Another "which yeast" cider thread....

[Tommydee]

Help me pick yeast by 1 pm tomorrow:

Wanted WLP 775, or wyeast 4766. LHBS has neither. Limited to their stock, and need to pick tomorrow, I'm thinking WLP 002, S-04, Notty, or maybe for the heck of it, try Ecy 17 burton ale.

My buddy's family has an orchard, and he's giving me 5 gallons of frozen, unpasteurized cider from last year to make room for this years harvest. I'm going straight yeast and cider, nothing else.

Only cider experience is a kit from LHBS that was decent, but wife didn't love the spices, and really dislikes xylitol or any artificial sweetener. Batch 2 was some edwort apfelwein with Montrachet + Costco treetop, a bit too powerful and dry for the SWMBO.

let me know, and as always, thanks

 

[MarkKF]

S-04. Belle Saison if it's warm.

 

[jakeasaur]

S-04

 

[MindenMan]

4184 Sweet Mead Yeast makes fantastic cider and is designed to leave 2% residual sugar after fermentation.

 

[z-bob]

Red Star Cote des Blancs

 

[dmtaylor]

Cote des Blancs or US-05.

 

[bernardsmith]

For cider 71B has the advantage of transforming about 40% of the malic acid to lactic which then results in a far less harsh drink. Alternatively, there should be native (wild) yeast in the batch of cider (juice) you have and scrumpy (cider made with native yeast) has a very, very long history. But with native yeasts yer pays yer money and yer takes yer chance...

 

[Maylar]

S-04 or Nottingham. Keep them under 65°F.

 

[pshankstar]

I just used WLP008 in my last cider and would use it again. Although I did back sweeten it with a brown sugar, water and cinnamon. Mixed it in at bottling time. Very tasty but too sweet for my liking right now. Maybe age will help.

 

[Drewed]

Ask 100 cider makers about yeast and get 100 different answers....

A lot depends on your local apples, when they were picked, how you ferment, what you like, etc, etc. There is no "Best Yeast For All Cider."

I'd go with the Ecy 17 burton ale, just because nobody else is doing it. I haven't used it, but have heard that it can be quite high on the sulfur smell, but it should go away, or remember to degas.

 

[Tommydee]

Turns out LHBS did have WLP 775, so settled on that. Will check in in a month or so to share results.

 

[dmtaylor]

 

[MarkKF]

Turns out LHBS did have WLP 775, so settled on that. Will check in in a month or so to share results.

I used WLP 775 in my first batch, first year and never again. Since then it's been mostly S-04, Notty and Brewers Best Cider House Select.

 

[ExperimentalBrewer]

One thing I really like about Nottingham is that it seems to stick well to the bottom of the bottle, make for a nice clean pour.

 

[Tommydee]

Dmtaylor, did more homework this AM, had to wait for the thawed orchard juice to warm up before pitching, decided last minute to pitch some rehydrated US05, since I always have a packet around for emergencies. Probably would have done S04, but no LHBS open on Sunday. Wife likes it sweeter.

Now I have a pack of WLP 775 that I need to give away. Sorry, a bit clueless when it comes to cider.

I have it set at 65 F in the chamber. Thanks for playing everyone!

 

[MadCnty]

I really like Wyeast ESB 1968... A lot of folks will disagree, but if you ferment it on the warmer side (70-72) it leaves a nice clean fruity finish... Just fridge it after two weeks before bottling or kegging... If you ferment it at higher temp you will get banana esters, which can be a good thing or bad depending on how you look at it... I also add cinnamon sticks (to taste, I use five), one pound of honey, and four ounces of apple extract, then back sweeten with Splenda... Hope this helps...