Multi-day pressing, fruit flies and is it too late to sulfite?

[joshkel...@gmail.com]

Hi All,

I've been making cider for about 15 years and have all the books, but encountered a new problem this year. 

I have a large wooden press in which I normally do a multi-day press (similar to the Spanish technique). I usually get about 20 gallons of juice from a single multi-day pressing.

The problem is that I grind and press outside in the Catskill Mountains of New York and the temperature this year was much higher than usual for October. I typically have loads of bees and wasps around, but this year, by day 2, I had clouds of flies and fruit flies in and around the juice and the pomace. I mean clouds. The little beasts were everywhere. It was unnerving. 

For the last 10 years or so I've only done natural/wild yeast fermentations. However, this year I think I should consider at least a half dose of sulfite given the interaction with fruit flies.

So here are my questions: 

- Has anyone had experience in keeping fruit flies off a multi-day pressing? Hopefully the answer isn't to press inside a hermetically sealed building :-)

- Would you sulfite given the fruit fly contact with the juice?

-  I also have an additional issue: I pressed 4 days ago and am still waiting for the sulfite to arrive by mail (I haven't kept any around the house for years - my bad). When is it too late to sulfite?

Thanks in advance for your collective knowledge.

Josh in the Catskill Mountains, NY, USA, who is hoping to not make vinegar this year.

[Andrew Lea]

Can’t directly answer your questions since this has never happened to me but presumably the Spanish are also plagued with fruit flies since it is also quite warm when they press?  I’d say if your pH is below 3.5 you could get away without sulphiting but you may prefer a half dose anyway. 

One thing I do know is that sulphite added during a fermentation is pretty ineffective because it all gets bound up by the acetaldehyde which the yeast produces. So if your fermentation has already obviously started, it’s too late. You could though consider adding sulphite after fermentation at bulk storage if you are worried by anything the fruit flies might have brought in, additional to the microbes that you would normally find in a wild fermentation. Whether they do or not is anybody’s guess - I don’t know of any data. 

Andrew

Wittenham Hill Cider Portal
www.cider.org.uk

On 13 Oct 2021, at 22:13, joshkel...@gmail.com <joshkel...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi All,

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[Miguel Pereda]

After many years of cider making I have never encountered a plague of fruit flies. What is true is that there may be the occasional visit from a wasp, as is the case everywhere.

Miguel A. Pereda

[MARTIN CAMPLING]

What I have seen done around commercial greenhouses where tomatoes are grown are vinegar traps. They're lidded plastic bottle with holes in the side near the top, plus an inch or so of vinegar in them. I doubt if it'll fully solve the problem, but it may help.