Roeselare cider

[slarkin712]

I was reading another forum and someone mentioned that a member of their club brought some cider fermented with Wyeast Roeselare to a meeting. He said it was fantastic, so I'm going to take that idea and try it myself. I've never made cider, just apfelwein, so I could use some help.
I read some on OldSock's blog - he made a cider fermented with a variety of souring microbes. He said that it was good, but not really funky. I'd like something pretty funk. I was thinking I would add some maltodextrin to give the souring microbes something to produce sourness. And maybe some DME as well to get some malt derived flavors, which might make this a graff. So here's what I'm thinking:

5 gal cider
1 lb maltodextrin
1 lb DME

Pitch fresh pack of Roeselare and ferment at room temp(65-68F) for at least 3 months (probably6-9 months).

Is there any reason I should rack this to secondary? Should I aerate the "wort" before pitching the yeast? Am I missing anything, and is this a terrible idea? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[youreanimpulse]

Generally people rack cider to clear it. I'd leave it the cake a while in this case, maybe a couple months, then rack. I don't see a reason to oxygenate, that'll just stimulate the sacc to grow, and you want more contribution from the other stuff. Sounds tasty!

 

[slarkin712]

Thanks for the advice. Now I'm having trouble finding cider that doesn't have potassium sorbate. Might have to just use apple juice. I've got some ECY BugCounty and ECY Dirty Dozen on the way. Might add some of those to the mix as well.