First attempt with 5 gallons of organic apple cider

So for my first attempt at this i have decided to keep it simple so i can see how things go and not worry about blowing too much money should it not go well but so far, everythings pretty smooth going

For this batch i have picked up 5 gallons of pasturized organic apple cider with only ascorbic acid added and i have used a lavaline champagne EC-1118 yeast. Alot of the posts i have read said not to use a champagne yeast because it tends to eat up all the sugar leading to a pretty dry cider, but the local store said they use this yeast all the time in their batches and strongly recomended it, so i'll try it once Now it's only the second day in and the airlock is happilly bobing away. Is there any thoughts on the best way to bottle condition tho? Some posts are all for sugar pellets in the individual bottle rather then dosing and so on. Just curious as which would be the better way to go about it

(I will be bottling with Grolsch Flip Tops)

I like to add my priming sugar to the whole batch right before bottling, this ensures even carbonation in each bottle and is less work than adding drops to each individual bottle. About 0.003-0.004 SG points in addition to my backsweetening does the trick nicely. But drops work well for some people, so it really depends on your preference.

Personally, I'm a big fan of 1118 and don't understand the hate. It's a clean finisher with neutral taste and compact lees as well as being a killer strain which helps knock out any wild yeast or microbes that might try and ruin your cider. I think it gets a bad rap because it needs strict temperature control. It's also very cold tolerant, so not suitable for the widely used cold-crashing technique. I'm not knocking ale yeasts, they're great too, but in my experience all commercial strains will take a cider dry.

I've tried Red Star Champagne yeast and it is dry until about 4 months or so of aging, then the apple flavor starts to come back.

I've tried 1118 and it does result in a fruitier flavor quicker than the champagne yeast, maybe a month in the bottle or so. It also has a complex initial flavor and then aftertaste that I find appealing.

My favorite so far is Safale S04 which is by far the fruitiest.

Currently I have Nottingham aging in the bottle and Safale S-23 fermenting to try out.

Frank

I've done 3 batches, carbonated some of the first and most of the second. I just add sugar to taste. Really like the flavour from caramel syrup.

I used ec1118 for the first and ale yeast for the second. Way more flavour from the ale yeast under the same conditions. My experiences so far with ec1118 is that it ferments super fast and strips out a big portion of the flavour of whatever your using it on. I won't use it again.

Which "ale" yeasts have you used with good results?

Morgan's. much slower than wine yeast, but left way more flavour

S-04, S-05, and S-23 by fermentis also work well and Nottingham is probably the most popular yeast on the forum.

Bluespark said:

I used ec1118 for the first and ale yeast for the second. Way more flavour from the ale yeast under the same conditions. My experiences so far with ec1118 is that it ferments super fast and strips out a big portion of the flavour of whatever your using it on. I won't use it again.

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I agree completely, I made a cyser a while back with 1118 and it just tastes so bland and dull compared to the cider I just made with ale yeast.

S-04 and Notty are mainstream faves. If you have a few extra dollars to spend, White Labs Belgian 550 and 575 have given me excellent results. It's liquid yeast and costs more but when I'm in the mood every now and then and feel like making some badass and residually sweet cider with storebought juice, I pick up a vial of one of those. Something about the esters that gives some extra fruitiness. Have even been asked on different occasions if I've added banana, spice, etc. It was just juice and yeast. Not even sugar. Maybe two cans of concentrate at most to bump up the SG.
Organic juice is something I like experimenting with since I love to bottle condition (which is why I'm replying). It's more predictable and reliable due to less nitrogen content (which yeast need to survive). I try to add minimal extra sugar and definitely no nutrient. I never add any any chems and have yet to pastuerize any of my cider. I find that it tastes very good right outta the fermenter. In this case, the simpler the better. You wont end up with anything more than 8% ever, but it tastes really good. On a final note, I actually was able to harvest some yeast from a really good organic cider and that yeast is what I make my best organic cider with. And if I add anything to that, it would strictly be organic juice concentrate. Cheers to ya!

Heya guys so the fermentation finally ended a couple weeks ago and so i bottled it up with my nice grolsch bottles. But when i was batch priming the cider from what i read i disolved 5 oz of dextrose into 24oz of boiling water and then poured it into the bottling bucket and racked the cider in giving it a gentle stir before bottling. Now it's been about 2 weeks and the cider is very clear, smells and tastes amazing! but no bubbles I'm wondering where did i screw up? most likely the sugar, but not too sure, so here i am and thank you all for the great information! i've just bottled my first hefeweizen beer kit and previously had a India Pale Ale and i think next year i'll be planting hops lmao this is so much fun it's great

Give it some more time, it should eventually carbonate with that much priming sugar. Some of my batches took 4+ weeks to fully carb. Do you get any pop from the caps when you open them? Maybe give it another week and put one in the fridge for 24 hours before opening it.

That definitly makes some sense, nothing at the time of the opening, but i could see the bubbles in the cider. Small and few but they are definitly there so i'm sure i was just being impatient. Everything i have read so far stresses just relax...and let the yeast do its job i'll just let it ride, besides it just gets better with age

thanks alot

So for an update I have more or less forgotten about the cider I made and is still hidden away in the dark corner of the man cave lol but I'm thinking I will have to throw one in the fridge soon and see how were doing

The brewing equivalent of finding $20 in your pocket when doing laundry!

So the end of the story for this cider has finally come. This was the absolute first thing I fermented with the intention on making a nice drink, and it is by far the second worst thing I have made lol. I had a friend taste it (BJCP Judge even), as well as put it in a local CAMRA competition and I got feedback from my friend atleast (still waiting on competition notes) and it has some good alcohol to it, but it got a mild infection so it has a great initial burst of a blend of apples and earthy tones to it, but it leaves a bit of a tart, bitter mouth feel. However it is good with a little sprite or fruit juice, it also did not carbonate due to bad math. I read over my notes I wrote down and the first problem was in my primary and again in my secondary carboys I left waay too much headroom. In the primary it was fine, the Co2 production was enough to fill the headspace and get the oxygen out, but in the secondary it was not. I feel that this is where the oxygen was able to oxidise the cider bringing a mild infection too it. And as far as the carbonation goes it does have a good "pop" when opening the grolsch bottle, and very fine light bubbles when you look at it in the glass but not sparkling, just a touch over still I would say. However now having read the copius amounts of information here, online, and especially from my local brew club, I am confident my next cider will be outstanding!! so Thank you to everyone for your awesome advice and support! I can't wait to get some more cider, mead and even Perry going next!