What's your favorite yeast for cider?

[maddprofessor]

I know there are many threads discussing different yeasts people have used but it's a bit of a daunting task to read through all them. I was hoping maybe a few people could just quickly chime in. I've made a few batches with Nottingham and have been happy with the results but I would like something with a little more character and if possible a yeast that is ok at 75 F (That would have to be a wine yeast probably though, right?). I may have to just do the waterbath/frozen bottles method since here in Florida I can't manage to get appropriate room temperatures until December.

 

[sudbuster]

There's nothing more tasty than a slightly sweet sparkling cider with dry babyback ribs. The yeast that suits my taste best for the job is W4766.

 

[jkarp]

I've always used Pasteur Champagne for my ciders with fantastic results. I'm tempted to try Premier Cuvee this fall however as it's supposed to be even cleaner tasting.

 

[wildman]

I always use white labs cider yeast and last year with a new baby my house was very warm, probably around 75, cant say that it was much different tasting than the year before at 64. this is the only kind of yeast that i have used and it screams apples in the finished product.

if i had to use the frozen bottle method i myself would only do it while the it was visibly fermenting. it would be to much work otherwise and i doubt temps a little outside the norm greatly effect aging.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Depending on the type of cider you want.
There is a sticky above with Results from juice, yeast and sugar experiments by CvilleKevin on the top of the cider forum.
I have used WP300 on an attempt to make a semi-sweet cider.
I have used EC118 on high ABV cysers, still bulk ageing these monsters.
Usually I have been using S-04 and S-05 to make dry 7-9% drinks that taste really good.

 

[maddprofessor]

Holy crap my cider tastes good. I ended up going with the S-04 since it seemed to get good reviews in that crazy juice, yeast, sugar experiment thread, and I wanted to go with a dry yeast. My cider's been fermenting a little over 2 months now and finally is down to a few tiny bubbles rising. I want to bottle it soon but might give it another week. I was curious about how it tastes since this is my 4th batch of cider and I did things a bit differently this time. I took about an ounce out and it is amazing. My recipe this time around:

2 gallons Kirkland Apple juice (not from concentrate)
1 gallon pasturized Gala apple cider (from Walmart, with preservatives)
1.5 lbs brown sugar
3 cups caramel syrup (homemade stuff similar to dark candi syrup)
spices (I think like 8 cloves, 8 alspice berries, couple cinnamon sticks)
3 t yeast nutrient
3 campden tablets
S-04 yeast

I heated about half a gallon of juice with the spices for 30 min, let it cool with the spices in there, and then removed them and added the juice and the rest of the ingredients. OG was 1.070. It foamed up a bit the first day and then went to the slower sparkling wine type bubbling. It's been sitting and bubbling for 10 weeks. SG is 1.014 right now.

The taste is slightly sweet, appley, with a slight spice characteristic that reminds me of a Belgian style beer. The mouthfeel is smooth and wine-like. It actually reminds me of a Riesling. I usually bottle carb my cider but this is so awesome I might bottle some still. My previous ciders (using Nottingham) all had a slight funky flavor and 2 had too much spice that turned into some unpleasant flavor. Main difference between this one and my last 2 batches is the yeast and less spice exposure. I'm anxious now to start drinking this. I guess I'll be taking readings the next few days to see if this is still fermenting or if the bubbles are just CO2 still hanging around. Should I expect the S-04 to take it all the way dry?