Bread yeast for TC

[BritishBelgianTwst]

Hi,

Can I use bread yeast as an alternative to brewing yeast? I want to save the relatively expensive ale yeast for my all grain adventures and I've got some dehydrated bread yeast in the cupboard.

Cheers,
Paul

[robharper]

The yeast I use for TC is a bog standard fast action dried bread yeast, and it works very well. If you want to make some of the hardcore, high-octane hooch that some folks around here like, you'll probably want a wine or Champagne yeast, as the bread yeast is unlikely to be able to ferment to high enough alcohol levels. Go on, give it a go, what have you got to lose?

[BritishBelgianTwst]

Go on, give it a go, what have you got to lose?

My eyesight???

[crafty john]

Hi,

Can I use bread yeast as an alternative to brewing yeast? I want to save the relatively expensive ale yeast for my all grain adventures and I've got some dehydrated bread yeast in the cupboard.

Cheers,
Paul

I have always found champagne yeast makes a better TC. Some people use teaspoon of youngs super wine yeast compound.

[Providence]

The yeast I use for TC is a bog standard fast action dried bread yeast, and it works very well. If you want to make some of the hardcore, high-octane hooch that some folks around here like, you'll probably want a wine or Champagne yeast, as the bread yeast is unlikely to be able to ferment to high enough alcohol levels. Go on, give it a go, what have you got to lose?

Hi rob.

Does the bread yeast leave more of the apple taste in the resulting brew? So is the result more like Magners which I would call a sweet cider?

[robharper]

My standard TC is 1 litre Welch's grape, pear and apple juice drink plus 3 litres of bog standard apple juice, all just chucked into a DJ with a sachet of bread yeast. It comes out tasting very much of apple, and I'd probably describe it as a medium cider. Primed and bottled, I end up with a nice, clear sparkling cider that is quite a bit drier than (and I much prefer to) the likes of Magners, but is pretty "user friendly" (though not much "bite"). IIRC it works out as something in the region of 5.5% ABV. And I haven't gone blind yet!

[b.all]

the bread yeast i used still made a very strong and fairly dry TC but left enough of an apple taste so as you could tell it was cider.

[Providence]

Thanks for the feedback chaps!

On the subject of 'bite', i have been using lemon juice but find it has been a bit too 'citrus' (there's a surprise). My local shop recommended I try Malic Acid to add bite instead so I will be trying that on the next batch. My web research seems promising as it seems to say that the difference between an eating apple and a cooking apple is the increased tannin and Malic acid in the cooking variety. A good cider made from apples I'm told is about 60% sweet and 40% tart apples, so I'm trying to reproduce this kind of flavour without having to process any actual apples.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[robharper]

Well, malic acid is derived from apples (malus ...) in the same way that citric acid is from citrus fruits, so perhaps it is the best thing to add if you want an acid bite.