Who doesn’t love a crisp, refreshing cider in any season? The artisanal cider market is changing the way cider is perceived in America, from a sugary sweet beverage to a complex unique alternative to beer. White Labs has several products to help you create the perfect hard cider.
Many recipes for cider suggest a wine strain or a package of generic dry yeast. We’re here to tell you that yeast choice for your cider does matter.
If you don’t believe us, split your batch into two fermentations and try them side by side. We’ve seen so many beautiful ciders with some of the following liquid yeast strains:
In cider, inoculation rates correlate with how fast the fermentations take place. If you’re looking for a slower fermentation to preserve fruit aroma, a lower inoculation rate can be valuable.
Nutrients are NecessaryNutrients should be added to warm water, dissolved, and then added before fermentation. Most must is insufficient in nitrogen; we recommend adding YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen) concentration at ~150g/BBL.
Our nutrient recommendation is SeltzerMax®, as it adds nutrients to fermentation to help reduce off-flavors such as sulfur without adding additional flavor. White Labs recommendations are 5-6.5 g/gal or 150-200g/bbl.
Creating a spontaneously fermented cider can be difficult. Try using alternative microorganisms to create a more unique and complex cider. WLP616 Funky Cider Blend is just a few organisms we carry to create that natural cider funk. Alternatively, check out our bacteria like Lactobacillus sp., or our wild yeasts such as Torulaspora sp. or Brettanomyces sp. to create a tart funk-forward cider.
Tips & Tricks 
Temperature is one of the three key cold-side variables, along with pitch rate and dissolved oxygen, that brewers can control to influence fermentation performance and flavor. We’ll break down how temperature impacts yeast activity from knockout through the end of fermentation, and how dialing it in leads to consistent, predictable results. Knockout Take your yeast…
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Pitch rate is one of the most underrated levers in brewing, and yet it impacts everything from tank turns to ester profile to repitching health. When pitch rate fluctuates, so do fermentation speed, flavor, and your cellar schedule. Brewers can control multiple factors on the cold side. There are 3 key variables brewers can dial…
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For decades, brewers have worked around yeast limitations, recycling from cone to cone, managing variability, and adjusting expectations. But yeast is alive, and even small shifts can cause significant differences in fermentation. That's where technology meets tradition. Over our 30 years of business, we have tinkered with the best ways to provide the best yeast…
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