easy

[far9410]

Hi all

Don't make cider usually, got a few pounds of apples, thought may buy some juice to add, do I need yeast? or is it already in the apple? any easy recipes would be good,
thanks all

[JamesF]

Domestically-grown apples will probably have yeasts on that can kick off fermentation, but it might be a bit slow. Buying a cider yeast is probably a more reliable way of kicking things off.

James

[Rookie]

Letting a cider ferment naturally can give you a really good result, but would be hard to repeat.
It can also give less than good results.
You can use a lot of different yeasts in cider. Last year I used Munton's at room temperature with good results. Earlier this year I used S-34/70 at lager temperature and am happy with the results.

[Haydnexport]

ive been mulling over using w34/70 , what was the outcome ? Did you brew it cold like lager or more at ale temperatures?

[6470zzy]

Red Star Cote de Blanc is a decent yeast for cider. It doesn't strip away the apple aroma and is ferments slowly

Cheers

[JamesF]

W34-70 is an interesting idea. Not one I'd thought of. If I press even a fairly small proportion of my cider apples I'm going to have perhaps as much as five hundred litres of juice split across several FVs, so something that ferments at ambient temperature over the winter would be very useful. A quick scan of cider yeasts available at the usual suspects this weekend suggests that quite a few are intended for fermentation in the 20C to 24C range, which certainly isn't going to happen here.

James

[jmc]

Last couple of years I've used Lalvin 71B. It copes with cool temp in my unheated garage and reduces malic acid to smooth out the cider. Andrew Lea recommends a 'low and slow' fermentation to get the best flavour so who am I to disagree with the great man.

This year's cider is bubbling away in the garage at the moment. Temp around 10c

Very jealous about your access to cider apples. What variety have you got?

*** edit

More Info
Lalvin 71B

[JamesF]

Very jealous about your access to cider apples. What variety have you got?

As well as some I've been unable to identify there were existing mature Dabinett and Yarlington Mill trees when we moved here. There are also what I am fairly sure are Somerset trees, but the apples aren't great. The trees produce a lot of fruit, but it's quite bland. This year I've put some in with the Bramleys I've pressed in an attempt to bump up the tannin and bitterness a bit. Since then I've planted a few more varieties including Kingston Black, Tom Putt and Tremlett's Bitter.

James

[jmc]

Very jealous about your access to cider apples. What variety have you got?

As well as some I've been unable to identify there were existing mature Dabinett and Yarlington Mill trees when we moved here. There are also what I am fairly sure are Somerset trees, but the apples aren't great. The trees produce a lot of fruit, but it's quite bland. This year I've put some in with the Bramleys I've pressed in an attempt to bump up the tannin and bitterness a bit. Since then I've planted a few more varieties including Kingston Black, Tom Putt and Tremlett's Bitter.

James

Living the dream

[JamesF]

Living the dream

Trying to. Mostly these days however I seem to be a childrens' chauffeur

James