Using harvested yeast from beer

[uglyamerican00]

I'm going to be racking my beer in a week or two and I was wondering if anyone ever used the yeast to make a cider. I know the yeast should be aggressive,but I'm more interested in if the yeast will do ok in terms of taste an compatibility

 

[sashurlow]

What kind of yeast is it? People use ale yeast all the time. There was a trend a couple years ago to use Belgium yeasts in cider too.
You would have to wash it or you will end up with hops and grain flavors.

 

[theDREWery]

If you did a good job of keeping kettle trub out of the fermenter, and didn't dry hop, you should be fine to dump straight onto the cake. I've done this a number of times for graf, pitching onto stout or dunkelweizen cakes.

I wouldn't recommend using the cake from a hoppy beer, the flavor will carryover and the yeast are under greater strain.

 

[bucketnative]

I just did a gallon batch using some Kolsch yeast (WY2565) that I harvested and washed from my fermenter. It seems to be fermenting a bit slower than a batch with Premiere Cuvee that I started at the same time. I guess that might be expected. I am fermenting them in the low-to-mid 60's. They've been going for a week, so no taste comparison, but I am looking to keep processing them side-by-side, so as to get a direct comparison.

 

[uglyamerican00]

I just did a gallon batch using some Kolsch yeast (WY2565) that I harvested and washed from my fermenter. It seems to be fermenting a bit slower than a batch with Premiere Cuvee that I started at the same time. I guess that might be expected. I am fermenting them in the low-to-mid 60's. They've been going for a week, so no taste comparison, but I am looking to keep processing them side-by-side, so as to get a direct comparison.

That is my fear. If I do use harvested yeast from beer, I would get a slow fermentation. Keep me posted on if it picks up. I hope it's just a slow start and not a PH issue.

 

[uglyamerican00]

What kind of yeast is it? People use ale yeast all the time. There was a trend a couple years ago to use Belgium yeasts in cider too.
You would have to wash it or you will end up with hops and grain flavors.

Nottingham. An aggressive yeast.

 

[BrewSRQ]

Nottingham is a personal favorite cider yeast. I would consider washing the yeast as others have suggested.

 

[thaymond]

I'm going to be racking my beer in a week or two and I was wondering if anyone ever used the yeast to make a cider. I know the yeast should be aggressive,but I'm more interested in if the yeast will do ok in terms of taste an compatibility

I use wlp002 for my ciders. That seems to be the one yeast that me and my family all seem to enjoy. The wine yeasts and champagne yeasts just aren't the same. I suggest using nutrient and energizer for your cider. It does take a long time to clear.

 

[bucketnative]

That is my fear. If I do use harvested yeast from beer, I would get a slow fermentation. Keep me posted on if it picks up. I hope it's just a slow start and not a PH issue.

Cider typically has a slow fermentation period compared with beer. I'm very patient with mine. I still have them side by each in glass gallon jugs. The wine yeast has pretty much dropped out of suspension (I could read newspaper through it), while the Kolsch yeast batch is still cloudy and has some bubbles on top. I'm not worried at all by this, it's not a sign that something is wrong.

 

[Yesfan]

I'm kinda in the same boat as the OP, but about a week or two ahead of him. I'm currently got a one gallon batch of cider fermenting with 1056 slurry used from a previous beer (extra light pale ale) at 72F. It was a slow starter. I pitched the yeast this past Thursday and it didn't show signs of fermentation til yesterday morning. It was a pretty aggressive fermentation for that day, but this morning it's subsided but still bubbling.

 

[bucketnative]

This is after about three weeks in the fermenter. Side by each: Kolsch yeast on the left, Premiere Cuvee on the right. The PC yeast is definitely further along than the Kolsch. Note that I think some trub/protein got transferred in with the Kolsch yeast and got left on the glass above the liquid line during the really active part of fermentation. I'll have to do a better job of washing the yeast next time.

 

[IslandLizard]

This is after about three weeks in the fermenter. Side by each: Kolsch yeast on the left, Premiere Cuvee on the right. The PC yeast is definitely further along than the Kolsch. Note that I think some trub/protein got transferred in with the Kolsch yeast and got left on the glass above the liquid line during the really active part of fermentation. I'll have to do a better job of washing the yeast next time.

If that's WY2565 it's gonna stay cloudy for a long, long time. When it's truly done, cold crash for a week, rack and lager for a few weeks. It will become clear as glass.

Did you add yeast nutrient to it? Beer yeast needs that as cider is devoid of any.

 

[bucketnative]

If that's WY2565 it's gonna stay cloudy for a long, long time. When it's truly done, cold crash for a week, rack and lager for a few weeks. It will become clear as glass.

Did you add yeast nutrient to it? Beer yeast needs that as cider is devoid of any.

I know WY2565 is not that flocculent. I will definitely cold crash that when it is done. You can still see some bubbles at the surface, which to me says that it's not quite done yet. With the 1-gallon batches, I don't like to take a lot of hydrometer samples (yeah, I could return the sample, but that's just another chance of infection).

I typically add 1 tsp of yeast nutrient to my cider, whether using wine, cider or beer yeast.

 

[Yesfan]

I've read a couple of posts suggesting not to use yeast slurry from a hoppy beer in a cider. If you use beer yeast for a cider, can you use the slurry from it for another beer or will that slurry impart an applely taste to the beer? I imagine that might be alright if one is going for a graf, but what if it's a IPA or ESB for instance?

 

[IslandLizard]

I know WY2565 is not that flocculent. I will definitely cold crash that when it is done. You can still see some bubbles at the surface, which to me says that it's not quite done yet. With the 1-gallon batches, I don't like to take a lot of hydrometer samples (yeah, I could return the sample, but that's just another chance of infection).

I typically add 1 tsp of yeast nutrient to my cider, whether using wine, cider or beer yeast.

Bubbles could be from outgassing too.

You can use a refractometer and a calculator as long as you know the OG. To calibrate the refractometer reading/calculation against a hydrometer it would take only one hydro sample when the cider is done. That way you have a measured "calibrated" reference for future readings. Of course that sample doubles up as a good taste tester.

+1 on the yeast nutrient. A few times I've forgotten to add it to wine fermented with beer yeast.

 

[bucketnative]

So to update my test of Kolsch yeast in a cider:

After five weeks in the primary, I racked the cider off the lees. I added about 0.5 oz. of mint leaves in a chiffonade. I kept it at about 60F for 10 days. In that time, the remaining yeast seemed to drop out of suspension, as the cider was very clear with a fine sediment on the bottom. I bottled with table sugar to 3.0 volumes, and conditioned for three weeks at 64F. I failed to measure FG... darn it.

I tried the first one last night, and it definitely had more residual sweetness and apple flavor than the dry cider from the premier cuvee (which was not racked into secondary with mint). The Kolsch yeast left much more body to the cider that seemed to balance the coolness imparted by the mint. The mint was not present up front, but rather from the middle to the end of the sip, in the middle of the tongue. Not too bad.

I was worried about a toothpaste type flavor, but it was refreshing. I figure I'll let the rest of the batch wait until June before bringing to a family function.

 

[bucketnative]

I've read a couple of posts suggesting not to use yeast slurry from a hoppy beer in a cider. If you use beer yeast for a cider, can you use the slurry from it for another beer or will that slurry impart an applely taste to the beer? I imagine that might be alright if one is going for a graf, but what if it's a IPA or ESB for instance?

I would wash the yeast in that case to remove the trub and focus on the yeast recovery.