Simplest Cider

[Greg Lawrence]

I have just kegged my Aldi cider.
It was 24L of Aldi apple juice, Lalvin yeast, and nutrient.
Ended up quite dry, so filled one keg to about 17L and added a 2L bottle of apple juice.
Im pretty happy with the result.
The rest I used to top up an existing keg of aldi cider that was watered down and also had .5kg LDME. Also a good result as the original was too malty.

 

[pdilley]

All good!


Hey just a reminder to keep your ALDI 2L Juice bottles. They make wonderful brewing tools.

I use them to collect yeast trub, do basic yeast washing and then repitch into new wort to make more beer.

I also this time used them in a rush to make a yeast starter. I had a Schfferhofer Hefeweizen that was bottled in Germany. I noticed a milky residue in the bottle after pouring and immediately grabbed from the fridge a 2L ALDI bottle full of left over wort from draining my BIAB bag last time I brewed beer.

First draining from the BIAB bag went back in the brew pot and left over draining after went into ALDI 2L and in the fridge.

Filled the Schfferhofer with a little wort and a little plastic wrap and after a few days it built up enough to pour into the ALDI 2L container.

Just about to start brewing a Heffeweizen in 30 minutes and this is what I'm going to pitch into it even though I have WLP300 already, I just am curious about this yeast and want to give it a go.





Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[manticle]

Interested in the results. I think I have some in my fridge although it may be a bit old. I've read that they condition with a lager yeast (don't know how true that is) so keep us informed as to how it turns out.

Threw away 6 ALDI juice bottles last week and now realise that may have been premature. Having said that, the less said about last week's brewing the better.

 

[pdilley]

Interested in the results. I think I have some in my fridge although it may be a bit old. I've read that they condition with a lager yeast (don't know how true that is) so keep us informed as to how it turns out.

Threw away 6 ALDI juice bottles last week and now realise that may have been premature. Having said that, the less said about last week's brewing the better.

It already has a heady aroma of bananas and I don't pick up much clove yet so I am pretty sure i've got some German Weizen yeast in there

I picked the Schfferhofer bottle from the bottle shop because it had the German words "NATURTRB PREMIUM-WEISSBIER" which let me know I'd probably get a good chance of culturing yeast from this bottle.

I love the ALDI bottles, wife uses them cut up for painting and paint cleaners. I use them for brewing.


If I'm in a made rush I'll just fill the bottling fermenter with a little extra water and swish it around to pick up yeast trub and then just pour it straight into the ALDI 2L bottles (got 4 last time!) and put it in the fridge until later when I can wash it.

I am going to bottle today an Amarillo Ale I made with yeast from that last session. Got 4 bottles down to one for pitching.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[manticle]

My understanding of good brewing practice is that bottle conditioning should take place with the same yeast so it would make more sense if they've used their original strain.

Schofferhoffer hefe and kristal are both sold at my corner shop and are both quite tasty. Farming yeast from them is an extra incentive.

 

[pdilley]

My understanding of good brewing practice is that bottle conditioning should take place with the same yeast so it would make more sense if they've used their original strain.

Schofferhoffer hefe and kristal are both sold at my corner shop and are both quite tasty. Farming yeast from them is an extra incentive.

My WLP300 tube of German Hefeweizen yeast was $14 or so (forgot exact price).
One bottle of Schfferhofer from the local bottle shop is a hell of a lot cheaper! Plus you get a beer to drink!

Win Win Situation

I will be hopefully putting the WLP300 into a starter and then hopefully by then have some slant tubes to store a library of it so less purchases.
The Schfferhofer, well I guess I could do that as well if it turns out to make a bloody great hefeweizen! Or just keep drinking a bottle from the shop.

Hell, I think its cheaper than a dry sachet of bog standard yeast to drink a Schfferhofer and then brew a beer from it


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Yuma]

Im thinking about laying down a small test batch of this (5l Demijohn) with maybe a champagne yeast. Any suggestions? I know im going to lose most of it to sediment etc. which im fine with, but i dont want to completely stuff up what would essentially be a tester batch.

 

[Airgead]

Im thinking about laying down a small test batch of this (5l Demijohn) with maybe a champagne yeast. Any suggestions? I know im going to lose most of it to sediment etc. which im fine with, but i dont want to completely stuff up what would essentially be a tester batch.

Yuma

That yeast is going to give you an absolutely dry cider. If that's what you like then go for it but most people seem to like a little residual sweetness left in a cider. Particularly of you use juice with a fair bit of natural acid you need some sweetness to balance it. Your usual shop bought stuff is pretty low acid so if you like a dry cider you should be OK. If you want something sweeter you might want to try a lower attenuating yeast. I think BP posted a bunch of suggestions here. I use the wyeast 4766 cider yeast but BP has had some disappointing results with shop bought juice. I think it really needs proper cider apple juice to give a good result. One of the English ale yeasts fermented quite cool to keep the beery esters down might be a good way to go.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Yuma]

One of the English ale yeasts fermented quite cool to keep the beery esters down might be a good way to go.

