Recipe Check Please?

[Luek]

This is my first non-kit brew of any sort, and to be honest I pretty much bought all these ingredients spur of the moment

Please let me know if I have anything stupid/pointless listed or if I'm missing something crucial

* vinter's harvest wine yeast (sn9, 8g)
* 6 x berri apple pear juice (14.4 L total)
* 1 kg pears

I also have 1 kg csr brewing sugar that was on sale I was intending to keep for my next beer brew but was now considering dumping half in
I was planning on sanitising pears & giving a good rinse (help with pesticides?) & cutting into 2mm thick slices and dumping in before adding yeast

Bottling procedure will likely consist of 1.25 Pepsi bottles (since its such an experimental brew I don't wanna stuff around to get/wash/use better bottles) with 3 carb drops each, however I may have some coopers pet bottles free by then so who knows

Good plan?

 

[nuggetron]

campden tablets are needed to kill the wild yeast in the pears i think
but the rest seems good

 

[manticle]

Get that campden away from here. No need for it in my opinion or experience. Gives me a headache.

If you can juice the apples, then you will get a better result than just slicing. If the fruit is clean, you should be right with just a good dose of your wine yeast.

Don't worry about the sugar - there's plenty in the juice unless you have a burning desire to make rocket fuel.

There's a bit of info about making perry and cider here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scrumpy/cider/

My advice is to ignore the bit about sulphur dioxide (results from adding aforementioned campden) especially since the majority of your juice will have been pasteurised. If really concerned, start fermentation with the juice and add the pressed pear juice in when fermentation has started (yeast population of your choice should be the dominant one)

 

[nuggetron]

question
yeast can survive outside certain temperature types?
if you juice the apples or pears or whatever natural fruit then freeze it, the yeast should die off or become in a state of suspended animation, if these ice cubes are put in the fermenter the yeast for brewing should dominate before the juice melts?

 

[manticle]

Most microbiological flora can survive freezing but cannot reproduce. Freezing yeast can rupture cell wallls depending on how it is done. No guarantee the wild yeast is all dead.

However once a certain temp is reached, the micro-flora can reproduce as normal. For the yeast to work, the must/juice will need to be at a certain temp. Other microflaora can also reproduce at this temp so freezing is , as mentione, not a guarantee.

It's not a big drama though - pitch healthy yeast and you can make good cider without worrying about wild yeast etc. If you are on a commercial scale, you may need to be more cautious to ensure a consistent product but at home you can leave off with the sulphite additions.

If you get no reactions to sulphites (nor your friends/family etc) then dose with campden all you want but I hate the ******* stuff. Headaches and feelings of anxiety ensue and the effects are cumulative for me (eg 2 glasses of wine one night, a commercial 750 mL cider the next - neither is enough on their own but over two days I feel it.)

 

[thebeemann]

I use SN9 all the time and in mho the stuff is that quick that nothing can survive , only yeast to use for stuck ferments in non beer brews too

 

[nuggetron]

if the packet yeast is put in a cup of water and sugar to start to multiply and pour that into the fermenter then add the yeast i cant see anything going wrong, if it works like bread yeast that is

learnt alot in that one post manticle

 

[Airgead]

The main use of sulphur compounds in wine making isn't so much as a microbiological inhibitor but as an antioxidant. It helps you rack wine without worrying about oxidising it.

A big dose is used up front to inhibit wild yeasts but mostly its an antioxidant.

A big yeast pitch and good sanitation is enough on a home brew level to get a clean fermentation. Especially if using bottled juice which is usually pasteurised. Cider isn't racked frequently so it doesn't need the antioxidants.

I never use the stuff myself. The missus is allergic. I've never found a problem with a sulphur free brew.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Luek]

I ended up chucking it all in last night, plus two apples I forgot I had bought a few days earlier

Worst case scenario I've wasted $30 on juice/fruit/yeast

Forgot to measure og but its likely the same as if I went out and bought some juice and checked it.

It's bubbling a bit slower than beer does at 28 degrees.

 

[manticle]

@nuggetron: no need to the prove the wine yeast as you would with bread. You can rehydrate dried yeast or just chuck it in. Manufacturer's usually have specific rehydration recommendations which it's either best to follow or just use straight. These recommendations involve temperatures and liquid amounts etc.

@Luek: Drop your beer fermenting temperature chief. Not sue what you are brewing but 28 degrees is way to hot for anything bar a saison. Cider generally gives a better result fermented at the cooler end of whatever the yeast is capable of doing (and white wine yeasts I've used have been able to be fermented around 12-14 degrees). I figure Perry won't be too different (I've only ever used pears in conjunction with apples rather than on their own).

 

[Luek]

@manticle: how? I have it in coolest room in house. No room in fridge, and no money to go buy/power a second fridge.

 

[manticle]

Cold water baths and ice bricks. Wet towels and fans. Cheap can coolers from bunnings. There are cheap/free ways.

I find cold water baths the most efficient. Make sure the wort is a few degrees below intended temp when you pitcvh the yeast as the ferment will generate its own heat.

Depends a bit on where you live as to how effective it will be but in Melb, I can keep my brews at 21 in the absolute height of Summer and as cool as I like the rest of the year around.

 

[bignath]

I find cold water baths the most efficient. Make sure the wort is a few degrees below intended temp when you pitcvh the yeast as the ferment will generate its own heat.

This.

Cold water baths are an excellent way to control ferment temps. Use a bath tub in your house, laundry sink whatever. OR, go get a cheap ass (less than $10) plastic storage box big enough to take a fermenter. Most people probably have one lying around the house already for gardening, kids toy storage etc...

Fill with water as much as you can without the fermenter floating - voila.

My tap water comes out at 18-19 degrees so perfect for a lot of beers. Ales in particular, but also lagers using s189 will be good at this temp too.

I fermented four batches of beer in a week leading up to christmas to cater for the festive season. Two were in the fridge, the other two on the floor of my garage both in water baths.

The coolest (pardon the pun) things about fermenting under water, is that your not using any power for a dedicated ferment fridge, and most people have the ability to ferment this way too.

 

[Luek]

Found a tub, filled it just under the level of juice in fermenter, chucked in two trays of ice

Will chuck in ice as it freezes

Will be a pain to remove fermenter without stirring up sediment though...bridge to cross next week.

Especially since this "room" is more like a laundry cupboard.