1

On a whim I decided to throw some Cider in a bucket, so I went to the store and grabbed some.

  1. I took a chance and bought 2/3 no preservatives and 1/3 preservative (4.5 Gallons total) in order to lower costs.
  2. I added about 1/2 lb brown sugar and about 8 oz of honey.
  3. Added acid, energizer, and a campden tablet

I am letting it site for 24 hrs, my question is can I do anything about the preservatives? I figured I could just dilute but some sites seem to suggest starting a culture with a small bottle of preservative free cider for a couple days.

Also on the side, is leaving the preserved at room temp OK for a couple days with the Campden without any issues?

Improve this question
2
  • I haven't done it myself, but I've heard that preservatives work really, really well. But you also have some chemistry happening in there...what kind of preservative is it? – Pepi Dec 12 '14 at 8:48
  • The potassium one – Jackie Dec 12 '14 at 14:37
1

In order to overcome the effects of the preservative you need to pitch more yeast than in a preservative free situation. Normally if you are pitching one packet of yeast I'd say do too.

Having a good sized pitch of active yeast is a great idea too. You can start some liquid yeast in malt extract and 24-26 hours later pitch the whole thing. Its not perfect but its a start.

Seeing how you are diluting the preservative by 60% that should also make it easier on the yeast.

And yes the preserved stuff at RT for a couple days isn't going to hurt it any.

Good luck

Improve this answer
2
  • I was planning on 2 EC-1118 anyway, maybe I will pitch 1-1/2 and use some more preservative-free to jump start the other 1/2 first. Just puts me behind a couple days :-) – Jackie Dec 12 '14 at 14:41
  • It ended up working great even without live starter. Ended up 15% brix to 7%Brix at second racking. I did use 2 packets. Thanks! – Jackie Dec 28 '14 at 16:58

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.