Things are a bit quiet in “cider land” this time of the year. However, it is getting close to “cider season” down here in Oz as we are getting a few frosts and some apples are starting to fall.
I have just carried out a comparison of two popular yeasts, and just for fun I thought there might be some entertainment and discussion value in throwing the result out here. I figure it might be worthwhile stuff for some of the “Newbies” who have joined HBT in recent months and also to get some comments from others who have used these yeasts.
So, earlier this year I decided to try AS2 and M02 just to get my head around how they compare with my usual “go-to” which is S04.
As far as possible, the variables in each batch were kept the same, except for the yeasts.
The end result is two quite similar ciders with the AS2 having a touch more intensity of flavour and so IMO just edging out the M02 at this stage. If I was to give them a score, the AS2 would be 10/10 and the M02 9/10. The AS2 cider was quite similar to what I get with S04. Duh! since AS2 and S04 are both from Fermentis.
FYI the process was…
Two identical 2 litre “nothing special” blends were made up with commercial preservative free juice which I had left over from another project (3 litres of Summer Snow from Bellview Orchards, topped up with a litre of “Nudie… Nothing but Juice”). The combined blend was mostly Pink Lady, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith. Initially it was SG 1.051, pH 4.0, TA 3.7g/L… fairly uninspiring but O.K. Further adjustment was made by adding Malic Acid to bring the pH down to 3.6 and TA up to 6g/L for better numbers.
15 Feb – A gram of yeast (about ½ teaspoon) plus ¼ teaspoon of DAP was added to each batch of juice with no Campden or pectinase. Primary fermentation was in open containers at 18C and both kicked off within 24 hours.
20 Feb – Primary fermentation foam settled (at about SG 1.030) so both batches were transferred to secondary containers under air-lock. At this stage the AS2 had a somewhat mild taste and more robust secondary fermentation, with the M02 slightly sharper and sweeter but bubbling more slowly.
20 March – Bubbling had stopped and both were down to 1.000. Sugar syrup was added to bring SG up to 1.010 and they were bottled and capped as well as having a pressure gauge test bottle for each batch. (The idea being to water-bath pasteurise when the test bottle pressure reached 2.5 bar or 45psi for 2.5 vols CO2 thus leaving FG 1.005 unfermented to provide residual sweetness at approximately 9 g/L sugar which is the sweetness of about 0.5 tsp in a cup of coffee).
27 March – The M02 had taken off very quickly and reached 2.5 bar in only a week whereas two weeks would normally be expected. So it was time to water-bath pasteurise the M02 (and taste the test bottle, of course!… 10/10 for taste). The AS2 was only at 1.2 bar (I wondered if the AS2 test bottle was leaking), but it continued its steady pace for the next week or so.
6 April – The AS2 reached 2.5 bar (2.5 vols of CO2) i.e. about the normal two weeks for carbonation. So, it was also time to pasteurise the AS2 and taste the test bottle (10/10 for taste and the carbonation is about right, so it didn’t seem as though there was any test bottle leak).
26 April – Taste test time! Only a month of maturing but both are quite good for a “rough” two month old quaffing cider which at 7.2% ABV is ready to drink now. Of course, in the interest of science I shall keep on taste-testing over the next short while.
On balance, any of the three yeasts are fine for a slightly sweet carbonated cider although my first choices would be S04 or AS2 with M02 close behind. In the past, S04 has finished above 1.000 and so such a dry cider retains some sweetness. I haven't tried the other two this way... maybe a project for another time. Comments about other "favourite" yeasts are welcome.
Cheers!
I have just carried out a comparison of two popular yeasts, and just for fun I thought there might be some entertainment and discussion value in throwing the result out here. I figure it might be worthwhile stuff for some of the “Newbies” who have joined HBT in recent months and also to get some comments from others who have used these yeasts.
So, earlier this year I decided to try AS2 and M02 just to get my head around how they compare with my usual “go-to” which is S04.
As far as possible, the variables in each batch were kept the same, except for the yeasts.
The end result is two quite similar ciders with the AS2 having a touch more intensity of flavour and so IMO just edging out the M02 at this stage. If I was to give them a score, the AS2 would be 10/10 and the M02 9/10. The AS2 cider was quite similar to what I get with S04. Duh! since AS2 and S04 are both from Fermentis.
FYI the process was…
Two identical 2 litre “nothing special” blends were made up with commercial preservative free juice which I had left over from another project (3 litres of Summer Snow from Bellview Orchards, topped up with a litre of “Nudie… Nothing but Juice”). The combined blend was mostly Pink Lady, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith. Initially it was SG 1.051, pH 4.0, TA 3.7g/L… fairly uninspiring but O.K. Further adjustment was made by adding Malic Acid to bring the pH down to 3.6 and TA up to 6g/L for better numbers.
15 Feb – A gram of yeast (about ½ teaspoon) plus ¼ teaspoon of DAP was added to each batch of juice with no Campden or pectinase. Primary fermentation was in open containers at 18C and both kicked off within 24 hours.
20 Feb – Primary fermentation foam settled (at about SG 1.030) so both batches were transferred to secondary containers under air-lock. At this stage the AS2 had a somewhat mild taste and more robust secondary fermentation, with the M02 slightly sharper and sweeter but bubbling more slowly.
20 March – Bubbling had stopped and both were down to 1.000. Sugar syrup was added to bring SG up to 1.010 and they were bottled and capped as well as having a pressure gauge test bottle for each batch. (The idea being to water-bath pasteurise when the test bottle pressure reached 2.5 bar or 45psi for 2.5 vols CO2 thus leaving FG 1.005 unfermented to provide residual sweetness at approximately 9 g/L sugar which is the sweetness of about 0.5 tsp in a cup of coffee).
27 March – The M02 had taken off very quickly and reached 2.5 bar in only a week whereas two weeks would normally be expected. So it was time to water-bath pasteurise the M02 (and taste the test bottle, of course!… 10/10 for taste). The AS2 was only at 1.2 bar (I wondered if the AS2 test bottle was leaking), but it continued its steady pace for the next week or so.
6 April – The AS2 reached 2.5 bar (2.5 vols of CO2) i.e. about the normal two weeks for carbonation. So, it was also time to pasteurise the AS2 and taste the test bottle (10/10 for taste and the carbonation is about right, so it didn’t seem as though there was any test bottle leak).
26 April – Taste test time! Only a month of maturing but both are quite good for a “rough” two month old quaffing cider which at 7.2% ABV is ready to drink now. Of course, in the interest of science I shall keep on taste-testing over the next short while.
On balance, any of the three yeasts are fine for a slightly sweet carbonated cider although my first choices would be S04 or AS2 with M02 close behind. In the past, S04 has finished above 1.000 and so such a dry cider retains some sweetness. I haven't tried the other two this way... maybe a project for another time. Comments about other "favourite" yeasts are welcome.
Cheers!
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