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Cider Digest #0227
Subject: wild yeast at JCM
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 18:40:54 -0500
From: bradley@adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley)
Anyone in the New York area is urged to check out the Jericho
Cider Mill before the season comes to a close. It's located
in Nassau County just north of the LIE where routes 106 and
107 meet (more detailed directions by e-mail). They also
retail in some area grocery stores.
The cider is very tasty (voted #1 by NY Times). As well, it
has lots of sediment (source of natural nutrient) and a great
strain of wild yeast. They also have the best prices on 5 lb.
jars of natural widflower honey I've seen around here.
I bought two gallons and put them in the fridge. Within 2 weeks
they were both fermenting -- at fridge temperatures! Of course,
the yeast has to be hardy to work outdoors in the Northeast in
November. I transferred one to a one-gallon jug with air-lock
to let the natural yeast do its thing at room temperature. As
an experiment, I pasturised the other (150-160F for 15 minutes)
and added WYeast Irish.
I think I'm anthropomorphising the yeast too much. I felt kinda
bad about killing them :-)
Does anyone know if this modest amount of cooking will change the
flavor of the final product much? Kill the aroma? It looks a
little darker than the batch with natural yeast.
Cheers,
Rob (bradley@adx.adelphi.edu)
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Date: 24 Nov 92 21:13:06 EST
From: Paul & Anita Correnty <71174.1121@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: #224 etc.
to J.V. Germani: my recommendation for the use of wild yeast is not
absolute. The house yeast, i.e. the dominant yeast strain from the cider
mill that I have used for the past decade, is a known yeast (as far as its
characteristics and resulting flavors go) and I believe the resulting cider
to be finer and more complex than any other using a cultured strain. The
same cider fermented by different people using this wild yeast have
resulted in very similar flavor profiles; group tastings at Wort Proc.
meetings or the annual Ciderfest confirm this. However, this yeast is as
unique to its orchard as a Belgian Trappist yeast is to its Abbey. The
cider mill that pressed your or anybody elses cider may not be so blessed
but this does not reflect on the quality of the cider produced.
So Mr. Germani, this is what I believe you should do: try some variety!
Although a strong advocate of the aforementioned wild yeast, I still
believe in the unpredictability of nature and ferment different batches
using different yeasts: Whitbread lager and Wyeast Bavarian for lower
alcohol cider to be consumed in the summer; Epernay or Champagne for more
robust ciders; and as always the big 15 gal. keg with the wild yeast. You
would not be content with drinking one type of beer or wine so why one kind
of cider? And by the way, since you were pleased with your initial
results,why only one gallon a year? Cider is too good to just horde for
yourself, make more and enlighten others!
Rick Cavasin suggests low temperatures for fermentation and I agree. Treat
cider as a white wine or as a true lager; a longer and cooler fermentation
captures more of the fruit resulting in a more flavorful and aromatic glass
of autumns' finest!
Good luck and appley fermenting.
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