Success in Ciders

See original thread here:

http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/success-in-series-idea_253193.htm

1. Champagne Yeast
2. Unrefined sucrose added @ "high krausen"
3. Min 2 months clearing/conditioning

1. Freshly pressed heirloom apple juice - not pasteurized
2. Honey to boost up the ABV
3. Staggered nutrient addition to keep the yeast cranking at a high rate of fermentation

Originally posted by Bacterial
3. Staggered nutrient addition to keep the yeast cranking at a high rate of fermentation

Cheapest shelf apple juice
brown sugar
yeast

Patience in maturation and I’m actually not the biggest fan of champagne yeast. Shockingly, I find that nottingham dry yeast makes for some pretty awesome esters in the ciders that i have made.

Apples. Good ones.

1. Cider apples, or lacking that a good blend of apple juices
2. Healthy fermentation
3. Avoid concentrate

I like Nottingham or Lalvin D-47. I’d need to hear a great reason for Pasteur Champagne.

If you just ferment cheap apple juice you’ll end up with vaguely apple-flavored champagne. If that’s what you want, great, but I prefer a blend that includes some honeycrisp, jonagold, pink lady, empire, granny smith etc. Beware of Granny Smith... a little goes a long way when the sugar isn’t there to balance it out.

Consider making ice cider. When you add more apple, you get more flavor.

Originally posted by pellegjr

Originally posted by Bacterial
3. Staggered nutrient addition to keep the yeast cranking at a high rate of fermentation

Interesting, hadn’t considered that approach. How much nutrient do you typically add in total?

Belgian yeast.
Patience - lots of.

1. Proper cider apples (like Kingston Black or Yarlington Mill)
2. No added yeast
3. At least a year

Just finished racking a cider and most likely will be letting it sit until summer.

1. Honey Crisp Cider
2. English Cider yeast
3. 1 lb ginger root
4. 1 lb Honey

Smells amazing!