Grape Apple Cider

[Tony Scott]

What yeast do you think would work well in fermenting appple juice blended with [I think] 20% grape juice (and why)?

It's delicious to drink and every year I see it the Farmer's Market, I say "I'm going to make cider from that". This is the year!

I was thinking something clean like a California Ale. Champagne might be nice but it might taste too much like....champagne. White Labs recommended the English Cider Yeast.

I look forward to hearing back from y'all.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Everyone has different taste in yeast. I like the cider I've made with Premier Cuvee.

Check this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-yeast-selection.637961/

 

[Tony Scott]

Everyone has different taste in yeast. I like the cider I've made with Premier Cuvee.

Check this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-yeast-selection.637961/

Great article(s)! Thank you

 

[Tony Scott]

Everyone has different taste in yeast. I like the cider I've made with Premier Cuvee.

Check this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cider-yeast-selection.637961/

It's funny you mention Premier Cuvee. I am doing a batch with that right now. I pitched this morning and by bed time, it was rocking. I had some juice that was not the sugariest I ever bought so I wanted to wring out as much alcohol as I could.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Just make sure you go with either a true cider yeast, or an ale yeast. A wine yeast would give you something tasting like a poor wine.

 

[RPh_Guy]

A wine yeast would give you something tasting like a poor wine.

Check the thread I linked above and you'll see many people have very good success with wine yeasts.

Claude Jolicoeur, author of the new cider maker's handbook, recommends wine yeast as well.

 

[ten80]

Check the thread I linked above and you'll see many people have very good success with wine yeasts.

Agreed, and lets not spread nonsensical information about wine yeasts for cider. Wine yeasts can produce great ciders and are less likely to generate sulfur (aka rhino fart) aromas due to their lower nutrient requirements than ale yeasts. Additionally, certain wine yeasts produce very pleasant, fruity esters that can enhance apple flavors. Most commercial cideries that pitch yeast use wine yeasts based on my research.

I made a batch of cider with a 1-gal "red wine concentrate" kit added and it turned out quite flavorful. I prefer to add wine concentrate to avoid diluting the apple flavor and also bump up the OG to wine strength. The neat thing is that you can match the grape varietal to enhance the character of your apple varietals. Chardonnay, merlot, zinfandel, etc.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Agreed, and lets not spread nonsensical information about wine yeasts for cider.

I am sure there are lots of different opinions on this forum about what yeast to use for ciders. And I dare say, in a craft like cidery, there should be room for lots of opinions. That's what makes it a "craft" instead of a "science." Therefore, it is slightly arrogant to dismiss everything other than one's own opinion to be "nonsensical."

But I am not looking to start an argument, to each their own.

 

[z-bob]

I have a gallon of 50/50 apple juice and concord grape juice fermenting with Voss Kveik ale yeast. I did not add any sugar, but I did add a little (half the recommended amount) yeast nutrient. It's been going about 2 weeks and is already cleared, but I can still see a few bubbles rising if I shine a flashlight thru the jug. I may bottle it this weekend (I'm anxious to taste it.)

When I let apple juice fermented with VK in the fermentor for a month, the yeast dropped out so completely it didn't carbonate well. I should have stirred it up good 2 days before I bottled it and let it settle again.

I have had very good luck making cider with white wine yeast, but not-so-good luck with champagne yeast. A lot of people recommend S-04 ale yeast, but I didn't like it the one time I tried it. S-33 was good, and it's cheap for a beer yeast.

 

[ebbelwoi]

I've tried storebought mixes of apple-grape-cranberry and peach-apple-grape. The grape content in both was maybe 20-30%. Both came out fine, and my GF liked both of them, but they just weren't what I'm looking for in a cider. I like something earthy and musty, so Notty with straight pasteurized apple juice works for me. She prefers my more champagne-like attempts, when I've used Premier Cuvee and Pasteur Blanc. We've just started calling them "ale ciders" and "champagne ciders" to simplify things. I'm sure your cider will turn out fine, and somebody will like it!

 

[ten80]

Therefore, it is slightly arrogant to dismiss everything other than one's own opinion to be "nonsensical."

But I am not looking to start an argument, to each their own.

You misunderstood what I wrote; it is not arrogant to point out the well-documented fact that wine yeast does not make a "poor wine" of a cider. My comment was far from an attempt to stifle the "craft" of cider. Take another read of what I wrote and lets move on.

Back on topic, the best way to make a "grape" cider might be to use all apple juice for the liquid, then add a concentrated grape flavor (e.g., wine concentrate). That way both apple and grape flavors are maximized and the apple is not diluted by grape juice.