What yeast to use

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mamies

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Hi all,

I have never made a cider before but after doing a little research I have found it to be as easy as apple juice, sugar, water and yeast.

I have been making beer for some time now and have decided to try a cider. I guess my main question is what type if yeast do I use. I have some lager yeasts and some ale yeasts but not sure if these are what I use for a cider.

Also if anyone has a recipe for a nice easy drinking cider that woukd be awesome but I think I can work that bit out fairly easily.
 
Ale yeast will work fine in cider. I actually prefer it over wine/champagne yeast myself. With ale yeast try to keep it on the lower temp range of the strain instead of fermenting it like an ale. (58-62ºF for most strains) I've never tried a lager yeast myself.

It's really is about as simple as adding yeast to juice. If you are looking for an easy drinker, try to add only enough sugar to keep you below 1.060 OG. Anything over that and you start to venture into a more wine tasting beverage. A little yeast nutrient goes a long way as apple juice doesn't contain all of the things that the yeast will need.
 
I've yet to come across a yeast that doesn't make good cider when treated properly. All yeasts will ferment a cider dry, attenuation numbers given for many beer yeasts do not apply to cider. I mostly use champagne for it's natural anti-microbial competitiveness, or ale yeasts, but tend to avoid lager yeasts as they often have trouble dropping clear.

When it comes to cider, I find less is more. Simple recipes such as juice + yeast make the best session ciders.
 
Thanks guys.

I might head down to the supermarket and pick up some apple juice.

Should I be diluting he apple juice or just using 20L of it for a 20L batch.

Thanks,
 
+1. Also, how long will it usually take for a cider? Is it just as simple as two weeks fermenting, pasteurizing the batch, bottling it, and drinking it? And is it bad to age cider? If you are going to stove top pasteurize, should you siphon or can you just pour it? Sorry, these are all built up newb questions I have pertaining to cider.
 
I'm working on a simple batch of cider (6 gallons of pasteurized & filtered apple juice, Nottingham ale yeast). Look at about 4+ weeks for the primary ferment. It should ferment out dry (FG ~ 1.000 or less). Once it ferments out you can bottle it like beer. If you want it to clear you should let it sit for longer.

If you want a semi-sweet cider things get more complicated. You can either backsweeten your fully fermented cider with non-fermentable sweeteners (e.g. Splenda) or you can add more sugar, bottle, and then pasteurize when the carbonation reaches the right levels. Look in the cider forum for stovetop pasteurizing cider. It needs to be done carefully to avoid bottle bombs.

Generally you want to avoid pouring or sloshing to avoid oxidation. Oxidation won't be a problem if you plan to drink the cider within a few months but if you plan to age for a while it can be an issue. I believe you can use Campden tablets to prevent oxidation if you plan to age for a long period of time.

As to whether you must age - that is a matter of personal taste, and I don't yet have the experience to say one way or another. Some are adamant that aging is critical to flavor, others are happy quaffing their cider young. I've sampled my cider while still fermenting and found it to be quite tasty. It is all up to you.
 
Thunder_Chicken said:
I'm working on a simple batch of cider (6 gallons of pasteurized & filtered apple juice, Nottingham ale yeast). Look at about 4+ weeks for the primary ferment. It should ferment out dry (FG ~ 1.000 or less). Once it ferments out you can bottle it like beer. If you want it to clear you should let it sit for longer.

If you want a semi-sweet cider things get more complicated. You can either backsweeten your fully fermented cider with non-fermentable sweeteners (e.g. Splenda) or you can add more sugar, bottle, and then pasteurize when the carbonation reaches the right levels. Look in the cider forum for stovetop pasteurizing cider. It needs to be done carefully to avoid bottle bombs.

Generally you want to avoid pouring or sloshing to avoid oxidation. Oxidation won't be a problem if you plan to drink the cider within a few months but if you plan to age for a while it can be an issue. I believe you can use Campden tablets to prevent oxidation if you plan to age for a long period of time.

As to whether you must age - that is a matter of personal taste, and I don't yet have the experience to say one way or another. Some are adamant that aging is critical to flavor, others are happy quaffing their cider young. I've sampled my cider while still fermenting and found it to be quite tasty. It is all up to you.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the EXTREMELY helpful comment! :) I'll follow this advice very closely.
 

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