Selecting Site of Fermentation

[Matthew F.]

Hello all!

An introduction--my name is Matthew and I'm from Pennsylvania in the States.  Very new to cider, and so I have a newbie sort of question.  I'm guessing I'll have plenty more in the future. 

I can choose to ferment using the natural yeast on the apples in the basement or in the garage.  Having read some of the threads in this group it appears fermentation in the colder weather might be adventitious in the long run if I'm patient.  My two things holding me back are:

1) The average coldest day where I live is -6 C.  (Perhaps too cold?)

2) The fumes from starting up my lawn tractor--will this effect the fermenting cider? (there is usually a large plume of smoke when I start the tractor.  I realize that theoretically things are airtight, but perhaps fumes would seep in?)

I thank you all for your patience with a rookie!

[Andrew Lea]

If you are happy with a slow wild yeast fermentation then this will go on working even at temps down to 4C. Below freezing the fermentation will stop but will start again when the weather warms up.  So this shouldn’t be a long-term problem. 

Re lawn tractor your fermentation should be protected by an airlock anyway. So there should be no direct aerial transfer of fumes.  If you are fermenting in HDPE then there is the theoretical risk of vapour phase transfer and tainting through the container walls but realistically I would think this is minimal.  It’s a transient thing, not long term exposure. Just keep the cider as far away from the engine as you can. 

Andrew

Wittenham Hill Cider Portal
www.cider.org.uk

On 15 Sep 2021, at 17:45, Matthew F. <spruce...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all!

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