cider process doubts

[Nacho Campana]

Hello to all, I am a 6 y/o beer maker and today I want to start brewing my own cider. I saw many videos of how to make cider and I have a few questions, perhaps someone here can help me.

1. I saw that there is no need to "cook or boil" the apple juice at any time like in beer, is that correct?

2. I read that some people add a regular Ale Yeast like Safele US05 but, is this the best option to ferment my cider? In the place that I buy my beer stuff I didnt see any Cider yeast...there was a champagne yeast but dont know if that is better or not.
How many grams of yeast do I have to add to a 20L batch?

3. In the videos people add sugar to the batch, whats the proportion of it?

Then I suppose is a matter of time and gravity to get to a hard dry or not to much cider..

Thanks a lot to all!
Nacho Campana

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Don't boil or cook the juice.
Ale yeast is fine for cider, I use Nottingham all the time & get a tasty cider.
Add sugar if you want a higher ABV. I the most common addition is 2 lbs sugar/5 gallon batch.
You may find this useful:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-for-beginners.508303/
Regards, GF.

 

[S-Met]

Cider yeast thread
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-yeast-selection.637961/

Personal opinions:
I am a recent fan of 71b.
Yeast nutrient and early oxygen are important.
Dont add sugar unless you just want higher alcohol, store juice og is usually around 1.056 and will ferment below 0. Plenty of alcohol potential.
Add pectic enzyme for clarity. It doesn't like alcohol, so add early.
Store juice is meant for drinking, not fermenting. It will produce a decent but somewhat flat cider because it doesn't get anything from the skins. Add a cup of really strong black tea for tannins. Maybe add juice from a couple lemons or limes too.

 

[Nacho Campana]

Cider yeast thread
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-yeast-selection.637961/

Personal opinions:
I am a recent fan of 71b.
Yeast nutrient and early oxygen are important.
Dont add sugar unless you just want higher alcohol, store juice og is usually around 1.056 and will ferment below 0. Plenty of alcohol potential.
Add pectic enzyme for clarity. It doesn't like alcohol, so add early.
Store juice is meant for drinking, not fermenting. It will produce a decent but somewhat flat cider because it doesn't get anything from the skins. Add a cup of really strong black tea for tannins. Maybe add juice from a couple lemons or limes too.

Thanks for the reply!!!

 

[z-bob]

The yeast makes a big difference, and there's no consensus on which one works the best. I think white wine yeast works the best (like Cote des Blancs or K1V-1116) but Safale S-33 is good too, just different. I haven't tried Nottingham yet.

Start with cheap bottled pasteurized apple juice, like the $1.19 per half gallons stuff at Aldi. Once you know what you're doing you can experiment with fancier juices. I usually add a little sugar to mine (2 to 4 ounces per gallon), but it's not necessary. I disagree about the pectic enzyme; I don't think it really adds anything. The yeast nutrient is important, unless you just like your fermenting cider to smell like farts -- which goes away eventually, or so I'm told.

 

[ebbelwoi]

Check the label for the sugar content of the juice you use. If you don't mind converting to metric, this is a handy calculator. Standard apple juice from the supermarket will give you around 6% ABV or so.

 

[Nacho Campana]

Thanks a lot!!

Don't boil or cook the juice.
Ale yeast is fine for cider, I use Nottingham all the time & get a tasty cider.
Add sugar if you want a higher ABV. I the most common addition is 2 lbs sugar/5 gallon batch.
You may find this useful:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-for-beginners.508303/
Regards, GF.

 

[RPh_Guy]

If you buy juice, make sure there are no preservatives like sorbate. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is fine.

I don't add sugar. I ferment dry, 6-7% ABV seems like plenty. I'd rather have it taste better than add extra alcohol.

All my ciders have cleared without pectic enzyme.

Whether you need nutrients depends on the juice and some yeasts have higher requirements than others. It won't hurt to add some at the beginning.

Cheers