13 replies to this topic

[Humperdink]

Alright WMC gurus, it's aplle hill season and I've got a buddy who's gonna make about 3 gallons each of sweet and dry cider. He came to me about yeast selection but I'm no help in that realm. What would you all recommend yeast wise to produce a dry cider and a not "sweet" but sweeter cider?Thanks for any insight here.

[MtnBrewer]

...which is only viable if you keg for carbonation.

I'm curious about this. Why is this so and what if you wanted it still?

[MtnBrewer]

I understand.

[VolFan]

It's a rushed plan but I would like to hit the apple store up this weekend. Would the 71B be good for a cider? I have that on hand. I also will get unpasteurized cider so would I be better off trying a wild ferment opposed to the 71B?Only other option is a I have a big fresh slurry of an Alt yeast.

[VolFan]

Just found this in another post.

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.

[MtnBrewer]

Just found this in another post.

Yep, I was going to refer you to that post. Scott says that wild yeast is best but you don't know exactly what you're going to get. 71B is very good because it softens the malic acid in the juice.

[ScottS]

I've never had bad cider from a wild fermentation, except for the one time I used apples with visible mildew on their skins.But Mtn is right, I would not consider that to be proof that you're guaranteed success with a wild ferment.

[porter]

What do you guys mean by backsweeten? Also, what are some good sources for unpreserved cider? I've never made cider before, and I was inspired by picking up a gallon at the store today. However, as I suspected, it has sorbates in it, so no dice. Would Munton's ale yeast do the job or should I get something else. Final question - will cider leave a permanent taste in your kegs like root beer does or is it fairly innocuous?Thank you in advance.

[porter]

Thanks for your input. Wanting to get something going today, so I went with what I could find in the store. I ended up buying this cider, got it at Whole Foods. I probably overpaid, but we shop there anyways, so no biggy. Actually, I got 3 gallons of the apple cider and 1 gallon of the pear/apple juice (my only fermenter not in use is a 5 gallon carboy, so I figured 4 gallons might be the max I want to put in). I thought this might make an interesting combo, though I don't know how much pear juice is in there; it might contribute negligible flavor.Anyways, I mainly got it because no preservatives were added, but after bringing it home, noticed that it's unpasteurized as well. I do have some potassium metabisulfite from meadmaking; should I use some to inhibit the endemic microorganisms? If so, how much? I also have some fermentaid k which I would presumably want to add, but I've seen a few comments about staggering additions. How much/when should I add?Thanks!

[MtnBrewer]

Contact MtnBrewer. Since you guys are both in the Springs, you should hook up anyway. He got me some raw cider from some place in Pueblo (I think).

Cañon City, actually.Porter, you missed out on the big cider group buy that the club did. The Whole Foods cider you got is probably the best you can do at this point. I've made cider from it before and it was good.

[porter]

Cañon City, actually.Porter, you missed out on the big cider group buy that the club did. The Whole Foods cider you got is probably the best you can do at this point. I've made cider from it before and it was good.

The club meaning the folks from this board, or a local homebrewing club? I'll have to get involved next year, provided I can make something I'm happy with.Speaking of which, my fermentation doesn't smell all that good (sulfery). But it's starting go away somewhat. The pear/apple blend was really delicious. If this batch turns out well, I might try making an entire batch with the pear/apple juice, though unfortunately that only comes in half-gallon jugs and is more expensive ($4.59/0.5 gallon vs. $7.99/gallon for the cider).What kind of rate did the group buy from the orchard yield?

[MtnBrewer]

The club meaning the folks from this board, or a local homebrewing club? I'll have to get involved next year, provided I can make something I'm happy with.

The club meaning the homebrew club: Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak. Here's our website: https://brewbrosco.com/ Despite the name there is no affiliation between the club and this board. I encourage you to join up. We're a lot of fun, very active and mostly house-trained. It's only $20/yr.

What kind of rate did the group buy from the orchard yield?

We paid $6 per gallon, which I think was $2 off his usual price. The juice is not from cider apples but 100% Jonathan apples. Nevertheless, it was really tasty and seemed to have a good balance between sweet and tart.

[MtnBrewer]

Jonathans are cider apples. I guess you mean it wasn't a blend of different types of cider apples (sweet, tannic, tart)

Both actually. I didn't know that Jonathans were used for cider.

[porter]

Well, good to know I didn't get totally hosed at Whole Foods.I'll definitely look into the club. You might see me one of these days. Despite having been brewing for eight years, I've never been part of a club.