# Yeast Selection For Cider



## DanteHicks (7/1/12)

Hi Guys,

I have been reading this forum for a while now and finally decided to sign up.

I have decided to put down a 20L batch of cider this weekend.

I am usually a kit and kilo brewer, not lazy, just don't have a kettle or pot big enough to boil in yet.

I have 8 x 2.4L Berri Apple and Pear bottles (19.2L total) and a choice of 2 yeasts, Safale S-04 or CL23 Campaign/dry white (left over from my last mead).

I decided to go with the Apple and Pear as I have read that the pear juice has some non-fermentables in it. The missus does not want a cider that is too tart.

In your opinion, which of the yeasts should I use?

Thanks in advance.


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## goldstar (7/1/12)

I've not used CL23 before but regularly use S-04 in turbo ciders. It won't ferment out completely to dryness and maintains a nice fruit flavour in the finished product i.e. it won't be as dry as a nuns crotch! It also flocks out well if cold conditioned before kegging.

Give it a go. It's a safe choice.


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## DanteHicks (7/1/12)

goldstar said:


> I've not used CL23 before but regularly use S-04 in turbo ciders. It won't ferment out completely to dryness and maintains a nice fruit flavour in the finished product i.e. it won't be as dry as a nuns crotch! It also flocks out well if cold conditioned before kegging.
> 
> Give it a go. It's a safe choice.



Thanks heaps Goldstar, I will put it on now.

BTW what is a turbo cider?


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## goldstar (7/1/12)

Turbo cider is just the Pommy name used for ciders made from apple juice concentrate (AJC) rather than the juice of actual cider apples. Nothing more to it than that.

Hope you got your cider on the go. Remember to try and keep it at 19 - 20 deg C if you have temp control available.

Cheers,

Goldstar


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## dr K (7/1/12)

Either yeast would be fine and for your purpose the S04 was the right choice. For future reference:
Fermentis have a cider cider yeast (Safcider) its a S.Bayanus strain from the champagne region selected for its love of simple sugars.
Wyeast and Whitelabs have excellent strains (from all reports)
Danstar Windsor works well, but oddly my best result was with Danstar Munich, a weizen yeast.

K


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## Bubba Q (7/1/12)

i have used nottingham, us-05 & safcider before with good results


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## punkin (8/1/12)

Bubba Q said:


> i have used nottingham, us-05 & safcider before with good results




I have Nottingham and US-05, would you say it was worth purchasing the safcider (i've been looking at it for a couple weeks with apples season coming on) or just going with the 05?


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## [email protected] (8/1/12)

punkin said:


> I have Nottingham and US-05, would you say it was worth purchasing the safcider (i've been looking at it for a couple weeks with apples season coming on) or just going with the 05?



Yeah grab a twin pack of dry cider yeast from craftbrewer, Wyeast cider is also a pretty good yeast if kept at 16 degrees.


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## punkin (8/1/12)

If i buy it i'll buy a 500 gm block. I just don't want to buy it if an ale yeast (or better still a champagne or white wine yeast which i also have) will do just as well.


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## [email protected] (8/1/12)

punkin said:


> If i buy it i'll buy a 500 gm block. I just don't want to buy it if an ale yeast (or better still a champagne or white wine yeast which i also have) will do just as well.



Only one way to find out... grab some of both yeast , run small batches of all those yeast on the same juice and decide for yourself. You don't even have to waste your fresh juice for this exercise, grab 6 bottles of shelf juice pitch different yeast in each, should give you a good idea about what you will prefer.

Edit: How much cider you planning on making? its worth noting the dosage rate of the dried cider yeast
DOSAGE
- 20 to 30 g/hl for first fermentation, at least 1 day after SO2 addition
- 30 to 40 g/hl for prise de mousse

I think i used 0.25g / L in 10L and it was done in 12 days @ 15 degrees


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## vortex (8/1/12)

Beer4U said:


> Yeah grab a twin pack of dry cider yeast from craftbrewer, Wyeast cider is also a pretty good yeast if kept at 16 degrees.



We found the Wyeast Cider yeast was very very dry. I guess that's OK if that's how you like your cider, but it's not for everyone 

We were recommended Wyeast 1056 (I realise this is a very dry Ale yeast) which we were told that it would leave the cider with more residual sweetness.


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## punkin (14/1/12)

I'm almost convinced to go with this yeast after talking to a guy in the winery supply industry...

http://www.enoltech.com.au/products/ever-m...erm-cru-05.html

The bloke i've been talking to reccomends this pretty strongly as a primary yeast that loves to eat fructose and can convert malic acid without a malolactic ferment..




> # Apples are very high in Fructose, most yeast do not like. Cru 05 is Fructophilic so it will not cause an issue in getting it dry. More ripe more Fructose
> 
> # If you wish to reduce Malic Acid without Malolactic ferment, this yeast will degrade up to 30% of the Malic acid through the primary ferment. More ripe less Malic, hence higher pH
> 
> # High Glycerin production 8-10g/l adding viscosity giving a softer mouth feel.




