Hmmm, methinks me cider is done. And not in a good way. It’s dead.
It’s a puzzle to me, not to mention a huge disappointment, and I’m now thinking that perhaps the problem lies with the stuff I used to sanitize the demi-john.
I had planned to use iodophor, having read that it doesn’t leave a residue and is not problematic if you fail to rinse it all off but the guy at the store said I should use something else – diversol – instead. So I did.
Maybe I didn’t rinse well enough?
The yeast seemed okay, the temperature was okay and I can’t imagine the juice was a problem. I simply can’t think what else might have caused the fermentation to fail.
The jug is still sitting waiting for a miracle to happen but …
I have a new plan!
Another attempt, more modest this time – I can’t get any more of the non-pasteurized, non-treated fresh pressed stuff for this year but I can get a different juice – a smaller quantity! – and do a one-gallon test batch.
That’s likely to be as good as it gets for this year … unless I succumb to the temptation of the apple press I found last night on Used Ottawa … but no – not yet – not this year.
Gotta keep telling myself that – no, no, NO!
I’ll stick to the more manageable gallon batch, for which I most definitely do not need my own apple press!
So check back in a bit – that first batch may be dead but the cider saga continues to unfold!
Dragonfly Stew 