Experimenting with Hard Cider

I blogged about this a few posts ago, but I'll give another description of this brewing session again just for fun. Last fall, Colleen and I took a trip to Carlson's Orchards to feed the annual craving for fresh, New England apples. I had been wanting to brew a batch of hard cider, so this was the perfect opportunity to get some needed supplies. I've only brewed one cider before this, and it turned out awful! So, I was determined to get it right. This time, I felt like getting creative. I decided to take the same base recipe and use different yeasts to compare how these yeasts impact the outcome of the cider. So here is the recipe:

4 gallons apple cider
4 pounds brown sugar

That's it!! Once mixed I split it into 5 1-gallon carboys and added the following yeasts:

1. Nottingham Ale Yeast. This is a tradition British ale yeast that "produces low concentrations of fruity and estery aroma." Two gallons got this yeast.
2. Safale US-05. This is another, yet different, commonly used ale yeast (American) that "produces well balanced beers with low diacetyl and a very clean, crisp end palate." Two gallons got this yeast.
3. Cote de Blancs. This is a wine yeast that "produces fine, fruity aromas" and is "recommended for reds, whites, sparkling cuvées and non-grape fruit wines (especially apple, it is reported)." Only one gallon got this yeast.

After fermentation finished, I conditioned the ciders in my wine fridge for a few months to let them age. Today, we bottled them, adding some table sugar and dry yeast to ensure carbonation. Today was the first time I got to taste the
ciders, although they are obviously still young, uncarbonated, and just not ready. It was fun trying them though. Once they are fully ready, I'll give a more detailed update. But, for now, what I can say is that the Nottingham yeast cider seemed to be the most tart (surprisingly) and the wine yeast tasted the most fruity and sweet. The US-05 had the most genuine apple cider type flavor. But, we'll see what happens in a few months.