I’ve got some more cider on the go. Since I think I had too much headroom on the previous batch, I’m using a smaller vessel (an old 5l water container) for this lot. I was also doing some reading that suggested that there is a risk of E coli with apples picked off the ground so, with this batch, I have added a pasteurisation stage (holding the liquid at just about 63°C for 30 minutes) and then, since the natural yeasts will have also been killed off, dropping in some Nottingham yeast.

I did mix in some sugar before pasteurising but unfortunately was a little unscientific about the process: “some” is the best measure I can give and the gravity reading was only 1.012 @ c. 25°C after pitching. Mind you, there was possibly some yeast action going on before I got to it as there was a certain amount of fizz developing in the liquid even when I started. Nottingham yeast is meant to be pretty fast and thorough so it should be enough for it to get going and, as always, I’ll be watching for when it hits a consistent reading for a few days.

I’m not quite sure what the result will be like but it hopefully won’t be either vinegar or dangerous!