does anyone want to go in on White Labs Funky Cider Yeast?

[robdogj]

How long are people planning to age this before serving?

At least a month but I have been enjoying my cider already.

 

[LLBeanJ]

How long are people planning to age this before serving?

My plan was to let it go for a month, but I grabbed a sample at 15 days and decided that it already had the Brett profile I was looking to get. Too much more and it would have been beyond my level of Brett-tolerance, so I want ahead and kegged it and quickly got it chilled.

 

[RPh_Guy]

My plan was to let it go for a month, but I grabbed a sample at 15 days and decided that it already had the Brett profile I was looking to get. Too much more and it would have been beyond my level of Brett-tolerance, so I want ahead and kegged it and quickly got it chilled.

Brett-tolerance?!?
We can't be friends any more.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Brett-tolerance?!?
We can't be friends any more.

Yeah, I realize there is no such thing as too much Brett for some, but that's not me. Don't get me wrong, I like me some Brett, but it should be subtle, not overpowering. If it tastes like it was dry hopped with road apples, it's gone too far.

 

[BrewSomeMore]

Yeah, I realize there is no such thing as too much Brett for some, but that's not me. Don't get me wrong, I like me some Brett, but it should be subtle, not overpowering. If it tastes like it was dry hopped with road apples, it's gone too far.

The journey has just begun.

 

[whovous]

So, the longer it sits, the funkier it gets? Does this go on forever, or what?

 

[BrewSomeMore]

Not until it taste like the ghost of road apples is it truly sour.

 

[MarkKF]

I’m finally starting mine this weekend. The bucket of juice came outta the deep freeze but still has a big block floating around. My plan it to toss in five pounds of peach slices after fermentation slows down. From there I’ll keep sampling and when I like it I’ll rack it and let it sit in glass for months.

 

[MarkKF]

I made a starter of approx. 50 oz. of previously frozen fresh pressed juice. Looks like it’s alive.

 

[robdogj]

View attachment 612894
I made a starter of approx. 50 oz. of previously frozen fresh pressed juice. Looks like it’s alive.

no airlock?

 

[MarkKF]

When I do a starter I used the screw on cap. Tighten it, shake, loosen it. Repeat every 6-8 hours.

 

[whovous]

Where did your ciders finish? Did you stop fermentation early?

 

[universalfrost]

Haven’t tried mine yet. Hopefully soon I will use one of the two I bought.

Those that used this have you direct pitched or made a starter?

 

[whovous]

I pitched direct because I am lazy, but I am not real sure it was a good idea.

 

[robdogj]

Where did your ciders finish? Did you stop fermentation early?

My ciders came out a bit dry. I did the 5 gallon batch & made some hop cider. That came out awesome.

 

[whovous]

What was your final gravity? Mine was less "funky" than I expected.

 

[robdogj]

What was your final gravity? Mine was less "funky" than I expected.

My OG was 1.030. My FG was 1.000. The fermentation took 2 months because I added more sugar to up the ABV. I took out 1 gallon & & created another 2.5 gallons with more cider, but I added Cascade hops. I let that ferment for a month & it turned out great. All in all I was very happy w/ the Funky Cider yeast. Now I can't wait to receive the Scottish Cider Yeast that I ordered from the Vault. From my experience, White Labs always makes me a Happy Man.

 

[RPh_Guy]

So, you folks like this yeast blend or not? Would you buy it again?

 

[MarkKF]

I think the funk will develop over months of aging. At least I hope it will. So far all the vault yeasts I’ve tried have been good but not worth the wait or cost over Ale yeast.

 

[whovous]

I'm a bit schizo about this. I do almost all beer but I don't like many Brett beers. I cannot explain why, but the idea of Brett seemed to make more sense to me. That said, I went in afraid of getting too much funk, and so far I have very little at all. I like it, but it is not what I expected. Then again, I am completely willing to wait for a long time for the flavor to develop.

I almost certainly won't do this again, but that is mostly because I don't really do cider. When I do, I think I want to experiment more with natural fermentation. The idea that something could be so overwhelmingly simple as step 1, set the thermostat, step 2, wait, could be so good intrigues more than Brett does.

 

[BrewSomeMore]

I would get this blend again. Not only can you pitch it in cider but any other sour project. When I opened my bucket to pour some other sour dregs, the smell had lots of funky, earthy Brett character. Definitely more robust than Roeselare blend. Also, have not sample yet, cider was cloudy as bugs we're still chewing away at it.

 

[BrewSavage]

I just bottled, after 90 plus days in the fermentor. I drank the test jar sample and loved it. It tasted like a farmhouse scrumpy cider ...which is not to everyone's liking.

Of course I saved a jar of the dregs for another batch.

FG was off the scale, which only goes down to 0.998 on my hydrometer