R2 Yeast Aging Questions

bernardsmith said:

Sorry, cannot answer your question about the yeast but I am not sure that September is the best time for cider. I think you need to wait until about October or around the time of the first frosts.. At least cider makers in the North East would argue that... unless of course you are planning on making cider from commercially produced apple juice made for non alcoholic drinks with less tannins, less acidity, less sugar.

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LBussy said:

Hello all,

It's time for Cider. Based on some reading I've done I decided to use R2 wine yeast as it seemed to display (or at least be described thusly) some of the characteristics I was seeking.

This is not a real popular yeast so I may be shooting in the dark here but does anyone have any experience with it? Specifically I'm looking for guidance on aging; should I age on gross lees or rack, that sort of thing. Some yeasts don't mind sur lie, some wines benefit from it, some yeasts positively do not do well with it. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this one.

This question may be best suited for the wine area, but since I am making cider I thought I'd start here.

The primary fermentation itself went great. I hydrated with Go-Ferm and used Fermaid K as I normally do. I aerated for 1 hour pre-pitching and two hours post pitching with a stone and plain filtered air. I had obvious signs of fermentation in 8 hours and at 12 hours the airlock needed to be refilled again it was going so well. Primary fermentation seemed to be complete (12.5 Plato juice) after 3.5 days.

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bmd2k1 said:

Curious how your R2 experiences have been?

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