Has anyone tried using a lager yeast for cider making? I'm planning on brewing a schwarzbier and might make a big enough starter to have some extra yeast. I've made ciders with american 2, champagne yeast, white wine and now want to try lager yeast.
lager yeast for cider
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kingboomer
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I'm pretty sure this came up before without many replies. FWIW I'm going to be making a graff with a lager yeast soon for the summer. Give it a shot and keep us posted!
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LeBreton
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People use lager yeast all the time for cider, works great!
I have a local cider company that produces non-homogenized cider by the gallon. I'll usually drink 1/4 of the cider, then leave it in the fridge till it starts to bulge. It is a daily ritual to crack open the lid, squeeze the air out and retighten the lid.
The yeast that is the most dominant provides a very crisp, clean taste after a few weeks. I add sugar, shake it up and let it set again for another month, squeezing CO2 out as needed. It reminds me of a mix between Martinelli's sparkling cider and the original Hornsby's 'green' draft cider.
This is just using the natural yeast of unpasteurized cider. I'd like to try a lager yeast pitched with intention.
I guess I could culture this one and use it on a new gallon, effectively 'pitching' a higher cell count and speeding the process.
Any recommendations or favorites of Lager yeasts?
The yeast that is the most dominant provides a very crisp, clean taste after a few weeks. I add sugar, shake it up and let it set again for another month, squeezing CO2 out as needed. It reminds me of a mix between Martinelli's sparkling cider and the original Hornsby's 'green' draft cider.
This is just using the natural yeast of unpasteurized cider. I'd like to try a lager yeast pitched with intention.
I guess I could culture this one and use it on a new gallon, effectively 'pitching' a higher cell count and speeding the process.
Any recommendations or favorites of Lager yeasts?
liquiditynerd
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I've had great success with saflager 23. I only lagered it a month though. Very clean crisp taste.
aryoung1980
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liquiditynerd said:
I have S-23, an empty carboy, and a crap load of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. I guess I know what I'm making next.
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liquiditynerd
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aryoung1980 said:
Go get em! I'm switching over to ales for spring/summer. I really liked how clean crisp and clear it came out, can't wait until I do it again. Maybe fall unless we move up north.
I have one going with S-23 right now it has some interesting fruit flavors, I detected peach. I threw some hops in last night to dry hop for a week before I stabilize and keg it. It's a cleaner flavor than an ale yeast if you insist on using beer yeast. I'd probably use it again if I wanted to use something other than wine yeast.
so...how did it go?
aryoung1980
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Zider said:
I can't speak for the OP but I took his idea and ran with it. I pitched S-23 into 5 gallons of Martinell's Sparkling Cider (I degrassed it first) in early April. I haphazardly followed the Graham's English Cider recipe https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/grahams-english-cider-107152/ and after 7 weeks in primary it has a dry finish and very clear. It is a little light in the body with a white wine nose and some hotness is detectable. I racked it into secondary today and will let it sit another 4-8 weeks before sampling and bottling to round out the rough edges. My OG/FG was 1.062 / 1.008. That puts this cider around 7% ABV and an apparent attenuation of 87%. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you want to use a lager yeast in cider go for it!
I've got something going right now that seems relevant to the thread.
My sister recently moved out of her college dorm and gave me her barely used mini fridge to use as a fermentation chamber. I haven't been able to order a temp control unit yet, so the fridge's built-in thermostat is all I have to control temps. On its warmest setting, the ambient air temp inside stays about 50 deg F, and dips no lower than 48. Now, I've never done a lager, and I don't have any lager yeast, but I've been making lots of apfelwein using EC-1118. I normally use it at room temp (which, in my house in the summer is mid 80s) with a wet T-shirt and some ice packs to cool it down, but some research suggested it ferments all the way down to 45 deg.
So I threw together a chamomile apfelwein with 2 gallons of Tree Top, 1 lb dark brown sugar, a handful of chopped raisins, some yeast nutrient, and a tea made from 10 chamomile teabags. I made a quick starter with the EC-1118 and a cup of the juice, pitched at 80 deg, and put it right into the mini fridge. OG was 1.065. Had krausen within 24 hours.
After 12 days, the SG was already at 1.006, and the hydrometer sample tasted pretty awesome. I "dry hopped" by throwing 10 more chamomile teabags into the primary, gave it a swirl, and stuck it back in the fridge to finish up.
This is shaping up to be my most apple-y tasting apfelwein yet. EC-1118 at low temps is still very fast, and certainly seems to resist "blowing out" all the flavors of the juice. I will definitely be fermenting at low temps with it from now on.
My sister recently moved out of her college dorm and gave me her barely used mini fridge to use as a fermentation chamber. I haven't been able to order a temp control unit yet, so the fridge's built-in thermostat is all I have to control temps. On its warmest setting, the ambient air temp inside stays about 50 deg F, and dips no lower than 48. Now, I've never done a lager, and I don't have any lager yeast, but I've been making lots of apfelwein using EC-1118. I normally use it at room temp (which, in my house in the summer is mid 80s) with a wet T-shirt and some ice packs to cool it down, but some research suggested it ferments all the way down to 45 deg.
So I threw together a chamomile apfelwein with 2 gallons of Tree Top, 1 lb dark brown sugar, a handful of chopped raisins, some yeast nutrient, and a tea made from 10 chamomile teabags. I made a quick starter with the EC-1118 and a cup of the juice, pitched at 80 deg, and put it right into the mini fridge. OG was 1.065. Had krausen within 24 hours.
After 12 days, the SG was already at 1.006, and the hydrometer sample tasted pretty awesome. I "dry hopped" by throwing 10 more chamomile teabags into the primary, gave it a swirl, and stuck it back in the fridge to finish up.
This is shaping up to be my most apple-y tasting apfelwein yet. EC-1118 at low temps is still very fast, and certainly seems to resist "blowing out" all the flavors of the juice. I will definitely be fermenting at low temps with it from now on.
LeBreton
Well-Known Member
1118 is a wonderful yeast for cider, but gets bashed on here a lot by folks who don't know how to manage it. Low and slow is the way to go!
Lager yeast has resulted in a better tasting batches for myself when compared against cider yeast. I use Lager yeast from Mangrove Jack’s.
dry yeast is best so you dont have to aerate. 34/70 is great, as is s189. you should make sure to add nutrients since juice doesnt have alot. they also make dry cider yeast, cant remember the name but it was good as well.
Talk about a dead thread, but I too use beer yeast to make tasty ciders. 1968 makes a good dry, not not too dry cider. Hit it with a bunch of nutrient at pitch and it goes nutss.
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