Malt Cider yeast

[BrewinME]

So I'm trying my hand at a malt cider and I pitched it with the only ale yeast my LHBS carried, Muntons Standard Ale Yeast. I later read up on the yeast only to find out that its not recommended for recipes that are heavy on malts.

1 lb DME boiled in quart of water
1 c. Honey stirred in after flameout
1 gal. apple cider
2 tsp. orange zest

After 24 hours I've got a nice fermentation going, so I'm wondering if the yeast is just fermenting the honey and will crap out when its done or will it continue to ferment the complex sugars in the malt. Ideas?

 

[PintOfBitter]

considering it's used most frequently to ferment 100% malt based beverages, I think you'll be just fine. Chances are, it is just not recommended for use in high gravity beers. Honey is the ingredient you should worry about causing slow fermentations, though in this recipe it shouldn't be an issue.

It's probably fermenting just right and will be tasty!

Welcome to HBT! Been lurking long?

 

[BrewinME]

Yeah I thought it was stupid that a beer yeast would be a poor malt fermenter, but I got spooked by what I read.
I have been using this forum all summer, its been a life saver for this beginner.

 

[CvilleKevin]

I've used Muntons Ale for cider and it tastes great while it is fermenting, but it ferments faster and dryer than most ale yeasts. It is good if you are in a hurry, but you need to watch it. The batch I did with Muntons fermented out completely in 8 days. On day 7 it tasted great, but day 8 it was 0.998 and no flavor was left. The ferment time was half the time as for Notty, US05 and S04

My SG for the Muntons batch was 1.060. You are using a bit more sugars, so if you get lucky the yeast will slow down before the complex sugars are gone. You might want to taste it when the fermentation starts slowing down and consider crashing the ferment if you want to keep the taste. If it comes out too dry, try US05 next time. It is good for malt ciders and a lot easier to control than the Muntons.

 

[Edcculus]

Chances are, it is just not recommended for use in high gravity beers.

Thats what I'm thinking.

 

[BrewinME]

Thanks for the help, I'll start tasting it next week. Next time I'll try to get my hands on some better yeast.