Do you all typically see krausen when fermenting ciders?
I did my first one in October with S-04. I have to check my notes, but I’m pretty sure there was at least a small krausen.
I’ve got my second one going now with 3522, and there is zero krausen (but it is fermenting).
I’ve had varying degrees of krausen using nottingham, but never anything that needed a blowoff and it rarely lasted that long.
Black Cherry Cider - 4.5 gallon apple juice, .5 gallon black cherry juice
Common Cider - 5 gallons apple juice and 2 lbs brown sugar
Sometimes there is krausen but not always. Usually there will be some for the first few days but after that it’s gone. But sometimes none at all. But if you have a clear fermenter and good eyesight you can always see CO2 fizz bubbles going up – that’s a sure sign of fermentation, besides the change in specific gravity. This all makes sense because cider is very low in protein, unlike beer which has plenty of protein – protein is one of the primary building blocks of foam.
Thanks.
I’m fermenting in a corny keg, but there is definitely CO2 coming out of solution. I just thought it was weird that there was no krausen.
I haven’t seen foam yet with my ciders but haven’t ever used “fresh” apple juice as it is unavailable. Pectin and particulate may be a source of krausen WAG.
Euge ! Good to see ya back.
I got a huge cider krausen this time that refused to drop until the fermenter was cold-crashed. The yeast was US-05. I’ll rack tomorrow most likely and take it as a good sign…
I really love what US-05 does for cider. Tastes great. Unfortunately I left my US-05 cider sit for a little too long in the garage without a good seal and it turned into vinegar! Good tasting vinegar, though, that I will hang onto, maybe make some salad dressings.
Wow that sucks Dave. Sorry to hear it. I have an S-05 cider on tap now that’s pretty stellar. Glad I dodged the vinegar bomb !
I did a side by side with us05 and wine yeast this past fall and us05 was a hands down winner.
It was only 3 quarts, so no major loss! Another one of the many advantages to small batch brewing. Or in this case cidermaking. 
There is that !