Champagne yeast + Graff = ?

[nakeddog]

I tried searching on this topic, but came up short on answers. I was planing on making a dry cider this winter to be ready for summertime drinking and picked up some Champagne yeast as I prefer a drier cider. However one of our local breweries here does a black cider that my SWMBO and I tried a few weeks ago and just loved it. So I am changing my cider to a graff. Now looking through the various graff threads, I am seeing people are using ale yeasts as opposed to cider/Champagne yeasts. Could a Champagne yeast be used? Would it dry it out too much and negate the maltiness that is added?

Just curious if anyone has tried this before I attempt it. Thanks!

 

[la_zonon]

It seems like your post from last winter never generated much of a response, but I've been grappling with this same question myself recently.

Did you decide to go with the Champagne yeast? If so, how did it turn out? I am also partial to a dry cider, so the Champagne yeast was my first inclination.

I'd also be curious to hear any other details of your recipe you'd care to share, e.g., malt used, etc.

 

[CvilleKevin]

Would it dry it out too much and negate the maltiness that is added?

Most likely. What most folks are going for is to balance the apple with the complex malt sugars which the ale yeast does not ferment.

Champagne yeast will ferment out nearly all of the malt sugars. It might still end up drinkable but ale yeasts will give you much more control. US05 or Notty are good ones to start with.

 

[nakeddog]

Yea I agree with Kevin. I did do it with the Champagne yeast and it was not a pleasant finish. The dryness wasn't really the problem, but what made it completely undrinkable was the breadiness of the yeast. It was really unbearable. I tried several different things, including waiting, to try to get it to a point where we could enjoy it but unfortunately I didn't succeed. To this date, it is the only batch I ever poured out.