EC-1118 - Bubblebath-like foaming action?

[Melou]

Good day fine brewing folks,

After reading on topping off, I just started a small batch in my usual primary fermentation bucket.

Using EC-1118 with pasteurized old-style (cloudy) apple juice. I have used this yeast-juice combo in a few other batches before and have never seen this happened. I am fermenting in my regular setup, with temps hovering in a constant 62F-68F:
- 2 Gal. with pectin enzyme for 12 hours
- Pitched an activated EC-1118, which brewed well for 48 hours: nice krauzen on top, with some ‘mousse’ under it.
- Added 3 more gal. of room temperature juice (same brand, pectin enzyme as well for 24 hours)
- 48 hours later, I now have a good 4 inch top of bubble bath like mousse that blew off over the krauzen
- Gravity is down to 1.018 already, but with the hard cider giving off a rubbery taste.

The rubbery taste probably signals that the yeast was stressed by the added juice. No rhino farts present, but the smell is a tad off vs what I could expect at this point.

Is the foam I am get from the EC-1118 something anyone has seen before? I have seen that yeast been called ‘mousse’ on a few different occasions… maybe I’m just seeing a side of its personality I had never seen before.

Thanks,

LA

 

[buMbLeB]

I don't have an answer for you - I usually use EC-1118 with pasteurized clear apple juice but with no enzyme - I always get the "mousse" but never much of a krauzen, and certainly never anything like 4 inches, though the particulates in your cloudy juice might account for that.

But I'm curious - how would adding more of the same type and temperature of juice stress the yeast? Also, you give your current SG as 1.018, but where did you start at?

 

[Melou]

Yeah i always get a krauzen when i start with old-style juice. O.G was 1.048.

I assume the yeast got stressed solely based on the weird foam and off flavor. Then again that might come from extra particules and yeast clumps I had in my sample.

I'm just back from work and the foam's thickness as subsided, and i can see a good sediment at the bottom (2-3 in.).