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Cider Digest #0245
Subject: Cider digest #243. Re: 1st cider disappointing.
Date: 26 Jan 93 19:36:46 EST
From: Paul & Anita Correnty <71174.1121@CompuServe.COM>
Greeting!
Should I just stick to beer and mead? No way Toot! All you did was
eliminate a cider that you didn't like! If you didn't care for the
taste of cider then it is understandable that you would pass
cidermaking by, but Holy Apples Batman! Let's not get so discouraged!
Not much info in your note to go by, but if you bought some
"neighborhood cider" it was probably a blend of common dessert apples,
sweet and tasty but not the best for cider. Kind of like fermenting
Thompson seedless grapes for wine. Always check acid levels and
adjust. What you probably need to give some balls to the juice is
tannin extract, about 1 tsp. per gallon. You can make very good cider
from dessert apple juice, you just need to bolster some of the weaker
elements in the blend.
You are correct in considering an ale yeast as opposed to Epernay
(which works fine for richer juices or higher alcohol cider). I've had
good results with Whitbread dried ale yeast. The resuling taste is more
appley and sweet.
Woodpecker and Grant's are medium sweet in taste and you like them so
you might consider fermenting out a cider to dryness, sweetening it up
to taste by stirring in some apple juice concentrate (next to the
frozen OJ in the supermarket), then adding some potassium sorbate to
prevent it from re-fermenting. This makes for some real tasty lawnmower
cider!
Cyser is great stuff. One gallon per pound is plenty. Try using an
offbeat honey for effect (I've used apple and cranberry). It will take
a little while for the yeast to kick in so don't worry.
Lot's of luck! Paul Correnty.
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