Over Thanksgiving I made it up to Five Islands and racked the carboys in the root cellar. I think this year’s stuff is pretty good. The strong ‘fresh apple’ scent of the young cider always surprises me, given how completely the taste has changed in a few weeks. We still have a couple of carboys at Stroudwater yet to rack – might get to that later today. In place of our usual two-step starter process, the Stroudwater carboys just got a packet each of dry Red Star champagne yeast, and they seemed to kick off fine, so if these jugs taste good, maybe we ease the protocol a bit.
Five Islands Orchard 
December 7, 2013 at 3:04 pm |
What is your two-step process?
This year I hydrated EC1118, and hardly anything happened. Then I sprinkled dry 1118 and three of them started going, with one still reluctant. So, I added yeast nutrient to that one, and now it is starting up. I have never had so much trouble before.
December 8, 2013 at 9:37 pm |
Ben, I agree this year’s batch is shaping up quite nicely! I racked mine a couple weeks ago and its looking clear and quiet now. I think in another month I’ll be out of the 2012 cider and have to tap the new stuff.
I’ve done straight packets of dry red star Pasteur champagne yeast the last two years. This year I did two packs in each carboy, plus a tsp of nutrient. Still had two out of six with a slow start and had to warm them up a little to get them going. I think the starter is probably more reliable, but the dry dose works (with occasional fiddling) and is a bit easier.