Rehydrating yeast for multiple carboys

[Matthew F.]

Hello all,

I will be making 12 carboys worth of cider this year using three separate apple orchards for the juice--four carboys filled at each location..

In years previous, I have followed the instructions on the foil yeast packet of rehydrating in 50mL of water at the correct temperature and adjusting the temperature to prevent cold-shocking the yeast.

To simplify life, can I simply add four packets of yeast to 200mL of water then divine it amongst the carboys?

Or

Could I use the method Jolicoeur mentions on p.222 (2-3 cups of juice in water bath to get it up to temp, then one packet of yeast and wait 12-24 hours) but substitute four packet of yeast instead of one, then divide this amongst the carboys? 

All the best,

Matthew from central PA

[Brent Miles-Wagner]

I'd recommend buying some GoFerm Sterol Flash, which allows you to rehydrate in ambient temp water and doesn't require atemperation, then just pitching each one separately.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/goferm-protect-2.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqXahx4GRjoC5CsoPLw6m7b-Eo1GEGCA_oFB8mUx-qre9qrh7Ls

Though I also think it's not a huge deal if you do the 200ml method and divide, provided you are able to really mix up the solution and make sure there's not any yeast hanging out on the bottom of whatever vessel you're using. But could still use sterol flash for this.  

[Matthew F.]

Thank you Brent--that's the first I've heard of GoFerm Sterol Flash

[Dan]

Hi,  I'm beginner home cider brewer from the Baltics. This year we experienced a lot of rain and most of apples could not develop, but last few years were quite good. I have hopefully made 10 L of mixed apples (Kingston black, Malus pumila, other). Local depot sells cider yeast for 1.5 eur. Does choosing quality source of yeast give better results?

Matthew, I hope your brew will be as desired :)

Cheers,

Dan

[Matthew F.]

Hi Dan,

I've trialed a number of yeasts and had the best luck using a yeast called DV10. This is also what a number of professional cider makers use. I do think a quality yeast makes a difference. It affected the taste  I don't use sulfites before adding the yeast and so there are also wild yeasts at work with the DV10, though from what I understand the DV10 mostly overpowers them. This is what I use for nearly all my ciders now.

In my yeast trials these were my results--from favorite at the top to least favorite at the bottom:

DV10

1118

Premier Cuvee

Cote de Blanc

D47

1116

QA23

Premier Blanc

Classic Belgian (Cellar Science)

Saisson (Cellar Science)

I've had mixed success using only wild yeasts. I've found that if I purchase the juice from local orchards I don't have much luck--the juice goes moldy. However, I've had good success when I've pressed the apples myself after allowing them to  to sweat for several weeks. If the apples are picked off the tree, I don't use a sulfite. However, if I am using ground apples, I will use 50ppm of sulfite. This has yielded the very best cider in my opinion but it's a bit of a gamble when you are first starting out. 

Cheers!