Hey guys, I have done a handful of ciders so far using Nottingham, which I gather is generally recommended. However, I feel like most of my ciders have come out a bit bland (no real off flavors, just a bit flabby/bland). I bought some malic acid, which may end up fixing the problem, but I was also thinking it could be my temperatures and yeast. Nottingham says not to go above 68 F, but I live in a small apartment in the Phoenix area, so I don't have much space for a cooler and it's too expensive to cool my place down to 68 F. Lots of people seem to use champagne yeast such as Lalvin EC-1118, which can supposedly go up to a much more practical 86 F (ideally not above 77 F), but the guys at my local homebrew store strongly advised against champagne yeast because of how dry it will finish. With my ciders finishing fairly dry (not above 1.010, most around 1.005) with only 4-5 days in primary anyway, I think a dry cider may be my best bet.
I am wondering if anyone has any experience using Lalvin EC-1118 at higher temperatures for cider. I am looking for a dry but fruity apple taste with abv not higher than 6-7% (actually, if it ferments dry, it will be hard to go lower due to the sugar content of my starting juice). Thanks.
I am wondering if anyone has any experience using Lalvin EC-1118 at higher temperatures for cider. I am looking for a dry but fruity apple taste with abv not higher than 6-7% (actually, if it ferments dry, it will be hard to go lower due to the sugar content of my starting juice). Thanks.
