apfelwine attempt

Yeah, i know i'm not supposed to use cane sugar .. but its what i had.. and i screwed up and grabbed the champagne yeast instead of the wine yeast out of the fridge at the LHBS. but.. its the gallon glass jug of applejuice from whole foods. and i have a stopper to fit it.. so i proportioned the sugar down.. shook the whole thing up good.. and tossed in the yeast. if it fails epically.. i'm out 8 bucks and still have a good glass jug.

More than likely you will have Apfelwein. It's really hard to mess it up. Champagne yeast will make it dryer than the Montrachet yeast, but it works.

To me, after 5 weeks with the Montrachet yeast, it's TOO dry. I have to back sweeten it with about 3 tablespoons of sweetener per glass... but that's just me. I'm not a wine drinker, and I prefer them to be really sweet.

It does pack a punch though, and now I have 5 gallons to last me until my batch of Cherry Wheat Whitbier gets done....... gotta love that.

jollytim said:

I have to back sweeten it with about 3 tablespoons of sweetener per glass... .

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Wow, that I would call a sweet tooth.

But yes, champagne yeast will really dry out a cider, and the drier it is, the longer it has to age for the apple flavour to come out and taste good.
I have used cane sugar on many brews, it's not the best but if used in small percentages I can not tell its there. You start to get a little bite over 10-15%.
But with a very dry cider, I don't think you will notice!