Was gonna try out a Graff following pretty much the same recipe referenced on the Brew Tv ep… Wanted to know if anyone has tried doing this with a champagne yeast or if anyone has any objections to this before I go ahead with it?
regards,
GbrewH
IMO, champagne yeast is about the last yeast I’d choose for beer or wine. I did a bunch of cider a few years ago, testing out different yeasts. Pasteur Champagne was the worst of all.
If you’re trying to preserve some apple flavor, you could use Cote des Blancs
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/red-star-wine-yeasts-5-grams-cotes-des-blanc.html
.
Otherwise, I’d suggest going with an ale yeast strain. I bet WY1450 would be a nice option. I really like how Denny’s yeast accentuates the malty flavors and mouthfeel of a beer. I think he once said that he wouldn’t use it for a fruit beer, but that’s probably just his personal preference. I think it might work well, since apple juice tends to ferment out so completely. You’ll want to use something that will preserve some body and flavor.
Champagne yeast will chew right through everything, leaving you with a very dry beer and certainly no apple character to speak of. I bet it would destroy the malt character as well. I haven’t brewed a graf myself, but plan to in the near future.
Hope this helps. Any other thoughts? Bueller? Bueller?
Alright thanks for the thoughts, I already pitched an EC 1118, I asked around at the brew shops and considering the final gravity of this cider, if I can call it that, they did say it would be dry but would definitely survive the fermentation, which was something I was a bit worried about especially considering how sweet the organic apple cider I used is… I mean I much prefer a dry cider to the alternative. Soo idk, I guess well see how it turns out, if its bone dry than Ill try something different the next time, Ill let ya know.
Regards,
GbrewH
I’m going to bottle my 2013 ‘Gunslinger Cranberry Graf’ tomorrow.
Brewed it on 9/15.
Last year I did a cider with 4 G cider+ 2 lb honey, using Wyeast’s Cider yeast, and man she was dry, dry, dry. Kind of like a dry champagne. It took about 5 months for the apple character to come out at all, and even now a year later I add 1/2 tsp. sugar to a glass.
So this year I mashed 1 lb. Honey Malt, 1lb. C60, and 1 lb Munich to hopefully retain some sweetness. Used Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast. After 1 week, I added 1 lb. honey and 1 lb. Cranberries.
I’m going to bottle it with 1 can frozen apple juice concentrate, and pasteurize it when it reaches the carbonation level I want.
If you’re interested, I’ll let you know how it turns out.