Only thing is the cost for a 500 gm pack that i will never use all of. Is anyone interested in splitting a pack or going in for 100gm lots or some such?


It just sounds from what he's saying that this stuff is the business for high end dry ciders.

I'll be ordering enzymes and lactic acid solution anyway, so the freight is not an extra cost to me, just the freight from me to you.

It'd work out close to $10 per 100gms plus freight. Pretty cheap for a fancy yeast i guess.




PM or respond here if interested, i'll be ordering mid feb when the fresh acid mix gets here.


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## Airgead (14/1/12)

punkin said:


> I'm almost convinced to go with this yeast after talking to a guy in the winery supply industry...
> 
> http://www.enoltech.com.au/products/ever-m...erm-cru-05.html
> 
> ...



I'd be in that... Let me know when you are ready to order and I'll grab some.

Cheers
Dave


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## manticle (14/1/12)

Registering my interest


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## punkin (14/1/12)

Good stuff guys.

I have a backorder running that's due in mid feb for the Purac, so i'll send out some PM's when it gets here in the order i get them.
So if you haven't PM'ed me now's the time. There will be a maximum of 4 spots although i'm quite happy to keep 200 gms for myself.


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## Hintadupfing (14/1/12)

Having just cracked the first bottles of my latest (ever so slightly dodgy) cider, I thought I'd share.

Normally I use a proper cider yeast, but I recently moved temporarily to Canberra for work, had run out of my usual supplies of cider yeast, and had left all my other yeasts and toys in Sydney. I also hadn't (and still haven't) had a chance to drop down to the brew shop in kambah. So, just before heading off up the coast for the usual family christmas nonsense, I chucked 10 litres of berri apple juice in with a sachet of baking yeast.

Yup. Baking yeast. Desperate times, etc...

I just cracked the first bottle open (freshly bottled just after new years). It's not too bad, but I won't be using baking yeast again, I think.

The cider itself is over 8 percent (OG 1060, FG 1000), yet isn't too dry (I don't particularly like dry ciders), and is otherwise quite palatable. But the aroma of slightly funky appley bread takes some getting used to.

(It's also slightly spiced - cinnamon, cloves and cardamom - so I'm holding off my final judgment for a few weeks, until it matures a little more. I've made spiced ciders that didn't become drinkable for 6 months, and then became some of the best drinks I've ever brewed).

I've made cider with cider yeast, champagne yeast, lager yeast, ale yeast and mead yeast, and once made it with wild yeasts (which was by far the best), and I recommend all of these over using bread yeast.


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## tazman1967 (14/1/12)

Pm sent for yeast


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## punkin (15/1/12)

I haven't got a pm from airgeard, but assuming he wants some from the post, that's the 4 slots gone. It'll leave slightly under 100gms for me after weighing which will be enough.

Looking forward to trying it.


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## DanteHicks (15/1/12)

goldstar said:


> Turbo cider is just the Pommy name used for ciders made from apple juice concentrate (AJC) rather than the juice of actual cider apples. Nothing more to it than that.
> 
> Hope you got your cider on the go. Remember to try and keep it at 19 - 20 deg C if you have temp control available.
> 
> ...



Thanks again Goldstar, I did indeed put the cider on. I have an stc-1000 ordered an am on the lookout for another cheap/free fridge. I am in Launceston, so the temperature should be OK, ranging between 10-25. I am hoping that being 20L of liquid, it will be keeping a stable enough temp somewhere in the middle.

Will let you know how it turns out, so far 7 days in the primary and still bubbling away slowly.


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## wynnum1 (15/1/12)

Cider made from bottled juice there is added acid 300 ascorbic acid and citric acid if ferments out dry can be too acidic is there something that will neutralize the extra acid and give better taste .


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## punkin (15/2/12)

3 of the 4 packs of yeast went out express yesterday. I'm looking forward in the coming months to hearing how everyones ferments and ciders go with this yeast.

Hopefully we are on a winner. B)


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## punkin (16/4/12)

Any reports or opinions on this yeast yet Gents?


I'll be checking fg of my cider in the next couple of days. Had a disaster with a leaky fermenter (pinhole in the bottom of a 60l job) and had to drain one batch in with a later batch. Lost about twenty litres and have ended up with 60-70 litres all up.

The first batch had fermented down close to zero, but the second was still over 1010.

Initial taste test from the hydro sample was extremely good. B)


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## vic45 (16/4/12)

We are doing 3 batches, a 5 litre scrumpy and 2 x 25 litres with yeast.

One yeast batch finished at 1000 and is in secondary, tasted very dry on racking, but showing promise.
The second yeast batch is nearly finished primary.

The scrumpy was slower to start and just cruised through ferment, quite a bit slower than the yeast batches. On racking it was as dry as the others but maybe more complex?

See what they are like in a few months. :drinks:


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