Does Cider Benefit From Sitting On Yeast Cake

[416Brewer]

I've been skipping transferring wort into secondary fermenters when I can, choosing to let the yeast 'clean itself up' by sitting on the yeast cake...

Does the same principal hold true for cider?

 

[Yooper]

I've been skipping transferring wort into secondary fermenters when I can, choosing to let the yeast 'clean itself up' by sitting on the yeast cake...

Does the same principal hold true for cider?

Remember that the clean up process is generally the digesting of diacetyl by the yeast, and occurs within 24 hours (or less) of the beer finishing active fermentation, and it's the yeast in suspension (not the dormant yeast at the bottom of the vessel) that do this work; so no, there is no reason at all to ever keep a cider on the lees.

Will it hurt? No, probably not. Not any more than it hurts the flavor of an ale. Some people actually prefer the flavor of an ale that has sat on the trub for a period of time, and will leave an ale in the fermenter for weeks. Others, like me, do not like the taste that the breakdown of this yeast imparts and don't do lengthy amounts of time on the trub (at least not on purpose).

Alcohol is poisonous to yeast, so I"d be less inclined to leave a higher ABV wine on the lees than a lower ABV cider, but I can't think of any benefit to leave a cider, even with a lower ABV, on the lees.

 

[dmtaylor]

I like to rack all my ciders about every 7-10 days not because it needs it but because I want to remove >90% of the yeast that settles out so that I might be able to maintain some natural sweetness. I don't much care for bone dry cider in the gravity range of like 0.992-0.998, no thanks. Racking often helps hugely in this regard, as does gelatin additions.

 

[gregbathurst]

I think craft cider can benefit a bit from sitting on the lees. It is very unlikely to do any harm. The yeast cells soak up any oxygen that might get in, especially if you are using hdpe plastic containers which are permeable to oxygen.. Also I think it gives a bit of extra body to cider. There are arguments for both racking and extended lees contact, it is largely a matter of opinion.