Newbie Qs: 4-5% ABV... Sugar needed? Champagne or Safale S-04?

[TManiac]

About to brew my first batch of anything. I've got some unfiltered/cloudy apple juice.

I want to approach the brewing in as simple as is ideal, but no simpler. I want a 4-5% abv beer-like potency ideally. A little higher is OK too.

Can I do this without adding sugar? Is that the best way to go?

Also, is champagne yeast or ale yeast (was thinking safale s-04) better for this range of ABV.

Thanks everyone, great forum.

TMANIAC

 

[shanecb]

Well hard to say what the ABV would be without taking a gravity reading of the juice using a hydrometer. But, I'm guessing it would be 1.040-1.050, which puts you in the 5-6% abv range. Both a champagne or an ale yeast would work fine, just would lend slightly different characteristics to the cider depending on the exact strain you use. Either one will dry it out just fine, though, since it's a pretty low abv.

 

[TManiac]

Thanks shanecd.

I think I will go with the ale yeast this time.

I have a couple other questions...

Can I ferment to dryness, then prime with apple juice for carbonation? Will that work? I'd rather not cold crash/pasturize etcetc.

Do I need to rack off the sediment? Can I just leave it in the primary fermenter longer? How long would be OK?

Sorry for all the newb Qs... is there a FAQ for this somewhere?

Thanks!
TMANIAC

 

[shanecb]

Yeah you can definitely prime with apple juice to carbonate if you'd like, but it will all just ferment out so there's no big benefit over using table sugar or corn sugar. It would be much easier to estimate the amount you should add to carbonate to a correct level, as well. I don't think I've seen a carbonation calculator to figure out how much juice to add.

Racking off of the sediment is one of those things that's a personal preference to an extent. I'd say leave it in primary for 3 weeks, maybe 4, then rack off into a different vessel if you're going to be aging it longer. It's not going to necessarily hurt it if you let it on the yeast longer than that, but there is the possibility of getting some yeasty flavor into the cider (which would be pretty evident in a dry cider).

As far as FAQ goes, there's some nice information in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/i-thought-i-would-share-some-info-139409/

Otherwise, just doing a forum search with some keywords will answer some questions, but feel free to ask whatever you need.

 

[truckjohn]

The simplest answer on whether to run it dry and prime or to cold crash and pasteurize is whether you want a sweet cider or a dry cider.....

If you want a slightly sweet cider -- you stop before it has used up all the natural apple sugars... the sweetness tends to be more "Appley" than "Sugary" this way..... Cold crash and pasteurize....

If you want a dry cider -- let it run completely dry, bulk age for a while, then bottle carbonate.

Your target ABV is about right for standard "Apple Juice" -- no need to add anything to hit that...

As to yeast -- I also recommend a good, neutral Ale yeast... Nottingham is my favorite so far...

Thanks

John

 

[shanecb]

Yeah I guess I should have asked... are you looking for a dry cider or a sweeter one?

 

[TManiac]

Thanks a lot for chiming in guys...

I'm not really a sweet taste guy... I think I'll dry this batch out for simplicity since its my first try brewing anything.

I was also considering Nottingham actually... kinda 50/50 between it and S-04.

Thanks guys.
TMANIAC