Cider

[wgensel]

It all depends on what yeast you use. Generally the off flavors produced are estery and fruity. It could have the effect of making your beer taste too sweet or unpalatable. You maybe also get a really really high attenuation. If the beer is sweet or estery the off flavors may dissipate with aging or you may be able to mask it a bit with aroma hops or dry hopping.

I recently made an IPA that I fermented at 60F, but pitched at 80F (tap water wouldn't get any cooler). I used WLP001 but I swear it tasted like a Belgian it was so estery. Anyway, once I aged it and dry hopped most of the esters were hidden, but I can still taste it My friends like it, but I am a bit critical of it.

[Ian]

I'm thinking of following your recipe this weekend to take a stab at my first cider. Has anyone out there tried any of the local yeast brands? I'm thinking of going to e-mart (or to the local baking supply store) to see what they have.

A quick search of emart turns up this http://www.emartmall.com/display/item.do?method=getItemInfoViewDtl&item_id=8809087469159&site_id=1&ctg_id=3001540&shop_id=

[Kunkemonster]

I gotta make some more! I almost finished all of it. I'm gonna try and make some more with Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat Yeast; then use it for a wheat beer. I saw a post on homebrewtalk and they said the wheat yeast provided a very nice flavor.

[gordsellar]

Ian,

There are all kinds of yeasts you can use for making cider -- including cider-specific brands, though they're not generally available here -- but I'm not sure whether I'd use bread yeast myself. (I'm curious what your cider ended up like, daxedefranco! Could you update us? I've heard using bread yeast for alcohol fermentation can make for a harsh quality and weird flavours.)

You can get away with using various wine yeasts, though they tend to ferment dry. I haven't heard about anyone trying beer yeast, though of course it's been done -- let's see... hey, this thread includes a suggestion to use lager yeast, though you'd want to make a big starter. (The poster pitched onto yeast cake from a batch of lager.)

In any case, if you're going to spend the money on the apple juice, I'd take the step of also getting a decent yeast of some kind.

One more warning: I used champagne yeast in my only attempt so far, and the cider was insanely sour and insanely dry... and leaving the stuff outside in winter temps didn't slow that down a bit; indeed, even "cold crashing" it (by putting the cider in the freezer) only paused fermentation, but it restarted once I took it out of the freezer. I'm starting to think that if working with other yeasts, one might want to choose something with medium alcohol tolerance (for a bit of sweetness) or to be filtering the yeast out and either serving it still or forced-carbing it.

(I think I posted somewhere else here about home pasteurization but it seems like a PITA to me.)

[Ian]

Yeah, I've read that people usually recommend against using baking yeast, but heck, if it's working for daxedefranco, I guess it's worth a try.

I finished pitching my yeast at about 1:30 this afternoon. Trying to keep the temp down is going to be the hardest part, but the airlock is farting away quite nicely at the moment

[daxdefranco]

I read quite a few posts on various sites and most people used ale yeast. Champagne yeast has the highest tolerance to alcohol so it's not good to use for cider since apple juice has so much sugar (and therefore the potential for so much alcohol ). I really liked how the cider with bread yeast came out, actually. The last time I was at goodbeer he gave me a pack of champagne yeast, so I was thinking of making a cider with that and then racking on top of peaches or cherries in secondary - so I'd get high alcohol from primary, and fruit sweetness from secondary to balance things out.

Anyway, interested to know how your cider comes out!

[Ian]

btw- daxdefranco, were you racking at all in the original recipe, or were you just going directly from primary fermenter to bottle?

[daxdefranco]

btw- daxdefranco, were you racking at all in the original recipe, or were you just going directly from primary fermenter to bottle?

Just dax is fine I'm still without a racking cane (should be here soon! ), so I try not to do secondary when possible. According to notes, I added 525mL of apple juice to the fermenter, stirred, and bottled directly from there. Since I use a bottling bucket as my fermenter, I just poured the cider right into the bottles via the spout. I'm sure a bit of yeast got through, but it wasn't gritty or anything. I only let the bottles sit overnight...they were definitely plump (I used PET bottles) but I don't think they were in danger of exploding. Next time I think I'll give them a full day (with regular checks to make sure they're not in danger of blowing up).

[Rob]

Shawn apparently used Lalvin k1-v1116 wine yeast in his cider and I think it tastes great! He's documented the process and results in this thread.

[Ian]

I picked up a few extra beer yeasts while in the U.S. recently. I wish I had picked up some of the wine/champagne yeasts that I saw on the shelf

I'll be bottling my cider tomorrow, and I'm a little worried... It's very difficult to tell where the yeast at the bottom ends, and the cider begins. It pretty much all looks like cider unless I tilt the carboy (yes, I used my carboy for this) at which point I can see the yeast at the very bottom underneath. Is this good news (more brew), or am I just not seeing where the "line of separation" really is?