GF, Bernard,
I mixed all my apple pressings so the 4 carboys would start with the same juice. All carboys had indirect exposure to mild amounts of sunlight.
My wife and I are not tasting experts, and in our limited experience the real flavors won't express for another 6-9 months, but here are our early notes.
Lalvin 71B
- lightest color
- was 2nd farthest from window
- bottled at 3-1/2 mo
- MLF (?) bubbles stopped at ~3mo
- along with Premier, the clearest
- unremarkable flavor, slight bitter backbite
- no bubbles during racking
Safale S-04
- next lightest
- was farthest from window, got slightly less light than others
- bottled at 3-1/2 mo
- MLF (?) bubbles stopped at ~3mo
- very strong apple flavor, unlike what we typically taste early on
- slight sour note, but a little sugar neutralizes it
- no strong acid or tannin flavors
- we like it as-is
- very bubbly during racking; lots of trapped CO2?
Pasteur Red
- next darkest
- was closest to window, got slightly more light than others
- bottled at 3-1/2 mo
- MLF (?) bubbles stopped at ~3mo
- strong apple flavor
- duller flavor than S-04; musty
- more roundish honey flavor than S-04
- its ok, but we prefer the S-04
- somewhat bubbly during racking
Premier Cuvee
- darkest
- was 2nd closest to window
- bottled at 2-1/2 mo (was the first to go still, hence first bottled)
- no apparent MLF bubbles
- <no tasting notes>
- no bubbles during racking
Asian Plum
- bottled at 2-1/2 mo
- very clear
- "wow" on taste. Nice plum flavor, albeit a little light on flavor. Magical after-taste
European Plum
- bottled at ~2-1/2 m0
- not as clear as the Asian
- very bright plum taste. Not overly thick or strong (good). Slight tingle
--SiletzSpey
