Cider with Ale yaest?

[Plan9]

I'm new to cider making, and I wonder about fermenting it with an ale yeast.

I guess there's not much reason to not use wine yeast, except it may be a good use of a yeast cake.

Is this done, and if so what types of ale yeast are best?

 

[Hitman8D]

I'm new to cider making, and I wonder about fermenting it with an ale yeast.

I guess there's not much reason to not use wine yeast, except it may be a good use of a yeast cake.

Is this done, and if so what types of ale yeast are best?

I have made Cider/Apfelwein several times. I prefer Whitelabs California Ale Yeast.

I live in Houston, Tx. It gets warm down here in the summer. California Ale yeast can take the higher than normal temps. It's also very clean tasting. I don't like any extra fruity flavors in my cider. I want to taste apple. It's high attenuation and high flocculation are also ideal for a clear, dry, clean tasting cider.

I am a big fan.

My favorite recipe is
5 Gal. Apple Juice
2 lbs. Dark Brown Sugar
California Ale yeast
2 tsp Yeast Nutrient

bring 1 quart of juice to 170 degrees. Dissolve Brown Sugar in heated juice.
Pour all juice into 6 gallon carboy. Add yeast and nutrient. Shake very well.
Ferment!

When it's done. I prime with 3/4 C dextrose and bottle. I like a very dry, sparkling cider.

 

[Ben25]

Sounds good! I also read somewhere on here that Weihenstephan Weizen Wyeast W3068 is real good for cider. I'll be making a batch next week, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[Evan!]

I know a guy here in town who's been on HBT a few times and he only does cider. Last time I was at his house, he must have had 50 gallons of cider going...so yeah, he experiments alot (many of the batches were in single-gallon jugs). His favorite (and I have to agree after tasting many of his batches) is to go with Nottingham. It doesn't dry out as much as some, and it really makes great cider with nice fruit. Try that first, because it's cheap and readily available.

 

[zoebisch01]

Yeah, like Evan!'s friend has found a good dry Ale yeast works swell. I personally would not spend anymore money than a pack of dry. The results from my recent expedition in Cider (5 gal Ale yeast, 5 gal Wine yeast, 5 gal naturally fermented) was that they all started and finished at the same gravity in this order: Ale, Wine, Natural. Flavor-wise is TBD....but I honestly don't think that it is going to make a huge difference.