Apple 5135-286 is currently embraced in an epic battle between Yeast and Apple.  Although he doesn’t realise it yet, Apple 5135-286 will win this battle, but he won’t come out of it unchanged.  You see, the yeast will convert every molecule of sugar that he has, into alcohol and carbon dioxide.  The alcohol will stay in the apple juice, gradually turning it from plain old fruit juice to the glorious Cider.  The carbon dioxide will come out as a bubble.  So for every bubble you see passing through the airlock above, a similar quantity of alcohol is being produced.

This campaign started last week when we added the yeast, and will continue for the next couple of weeks as a major battle.  After this it will reduce to a war of attrition that the sugar simply can’t win.  The yeast can keep going turning sugar to alcohol until there is no sugar, or there is about 12% ABV.   There’s about enough sugar to get to 6% – so the yeast will think it’s won the battle, but we all know that in reality Apple 5135-286 will have won the war as it will have made Cider – which is what we all wanted.