Cider Yeast

johnnykildare

Hi,

First time brewer and have the following queries. Any help appreciated.
When brewing cider, how long can the apple juice be left before putting in the yeast (juiced 16L of apples last night and put campden tablets and yeast nutrients into the mix). I thought I could pick up cider yeast today but the shop is closed. Does anyone know any where I can pick up cider yeast in Dublin or Kildare today. Also does it have to be cider yeast, would youngs wine yeast also do the same job as I can pick that up in Tesco?

BeerNut

I doubt there's much rush, especially if you have it stored somewhere cool. Wine yeast is fine: cider yeast and champagne yeast are the same thing AFAIK.

johnnykildare

Hi Beer Nut,

Thanks for your reply. I have it stored in the house so would be at room temp. I can get wine yeast this evening or can wait a couple of days for an online delivery for cider yeast. Reading your reply it doesn't really make a difference which option I go for, so will prob wait for the cider yeast. Once again thanks for your quick reply, just new to this and didn't want to destroy the juice!

viper123

If you're very stuck I might have some cider yeast in the car that I picked up last week in Homebrewwest. If you're anywhere near Citywest I can arrange to get it to you...

BeerNut

johnnykildare wrote: »

just new to this and didn't want to destroy the juice!

You probably would have been better leaving out the campden tablets and just letting the juice ferment into cider naturally, but that's not much good to you now. Good luck!

johnnykildare

Thanks Beer Nut,

I read elsewhere that the results from the natural yeasts vary quite a bit. Anyway I was in luck as Viper 123 had some yeast in his car and he happened to work a couple of minutes from me. So thanks again for all your help and thanks very much to Viper 123.

Koptain Liverpool

Just to hijack this thread for a moment:

Could those who make cider tell me why some add yeast to cider and others don't.

A friend of mine makes an annual batch but he simply juices the apples and let's it ferment away in a wooden cask without adding anything.

If it works like this why do others bother adding yeast???

johnnykildare

I read and watched numerous posts/videos on the internet and what I picked up on was that the results with natural yeasts from the apples were not reliable and results varied batch on batch. Now I have never brewed anything more than a cup of tea so the internet is my only reference point!

BeerNut

In my case because there's no yeast in the juice I buy from Lidl

Koptain Liverpool

BeerNut wrote: »

In my case because there's no yeast in the juice I buy from Lidl

That's one way of doing it I guess!

So freshly pressed apple juice will have some natural yeast as its unpastuerized, is that it??

calnand

Yeah there would be natural yeast from the skins off the apples. I've 2 litres of pressed apple juice I left in the fridge and it fermented away, tastes really bitter so I just add a sweetener tablet everytime I have a glass.

CaptainAhab

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

Just to hijack this thread for a moment:

Could those who make cider tell me why some add yeast to cider and others don't.

A friend of mine makes an annual batch but he simply juices the apples and let's it ferment away in a wooden cask without adding anything.

If it works like this why do others bother adding yeast???

Sometimes a natural yeast can make a great cider and for people using the same cider press annually the natural yeast can build up in the equipment - ensuring they get consistent results..

However if I were making cider I would prefer to use a yeast that I add myself as I can't see it being worth the risk of losing a batch..

Lots of great information at this site www . cider . org .uk (sorry about the spaces - I cannot yet post links)