23 replies to this topic

[strangebrewer]

Ok then what should I use for yeast. Just dump in in the bucket and pitch?Frank

I highly recommend Lalvin 71B for the yeast. Apples are high in Malic acid which can come across as pretty harsh and 71B can metabolize malic.Otherwise yup, sanitize, dump it in a bucket, check your gravity, and pitch. Make any adjustments by adding sugar or whatever before you pitch of course. I like adding golden raisins to ciders myself.

[ScottS]

The other option, if you can find unpasteurized unpreserved cider, is to wild ferment. Throw it in a bucket, put on an airlock, ignore for a month, rack, ignore for another 9 months, enjoy.

[realbeerguy]

I'm partial to Cotes de Blanc for yeast. You could add 1-2 lbs brown sugar to the cider to up the gravity. I've had good results with a Portugese Sauterne yeast that B3 sells.

[EWW]

Cyser is cider + honey fermented. Hard cider is cider fermented.

[ScottS]

Cyser is cider + honey fermented. Hard cider is cider fermented.

I'll elaborate a bit more.Cyser is God's gift to mankind, the reason it's worth waking up and trudging through one more day, as close to heaven as it is possible to get here on earth.Cider is a nice beer replacement in the summer.

[MyaCullen]

...It is against the law here to sell it unpasteurized here...I talked to the lady that runs the orchard about 2 miles from my house...Thanks for the input... I hope it finishes sort of quick as I never know where I will be from week to week.... But that's another story...What is the difference between Cyser and hard Cider?What will I be making?Frank

if it is UV pasteurized it will ferment whether you want it to or not

[jayb151]

...It is against the law here to sell it unpasteurized here...I talked to the lady that runs the orchard about 2 miles from my house...Thanks for the input... I hope it finishes sort of quick as I never know where I will be from week to week.... But that's another story...What is the difference between Cyser and hard Cider?What will I be making?Frank

Quick question...couldn't you get some juice from this lady, and get some apples, and just chuck the apples into the juice? Essentially you would still be getting the same yeast into the juice, right?

[ScottS]

Quick question...couldn't you get some juice from this lady, and get some apples, and just chuck the apples into the juice? Essentially you would still be getting the same yeast into the juice, right?

I'd wonder about getting enough yeast that way to ferment before the other nasties take over. Much of the yeast in cider comes from the mill and press.

[MyaCullen]

I'd wonder about getting enough yeast that way to ferment before the other nasties take over. Much of the yeast in cider comes from the mill and press.

I'm tellin ya'll straight UV pasteurized cider ferments wild without a problem, lol

[realbeerguy]

I have two orchards by me....Many apples to choose from...Do I pick on the tree or or on the ground....It will freeze tonight here...Frank

Never use the drops, just the ones off the tree. Drops can harbor actobacter & you may get vinegar instead of cider.

[ScottS]

I'm tellin ya'll straight UV pasteurized cider ferments wild without a problem, lol

Heh. It's not supposed to, but I'm sure some of it does.

Never use the drops, just the ones off the tree. Drops can harbor actobacter & you may get vinegar instead of cider.

+1, with the additional risk of e coli. Every unpasteurized cider e coli outbreak has been traced to orchards using drops.

[MyaCullen]

Heh. It's not supposed to, but I'm sure some of it does. +1, with the additional risk of e coli. Every unpasteurized cider e coli outbreak has been traced to orchards using drops.

Several local places in Greenbluff sell fresh UV zapped cider, but, every time I have purchased it to ferment, and not gotten to it within 1 day of purchase at room temp, it is already fermenting when I grab the jugs out of tye corner in the basement, still sealed up, and puffing up like a blowfish. N=14 total gallon jugs from 3 different orchards.

[ScottS]

Hmmmmm, I vaguely recall reading something like bacteria are killed at lower UV levels than yeast, so maybe that's what's going on. If so, !

[MyaCullen]

Hmmmmm, I vaguely recall reading something like bacteria are killed at lower UV levels than yeast, so maybe that's what's going on. If so, !

this is what i had read somewhere as well

[fatbloke]

Dunno about whether the 71B has the "killer" property or not, K1V-1116 certainly does.If the apple juice has been pasteurised and you just want to give it a more "real" taste, then just take the juice, smash/crush/mill the apples and put it all into a bucket - then sulphite it, leaving for 24 to 48 hours before you even consider pitching yeast.If you're concerned about oxidation (browning - something that is often done deliberately with Normandy cider) then you can also add some ascorbic acid (a.k.a. Vitamin C) to act as an anti-oxidant.As already suggested, you can up the alcohol some if you want with the addition of sugar (take a gravity/brix reading first to get some idea about what the likely strength will be with just the apples/juice).You can also add some nutrient to help the yeast finish a bit quicker....Most will ferment dry, so it then depends on whether you want still or sparkling.... For still, you can just sorbate/sulphite the ferment when it's finished and back sweeten with sugar or whatever, but if you want it sparkling and don't have any force carbonation equipment, then you'd have to sweeten it with a non-fermentable sugar, then bottle prime..........regardsfatbloke

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I'll elaborate a bit more.Cyser is God's gift to mankind, the reason it's worth waking up and trudging through one more day, as close to heaven as it is possible to get here on earth.Cider is a nice beer replacement in the summer.

do you use cider or apple juice for cyser?