ndovu
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- Jun 26, 2015
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Hello HBT, I recently ran a side-by-side cider brew using Nottingham Ale Yeast and SAF Red Instant Baking Yeast to see what all the fuss was about using baking yeast and I ended up being very surprised at the end of it.
For each batch, I used a small amount of ingredients because I was brewing my main cider with champagne yeast and could only use spare ingredients (would of used champagne yeast instead of Nottingham if I had any left around)
Here are the ingredients per batch:
2 litres of Apple Juice Concentrate
2 cups of raw sugar
Some amount of cinnamon
Their gravities both started at 1.055
After pitching both yeasts in their respectable containers, the first thing I noticed was that the bakers yeast was up and running in half an hour compared to the brewing yeast which took a bit over than an hour. After that, the differences were so pronounced, that you could tell which one was which by the sound coming from the airlocks. The bakers yeast was vigorous and I was sure at that point, it would turn out like crap.
After a week and a half, both yeasts had tired out and it was time to bottle them up for aging. I don't use a secondary fermenter because I find it pointless and prefer the taste when it's directly aged in a bottle. Before bottling though, I took some samples from both and poured them in their respective glasses for a taste.
Nottingham Verdict
The brewers yeast did what everyone said it would. It gave a sweet cider with quite some alcohol in it. Finished with a gravity reading of 1.010 (It stayed at that gravity for 3 days in a row). The alcohol percentage should be around 5.91% Not bad. I actually can't wait for this to age a bit.
SAF Instant Yeast
I have to say this surprised me a lot. I'm guessing that it must be unique to this bakers yeast but it left no off tastes in the cider. It finished with a gravity of 0.98 giving an ABV of around 9.84%
It produced a dry and slightly tart cider. Not bad at all. Tasted like a slightly appley white wine which I'm sure with age, would make the apple flavours more pronounced. I honestly enjoyed this initially more than the Nottingham variant but I will see which of these ages better and I'll post an update.
Closing remarks
I honestly wish I would of started these two at the same time as my champagne yeast cider but that has been bottled away, maybe when all the ciders are done I'll make a comparison. At the end of the day, if you like a 'soda' cider which is more sweet, the brewers yeast takes it by far. But if you like a more champagne/wine taste with a slightly appley flavour, the bakers yeast actually comes out better. A lot more stronger too.
Whichever method you use, I hope you enjoy your lovely homebrew!
For each batch, I used a small amount of ingredients because I was brewing my main cider with champagne yeast and could only use spare ingredients (would of used champagne yeast instead of Nottingham if I had any left around)
Here are the ingredients per batch:
2 litres of Apple Juice Concentrate
2 cups of raw sugar
Some amount of cinnamon
Their gravities both started at 1.055
After pitching both yeasts in their respectable containers, the first thing I noticed was that the bakers yeast was up and running in half an hour compared to the brewing yeast which took a bit over than an hour. After that, the differences were so pronounced, that you could tell which one was which by the sound coming from the airlocks. The bakers yeast was vigorous and I was sure at that point, it would turn out like crap.
After a week and a half, both yeasts had tired out and it was time to bottle them up for aging. I don't use a secondary fermenter because I find it pointless and prefer the taste when it's directly aged in a bottle. Before bottling though, I took some samples from both and poured them in their respective glasses for a taste.
Nottingham Verdict
The brewers yeast did what everyone said it would. It gave a sweet cider with quite some alcohol in it. Finished with a gravity reading of 1.010 (It stayed at that gravity for 3 days in a row). The alcohol percentage should be around 5.91% Not bad. I actually can't wait for this to age a bit.
SAF Instant Yeast
I have to say this surprised me a lot. I'm guessing that it must be unique to this bakers yeast but it left no off tastes in the cider. It finished with a gravity of 0.98 giving an ABV of around 9.84%
It produced a dry and slightly tart cider. Not bad at all. Tasted like a slightly appley white wine which I'm sure with age, would make the apple flavours more pronounced. I honestly enjoyed this initially more than the Nottingham variant but I will see which of these ages better and I'll post an update. Closing remarks
I honestly wish I would of started these two at the same time as my champagne yeast cider but that has been bottled away, maybe when all the ciders are done I'll make a comparison. At the end of the day, if you like a 'soda' cider which is more sweet, the brewers yeast takes it by far. But if you like a more champagne/wine taste with a slightly appley flavour, the bakers yeast actually comes out better. A lot more stronger too.
Whichever method you use, I hope you enjoy your lovely homebrew!
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
