Lalvin Dried Wine Yeast EC #1118 (Pack of 10)

My latest foray into huge DIY projects is brewing my own cider. It sounds like an extremely daunting task, but after watching a couple of youtube videos on people making their own, I figured that it wouldn’t be the most difficult of tasks. I opted for pre-pressed cider for the first run, and flavored it with maple syrup and a little cane sugar for sweetness. Exactly one week later, I prepared my second batch, and this time I included a bit of the Lalvin’s Wine Yeast, honey, and a little bit of cane sugar. One week after that, I went for cane sugar, Lalvin’s Wine Yeast, and my favorite Citric Acid Powder - Ultra Fine Pure Powdered Crystals - Natural Preservative Food Grade Quality (16 oz) , Nature’s Candy. Winter soon turned into (less winter? definitely not spring) and it was time for me to bottle my different ciders. Honestly, this next part is going to sound a bit like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but I tried the first batch, whoa way too sweet for me (but my teenage stepsister adored it) the second batch was better, but a little lackluster for me, and the third was absolutely delicious. I think it was the combination of the wine yeast, which gave it a bit of effervescence, and the citric acid, which gave it a little kick. The third batch was very well balanced, and I absolutely loved it. In terms of the ingredients, they’re all very easy to reuse, obviously cane sugar, honey, and maple syrup are all household items. and the citric acid is honestly the best household cleaner I’ve ever used, and you can also use it in tons of food stuffs. As for the wine yeast, I’m actually going to give making my own wine a try, although I’m a little more concerned with how the results are going to be for that one. Anyway, I definitely recommend it, and I think it works perfectly for its purpose.

This yeast showed up fast, well-packaged and fresh. I use it to make a 12-14% dry honey mead that only gets aged 2 months maximum before being consumed. This yeast is a very fast starter. It makes a robust kreuzen (yeasty head) at first but then it gets heavy and drops down at about 36-72 hours. That is when the fermentation really goes fast. At 70 degrees f and with good nutrition this really makes the air lock sing with bubbles! It finishes dry (in a 12-14% scenario) in 2-3 weeks and it flocculates to a nice clarity at that point. I add bentonite clay to accelerate clarity just because we drink the mead very young, no aging. I have never had this yeast stall out or slow start. I have used this yeast with synthetic nutrients and it peaks very early. Now, I brew with natural nutrients and it is very steady. Either way it is still a fast starter, consistent producer and a fine finisher. In fact, I love the way this finishes with a high floral trait/tag when you use a raw and unfiltered honey. When I uncork my EC-1118 mead made with raw honey it smells like a bouquet of flowers, but it will get you drunker than Cooter Brown. This is the only mead yeast for me since I brew at about 65-80 degrees f and do not age my meads much. Compared specifically to D-47: D-47 would give some off flavors near 80 degrees f fermentation and it needs to be aged longer. I sincerely hope this helps you! I write reviews to help people be wise with their money/time/energy/efforts. If you found this review helpful please hit the "helpful" button. Thank you!

Workx

Always my favorite

Delivered exactly what was ordered! Couldn't be happier! All my future yeast purchases will be through this buyer!

Lalvin FC-1118 Wine Yeast: I've used this for over a year and find it reliable through summer and winter. Since my batches are small (one gallon jugs in a bathtub), an inexpensive yeast keeps costs down. This works quickly and reliably on frozen grape (and other) juices, has good alcohol tolerance and yields good flavor. This yeast produces good results for sparkling wine in pressure bottles. This has become my "go-to" yeast because it gives a decent product in only a few weeks. When out of my usual bread yeast, this came to the rescue! 2023 update I continue to use this yeast because it continues to give good results. After putting some 24-day old mast in the garage (in Phx area AZ) in winter into pressure bottles, fermentation continued; temperature varied between early 40's to low 70's - got some nice sparkling wine now. Don't know how long I've use this - since before that Covid-19 hit, for sure. Maybe that's why I'm so mellow? 2026 Update- this is still a great yeast for flat or sparkling red wine. Over the last 3 months or so i have noticed that the fermenting wine creates much more froth or foam than previously. Serious vintners have a name for the frost or foam but I d9 not remember it. Unless I want to clean up a mess later, I must reduce the volume of the batch or it will foam out the mouth of the vessel, run down the sides and puddle on the deck below. Still my preferred yeast, and the flavor is unchanged.

It is a very high quality yeast I highly recommend it

I'm fermenting one gallon of pasteurized, no preservatives Apple Juice, After emptying some of the juice from the gallon container to make room I Added 2.5 cups sugar, put the bottle cap back on and shook to dissolve, added 1 tsp EC1118, put the bottle cap back on and shook again. Took off the bottle cap and Added airlock (can use a balloon over the mouth of bottle adding several pinholes to the ballon so the fermentation gasses can escape), and placed bottle In an area of my home that might reach 65-F degrees. It's a Low foam yeast, so spillover is less likely. Now it's percolating/bubbling away after a few hours. Lower fermentation temps usually translate into slower sugar to alcohol conversion time. If EC1118 is anything like Beer lager yeast slower usually translate into a better flavor profile. I look forward to the end result. to make a sparkling wine After 10 days fermentation I'll replace the bottle cap tightly on bottle and store in the fridge for one week before I start drinking it. Else let sit for a couple more weeks with the airlock still attached to make regular wine. Either way when its ready store in your fridge. There will be sediment on the bottom of the bottle. I could siphon the wine off into another clean bottle to eliminate the sediment. Either way, drink ASAP. If it's (very Dry) I'll add a little regular apple or other juice to each glass I pour to sweeten it. This yeast gives me choices.

Yo lo he usado para hacer vino casero cuando he estado en países de Oriente Medio...es rápido y el sabor que le sacas no está mal (para hacer sangrías....). Es eficaz a varias temperaturas

Very good yeast. Beautiful fizz to my ginger beer

Purchased these to try my hand at making apple cider. So far, all the yeast packets worked well even without re-hydration. The fermentation is very intense in the first 3-4 days, then starts slowing down (which is normal) and ferments the cider pretty dry. In the end I had a very good cider and for the price it's not bad at all!

I made some apple cider and it took it from a 1.061 to a 0.997 specific gravity in about 6 days. Works well, and quickly. I needed to back sweeten it to make it apple cider again :)

Disgusted.. lets hope it was a mistake looking forward to getting the other 9 or my money back.