I pressed last sunday that have developed some mold on top (see images). They have been kept at around 10 degrees celcius and I sulfited them according to the principles from Andrew Lea's book - in this case a cider with a pH around 3, to which I added 0.5 ml of 5% SO2 stock solution pr. liter of juice with the aim of having a wild fermentation.

This evening I lifted the lid of both containers (which have been closed with an airlock since pressing) and found the same type of mold on both.

What are my options from here? Rack to a different container and add sulphur+yeast? Skim off mold layer? Discard?

Also if anyone has ideas on what went wrong I would appreciate any input!

Best regards, 
Tor

[Andrew Lea]

The mould is growing on the top layer of juice which is diluted by drops of condensate from the lid. Skim off the mould with a slotted spoon and discard it. Then give the juice a good stir to aerate it. Make sure the airlocks stay empty of water at this stage to allow more air inside for yeast growth. 

At pH 3 I wouldn’t really have added SO2. The wild yeasts may have been too strongly inhibited.  If fermentation doesn’t start in another week or so, you could add a cultured yeast. 

When you say pressed on Sunday do you mean a week ago or just a day?  Wild yeasts usually take a good couple of weeks to get going, especially under the conditions you describe. 

Andrew 

——————————

Wittenham Hill Cider Page

www.cider.org.uk

On 15 Nov 2022, at 19:10, tor tor <torking...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[tor tor]

Hi Andrew, thank you for the swift reply!

That makes sense! I started a 30l batch of keeved cider on the same day with the same apples, and that has the chapeau developing nicely with no mold.

I pressed it sunday the 6th of november. Regarding the pH I measured it with a type of pH strip I found inaccurate and chose to err on the side of caution by adding the SO2, although that was likely a mistake on my part. 

I will follow your advice on removing mold and aerating the juice. If the fermentation doesn't start I will also pitch a cultured yeast into the juice.