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Cider Digest #0355
Subject: Cider Digest #355 Thu Oct 21 18:00:01 EDT 1993
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 93 18:00:03 -0400
From: cider-request@x.org (Are you SURE you want to send it HERE?)
Cider Digest #355 Thu Oct 21 18:00:02 EDT 1993
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Jay Hersh, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
RE: rotten egg smells (Jay Hersh)
to rack or not to rack (Chip Hitchcock)
Frozen Apple Juice and wild yeasts. (Leonard J. Schmidt)
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Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1993 18:43:06 EDT
From: Jay Hersh <hersh@x.org>
Subject: RE: rotten egg smells
I'm not sure I'd agree with Ralph Snel's comment to worry.
Hydrogen Sulfide is what I recall is the origin of rotten eggs smells.
typically if you smell this it means it is being liberated from the
wort/must/cider as a fermentation by product. I have found that with some lager
ferments I've done in the past that a healthy yeast might produce this, but
eventually the sulfide source exhausts, or whatever reduction process
that accounts for this finishes and the liberation of the hydrigen sulfide
ceases and the smell subsides with no residual smell retained in the beer.
Now I have heard of examples where this did not occurr but in the 3 or 4
instances I've encountered this was the case. I would reccoment *not*
disturbing the yeast and letting it continue to run its course. I'd
worry later on if you see no reduction in the aroma after a week or so
the fact that you smell it means that excess sulfur is being scrubbed
along with the CO2 and not being retained.
JaH
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalts
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Date: Thu, 21 Oct 93 14:52:53 EDT
From: cjh@diaspar.HQ.ileaf.com (Chip Hitchcock)
Subject: to rack or not to rack
I've been seeing a number of statements (and some comments at the cider
picnic) that it's important to rack cider off the yeast as soon as
serious fermentation subsides. I also see (in the latest issue) JaH, who
I recall hearing had some AHA winners this year, saying he just leaves the
cider on the porch until Spring.
Any comments on this contradiction? I wonder whether JaH's cider does
well because it's working very slowly from the first, where other types
might have to be racked off dead yeast because they're not quite so cold
and the yeast will decompose. (Which suggests why my cider went off;
it wasn't as feeble as last year, but it stayed in the mid-60's all
winter, was not racked, and received mostly very---restrained---comments at
the picnic last weekend. This was using Edme ale yeast after sulphiting,
and either straight cane sugar or a mix of cane sugar and Granny Smith
concentrate to push Correnty 1992.2 up to 1.070.) (I don't recommend GS
concentrate unless you want something \really/ tart, as this batch was even
more puckering than the all-sugar batch.)
Another question: has anyone tried producing long cider (i.e., something
that's not drunk up almost as soon as it finishes serious fermenting) that
doesn't blow the top of your skull off with alcohol? Writers here and in
BREWPRINT seem to consider a drop of 70-75 points standard (for
cider---let's just quietly ignore neurotoxin cyser), which corresponds to
almost 10% alcohol according to the potential-alcohol scale on my
hydrometer. My lady likes cider but doesn't have the tolerance for this
much alcohol. Does anyone know how it's done in England? Do they all
sulfite after a few days and filter to clear? We had some wonderful ciders
last Spring in Devon and Cornwall, none of them over 6.5% alcohol and most
significantly lower.
How subject is cider to oxidation? I'm going to be out of the right size of
carboy when all my batches are working, and am debating whether to get
another carboy (so as to handle only once when racking) or rack via a
convenient bucket.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1993 15:32:50 -0500 (CDT)
From: n13@krypton.mankato.msus.edu (Leonard J. Schmidt)
Subject: Frozen Apple Juice and wild yeasts.
Whilst driving out to a small neighboring town I found a local
orchard selling apples and apple-related goodies. I bought several
one gallon plastic jugs of frozen apple juice. I found out that the
juice does not have perservatives, it is a blend of several kind of
apples, and that after it thaws it usually lasts for about 10 days
(whatever they mean by that).
I want to try turning one of these gallons onto a hard cider using
the yeat that should have been on the apple skins before they were
pressed. My concern is that the entire gallon of juice was frozen,
and thus I fear for the lives of my little yeast friends.
Does anyone know if the freezing has destroyed the natural yeasts?
Assuming that they survived, I plan on putting the frozen jug in the
fridge, letting it slowly thaw out, then moving the juice to a
sanitized gallon jug with an airlock.
Has anyone else tried something similar to this?
-Leo
n13@krypton.mankato.msus.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 93 17:49:20 EDT
From: geok@aol.com
Subject: apples in NY
<how's the crop look this year?>
This year's crop in my old, semi-abandoned orchard at 1400 ft elevation in
the southern tier of central NY:
Plenty of Baldwins, quite sweet
Smaller crop of Northern Spy
Enough Greenings and some Early Strawberry type and dessert type
apples to complicate the blend
Starting gravity 1.049 on a yield of about 3.2 gallons/bushel
We had rather a dry season, but OK otherwise; I guess this might account for
the sweetness.
Cheers!
Geo Kloppel <GeoK@aol.com>
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End of Cider Digest
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