Montrachet or EC-1118 for cran-apfelwein?

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Which yeast?

  • Montrachet

  • EC-1118


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PAC762

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I'm starting a batch of hooch tomorrow using 50/50 cranberry cocktail and applejuice (with 2 lbs sugar for 5-gallon batch). I have Montrachet and EC-1118 on hand. Which do you guys think will give better results?
 
Cranberry cocktail is different then juice if you are not aware. Did you make sure the ingredients are all good?
 
I would go for the EC-1118 it is a very hardy yeast, as for Forrest's post , I have never used that he may know better! but you will need a strong yeast to get past the acid content of the Cranberry juice !!!!!




-Jason
 
The EC-1118 can go to 18% but it will make it extremely dry. If that is what you want go for it.

The Cote des Blanc is designed for fruit wines and it can handle 12-14%. It won't strip the fruit flavor and will not make it extremely dry.

You will probably like the end result better. Try it and find out.

Forrest
 
The cran-cocktail is just CB juice, water, sucrose, and asorbic, so it should be fine to ferment.

I've used cote de blanc for several batches of cider/apfelwein with good results, but I don't have in on hand. The LHBS is a pain for me to get to and I'd rather use what I have.
 
I ended up going with Montrachet based on AHB's recommendation and because I decided that I didn't want to make too many changes to the original recipe at once.
 
IMHO, you're going to want to stablize and backsweeten the batch when you're done, cranberry is very tart, and when you take it out dry, it will be VERY puckery. When I did a cranberry/hibiscus mead I tried taking it dry first, what a mistake, super, super tart. I ended up wishing I had used cote de blancs or D47.
 
IMHO, you're going to want to stablize and backsweeten the batch when you're done, cranberry is very tart, and when you take it out dry, it will be VERY puckery. When I did a cranberry/hibiscus mead I tried taking it dry first, what a mistake, super, super tart. I ended up wishing I had used cote de blancs or D47.

I plan on bottle-carbing, so that's a no-go. If it ends up too tart I'll probably just cut it with sprite. However, I like things very very dry and tart, so I expect it won't bother me too much.
 
I'm with Butterfield_Craft on this one, only because I have had great success with the EC-1118. I was pleased it didn't leave a noticeable aftertaste and ferments quickly and cleanly. A single racking will greatly reduce the fermentation rate when your SG is down near 1.01, allowing for pretty easy control of where you want to go.
 
EC-1118 has been my favorite apfelwein yeast to date. However, for this experiment, I wanted to stay closer to Ed's recipe and I was afraid of getting too dry/tart. If I like the Montrachet cran-apfelwein, I'll try my next batch with EC-1118.
 
Other than the presence of Rhino's, I have found absolutely no difference, spec-wise OR taste-wise, between Montrachet, EC -1118, and Premier Cuvee.

If your mileage has varied from the above...please share the details here!

Pogo
 
Other than the presence of Rhino's, I have found absolutely no difference, spec-wise OR taste-wise, between Montrachet, EC -1118, and Premier Cuvee.

If your mileage has varied from the above...please share the details here!

Pogo

EC-1118 tastes slightly cleaner to me, but the primary reason I prefer it is b/c it is a faster and more consistent fermenter than Montrachet.

I only have 5 carboys, so I like getting my hooch into bottles asap to start more batches and EC-1118 facilitates this.
 
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