So maybe the S-04 or there abouts?

 

[manticle]

Anyone ever tried a lager yeast in their cider?

If so which and how did it work out?

 

[Yuma]

What kind of Apple Juice should I use?
Ideally, you want to use 100% natural apple juice with no preservatives. The only acceptable preservative is ascorbic acid, which is a source of vitamin C and does not affect fermentation. Pasteurized juice is preferred, since it will have less bacteria.

So, things like nat. flavours and food acids are ok? I tried 2 diff Aldi's and a Woolies and none had 100% apple juice with only Ascorbic acid.

 

[Fermented]

So, things like nat. flavours and food acids are ok? I tried 2 diff Aldi's and a Woolies and none had 100% apple juice with only Ascorbic acid.

Ascorbic acid is OK and won't have an effect on fermentation etc. It does tend to add to the tartness a little, but ages out nicely.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Yuma]

So by that ill assume the food acid is alright also?

 

[Melon]

So maybe the S-04 or there abouts?

Safale S-04 is a great yeast for newbie brewers. In my experience it carbonates in the bottle fairly quickly and for your first couple of brews you just want to drink it as soon as possible.
View attachment Safale_S_04.pdf

However I'd also recommend the Lavlin EC-1118. It takes a bit longer in the bottle to carbonate, but leaves a lot more of the flavour behind.
View attachment Lalvin_EC_1118.pdf

Has anyone else used the Saflager S-23? I did a test batch because it's said to give "fruity esters". What I produced though most ppl said tasted like cheap cask wine.
Good thing there was only 6 bottles. It was considerably poorer than the other brews I've done with similar wort mixes.

My tastes run to the dry end of the spectrum but to prevent my beverages being overly dry I add about 50g Lactose to a 5L brew.

 

[Verbyla]

Just started my first apple juicing project and realised there was a few basic things i still didn't know

So here it is:
Just wondering what exactly does pectinase do to apple juice and when should it be added?

ALSO

At what temperature should juice be pasteurised at and how long should the temperaure be held?

I've taken plenty of photos and will let you know how everything is going as soon as i'm done with juicing all 50kgs of the bloody apples!

 

[Airgead]

Just started my first apple juicing project and realised there was a few basic things i still didn't know

So here it is:
Just wondering what exactly does pectinase do to apple juice and when should it be added?

ALSO

At what temperature should juice be pasteurised at and how long should the temperaure be held?

I've taken plenty of photos and will let you know how everything is going as soon as i'm done with juicing all 50kgs of the bloody apples!

Pectinaise is a pectic enzyme. It is used to break down the pectins in fruit juice. What they actually do is make sure all the juice is released from the pulp and help the pulp settle so you get a clear end product.

Pasteurisation is hard to do at home. Ideally you hold it at over 70c for 30 mins or so but you then end up with cooked apple flavours. Commercially they flash pasteurise at 95+ under pressure for about 30 secs but you can't do that without specialised kit. If you just want to prevent wild fermentation you can use campden (suplhate) tablets to inhibit the wild yeast.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Fermented]

>72C for 3 minutes will do just fine.

Have done it with a batch of 100% freshly juiced apples (Pink Lady) and there were no adverse effects.

You're only targeting the 80% of nasties that may do injury to you or the cider. The other 20% are of less concern.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Verbyla]

Thanks for that guys.

I don't want sulfur any where near the cider so i think i'll stick to the 3 minutes pasteurisation and just build up a big starter to ensure the yeast overwhelm any other nasties.

I'll also make sure i use the pectinase after i pasteurise all the juice.

How did the 100% pink lady cider turn out Fermented???

 

[manticle]

There's no real need. Pasteurisation is often done to soft ciders but if you are producing ethanol you will drive away most of the bacteria responsible for illness (which I think is mainly e.coli - could be wrong). I've made several apple/juice based ciders and I use neither campden nor pasteurisation.

Personal experience and a link I read only - I have no peer reviewed studies but my stomach says it's all good.

 

[Fermented]

If it's based on all commercial juice, which is normally pasteurised, there is nothing to worry about. Sanitise, pour, pitch, wait, bottle/keg, wait, drink and be merry.

With apples from an orchard, there is a concern which justifies pasteurisation. Not all the apples have come from the tree. Some are picked up off from the ground. The ground is very often fertilised with chook poo - a top source of salmonella and some other choice pathogens. The ethanol will knock off a good percentage of those, but for the sake of a few minutes at 72C, it's better safe than sorry. It's just risk mitigation.

Campden tabs? Hmmm - sulphury scented goodness. I give 'em a big miss.

Cheers - Fermented.