mold on newly pressed cider

[Ron Beitelspacher]

Hello all, I have looked thru previous postings…but thought I better provide more information the first time I post.

I have 3 batches of cider: 2 60liter speidel poly vessels and 1 20 liter Seidel poly vessel with freshly pressed juice in them.

Respectively: 1st=SG—1.054 ph-3.99  60l

2nd=SG-1.060  ph3.97 60l

3rd=SG—1..052  ph4.23  20l

Initially stored in shop a@ approx 50degrees F for 10 days.  each had !/4 to 3/8”  thick pancake of blue and white mold on the top of each fermenter….cleaned off the mold and 2 days later cleaned less mold off and moved outside…into 35degree F ….after reading in the google group…I am now going to back out and move the vessels back inside to help with fermentation.    

Every thing smells ok….but I am thinking I may need to add some sulfite…(something I have never done before…this is my 7th year at trying to make cider.  And will be my 50 thru 53rd batch.  So I am a newby and always learning.  With many thanks to all of you great folks who provide all of us with so much guidance.  

So first, I am inclined to bring it back inside and watch it closely…Do any of you think I need to get some Sulfite ordered?…that willl take 5 days to get here.  I will probably give it a stir to provide some aeration, a suggestion made in one of Mr. Andrew Lea’s posts to another individual.   

If I did sulfite the batches…How much per liter do I use?

Again, my thanks and gratitude to all of you.

[terry.rayner terry.rayner]

The pH's that show are very high, sulfite added at those pH's would not be very efficient. What is the current ta's.

--
--
Visit our website: http://www.ciderworkshop.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the "Cider Workshop" Google Group.
By joining the Cider Workshop, you agree to abide by our principles. Please see http://www.ciderworkshop.com/resources_principles.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cider Workshop" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cider-worksho...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cider-workshop/46287D0D-7AAA-4408-B800-2D67930ABAF4%40gmail.com.

[Andrew Lea]

Yes those pH values are very high. Did you measure with a calibrated pH meter? What apples did you use?  If accurate, you need to drop the pH to 3.8 or below with malic acid addition before thinking of sulphite.

Seems like you are planning a wild fermentation. Has it already begun?  If not, a simpler plan might be to forget the wild fermentation for now. Skim off all the mould and just add a cultured yeast to get things started quickly. But in any case you should drop the pH as soon as you can, both for microbiological safety and for ultimate flavour balance. 

Andrew 

Wittenham Hill Cider Page

www.cider.org.uk

On 11 Dec 2022, at 11:34, terry.rayner terry.rayner <terry....@sympatico.ca> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cider-workshop/5489968c.2e87.18500f58009.Webtop.16%40sympatico.ca.

[Dave Mitchell]

If my juice went moldy, I'd toss it out.

[Sean Berrigan]

Hey,

Im also curious about mold as well, specifically when doing a long maceration/fermentation on skins and pulp. I’ve had a batch of apple mash macerating at room temp in a big plastic bin that I’ve been flipping every 2-3 days. I usually add a bit of co2 inside the tub as I’m closing it to try and reduce the oxygen a little. I’ve added some sulfites since crushing and it’s gone through many stages of VA with vinegar first then nail polish remover but I think the va is mostly coming from the little bits and chunks of pulp on the side walls of the bin being constantly exposed to air. 

When I flip and smell the pulp I don’t really get much it any VA and mostly intense floral and fruit aromas mixed with a bit of cooked or stewed apple. There is a visible fermentation happening in there as I can see a lot of bubbles and co2 escaping when I flip the pulp. Really interesting profile aromatically however I noticed the other day there’s some white mold starting to grow on the top of the mash in small bits. I removed the areas with the mold and did another flip and it seems to be doing well. I just wonder if I’ll encounter more serious mold conditions later when I press and finish the fermentation in a carboys. I figured the mold won’t survive after primary and if I’m still getting really nice aroma right now I might be able to dodge a contamination/spoilage situation. Any thoughts ?

Thanks,

Sean

SEAN BERRIGAN 
PHOTOGRAPHER + CINEMATOGRAPHER
E:   se...@seanberrigan.com
W:  www.seanberrigan.com
W:  www.maisonblancheweddings.com
P:   (902) 316-1416

On Dec 12, 2022, at 5:28 PM, Dave Mitchell <da...@junctionvictoria.com> wrote:

If my juice went moldy, I'd toss it out.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cider-workshop/b2991d24-a15a-427d-bd78-cffe821b5c48n%40googlegroups.com.