Yeast strains for sweeter cider

[CptnRedbeard]

I've brewed some successful beer and i want to add cider to my repertoire. I've been reading these threads to try to pick the best yeast and every talks about cold crashing and additives to end fermentation. When i brew beer i pick a strain with a certain attenuation rate to determine my sweetness. Aren't there some yeast strains that will do that for cider or are the sugars just too simple? I like to keep my ingredients simple and natural and I want to be able to add priming sugar and bottle condition to end up with a shelf stable product like I do with beer.

If the yeast won't naturally leave any sweetness, I'd consider back sweetening when I bottle using stevia. If so, I would at least want a strain that would leave me all the tartness and fruitiness so I at least have some good flavors to work with. I will be using 5 gallons of a good farmer's market sweet cider as my juice.

So what are your experiences? Have you found any strains that do well ring left to finish fermentation?

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

Being a beer guy, I like ale strains over wine strains for cider. Apple Juice ferments out completely regardless of the yeast you use (in my experience). It eats everything.

I don't use chems or pasteurize in the bottle and I wouldn't have a problem leaving them months and months on the shelf. They do get more dry as time goes by, but the apple flavors come back strong. I haven't been able to bring myself to leave them for a year. I treat them like my beers and consume them within in a few weeks after they are bottled.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I have heard mixed results on the leaving behind some sugars thoughts for cider. Many folks seem to use Ale yeasts, but do not always get less than 100% attenuation. If you want to go in this direction, try an Ale strain that has a low ABV tolerence, and shoot for a sugars/gravity level that is just above that. That way you will have unfermented sugars without having to "mess with" your brew.
Having said that, I treat my cider like wine. I use Lalvins K1-1116 or D-47 yeasts and use the German "Suss Reserve" technique to backsweeten my brew. That requires sulfite and sorbate, which don't appeal to some homebrewers. Hope this helps!