Apfelwein / Cider with 3068 AND Nottingham...??

[OCBrewin]

Hey all, I posted this in the Cider Forum, but I think that it applies here as well.

So I've been meaning to make up a batch of cider for the longest time now and I finally got the motivation to pick up the ingredients last night on my way home from work. I followed BrewFrick's recipe below: (kinda...)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/panty-dropper-sweet-cider-recipe-31460/

8 cans of AJ concentrate
2 cans of Limeade concentrate
~1 cup of 'Sugar in the Raw'
~4.5 gal of Natural AJ (what I had...)
topped off to about 5.25 gal with spring water (say ~0.5 gal)

OG = 1.085+

Here's where it got interesting, and I'm looking for your input. I only had a single pack of Nottingham (11g) on hand and I knew that I probably wanted to use 2 due to the high gravity. I hydrated the yeast properly in AJ/water mix and added to the fermenter.


After almost 18 hrs there was still very little activity... I was thinking of running down to my HBS (wont call it local... bout 45mins away...) to get another pack, but I remembered that I had an unused Wyeast 3068 in the fridge that I need to use soon. So I smacked it, let it swell, and dumped it in.

I've heard of great things happening in cider with both of these yeasts... My question is: What did I get myself into? Keep in mind that I originally pitched a full pack of Notty, then a smack pack of Wyeast 3068 (no starter) about 18hrs later.

Thanks for the input. I hope that this turns out drinkable - I told SWMBO that it was a batch for her...

 

[Will319]

I have made a cider with notty and am actually drinking it as I type. It turned out well and dry. I used Grahams recipe (freezeblade). I would imagine with your yeast on hand you will end up with a sweet cider due to the yeasts tolerance and the excess amount of sugar. It may lack mouthfeel due to the lack of tannins in the recipe. With the 3068 yeast smack pack, I think thats weinstephan wheat one? it will lack the higher tolerance, so It would be safe to assume it will turn out to be a sweet cider, not necessarily apfelwein. I am sure it will turn out to be very drinkable depending on your taste. I have never made a starter with a smack pack after swelling it, I find it unnecessary so that wouldnt be a problem. the only problem I would see, and its minor would be 2 different strands of yeast potentially stressed competing for dominance in the cider producing slightly abnormal flavors. I hope that this helps somewhat. Overall relax dont worry yeast is in control

 

[OCBrewin]

The temp has been staying between 64-66 ish. I was probably just over-reacting. I have airlock activity at 2-3 second intervals this morning.

I am just so used to using a stepped starter for all of my brews. This is the first time that I have used dry yeast in a long time - I had this Notty for a while in my freezer and I wanted to use it. This seemed like the perfect opportunity, but I only had one pack.

So, now the question is - what is this going to turn out like? I have heard that cider with hefe yeast like the 3068 turn out awesome, as well as cider with Notty... Hmmm, maybe I'll create some sort of best of both worlds brew! Fingers crossed!

 

[Will319]

Nottingham does a good job too. There's a sticky in the cider forum over various yeast experiments. I've never used a starter and haven't had anything terrible happen. I actually just used a notty pack that was 2 years expired and it came out ok, just a little late to innoculate.

 

[OCBrewin]

So, I am posting this reply in this forum too, because I think that my original question had more to do with the yeast than the cider.

I checked this morning (about 72ish hr mark) and have so much activity! Looks like a jacuzzi in there - makes me want to jump in and relax...

The smell is what really set me off. I've never done a cider before, but I have over 12 AG batches, from 1.040 sessions to 1.090+ IIPA's and I've never smelled sulfur this strong before.

I usually use a liquid yeast with a stepped up starter (Wyeast, WL, Harvested...) so maybe this is just normal from Nottingham??? Its been a while since I've used this yeast, so I'm not sure. Then again, maybe its from the Weihenstephan 3068? I've only used this yeast once, but dont recall the sulfur this high either... hmmm.

I feel good now though, cuz I know that something is happening in there (quite vigorously too...) I am just curious as to which strain will dominate. I figure the Notty had a head start and a larger initial cell count, so probably him.

How long would you guys recommend aging this guy?? I've heard that ciders with Hefe strains are good young. I am planning ~2 weeks (until done actually) in primary, then at least 2 wks in secondary, then 2 weeks in keg cold conditioning until serving. Will this be enough time to mellow out? Really wanna try this brew. I also plan on bottling some and aging it till summer or so.

Thanks for the time!