tf2
Active Member
So I made my first batch of cider, still clearing in secondary, with a wine yeast at the recommendation of the LHBS. But everything I've read suggests waiting a year for ciders made with wine yeast. Same goes for the undoubtedly magnificent Ed Wort Apfelwein, which I fully intend to try making some day.
But I also want something to drink at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, and time's a-wasting. So after reading about ale-fermented ciders, I decided to give it a shot But regular ale yeast or wheat yeast? The agony! Then it dawned on me: Why just one? Why not two?
And so the Not So Great Cider Ferment-off has begun. Two one-gallon jugs of Murray's Pure Apple Juice (unfiltered, pasteurized, no preservatives, a product of Murray Cider Co. Inc., Roanoke, Va.), a pint decanted and refrigerated from each (to leave head-space in case fermentation is vigorous; I'll add it back at racking). Added to each: 1 tsp yeast nutrient, 1/2 tsp dry pectic enzyme. Both jugs shaken vigorously till my arms ached.
In mere moments, the one, Tenure Plan Cider, will get a phial of WLP 300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast. The other, Riotin' Cider, will get an 11g packet of Danstar Nottingham Brewing Yeast.
And in the truest spirit of pure science, I pledge to be my own chief guinea-pig in this noble experiment, at least when it comes to drinking the results. Stay tuned.
But I also want something to drink at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, and time's a-wasting. So after reading about ale-fermented ciders, I decided to give it a shot But regular ale yeast or wheat yeast? The agony! Then it dawned on me: Why just one? Why not two?
And so the Not So Great Cider Ferment-off has begun. Two one-gallon jugs of Murray's Pure Apple Juice (unfiltered, pasteurized, no preservatives, a product of Murray Cider Co. Inc., Roanoke, Va.), a pint decanted and refrigerated from each (to leave head-space in case fermentation is vigorous; I'll add it back at racking). Added to each: 1 tsp yeast nutrient, 1/2 tsp dry pectic enzyme. Both jugs shaken vigorously till my arms ached.
In mere moments, the one, Tenure Plan Cider, will get a phial of WLP 300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast. The other, Riotin' Cider, will get an 11g packet of Danstar Nottingham Brewing Yeast.
And in the truest spirit of pure science, I pledge to be my own chief guinea-pig in this noble experiment, at least when it comes to drinking the results. Stay tuned.