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Cider Digest #0563
Subject: Cider Digest #563, 1 November 1995
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #563 1 November 1995
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Cider Digest #562, 29 October 1995 (Ron Sielinski)
Re: Cider Digest #562, 29 October 1995 (Michael S Ferdinando)
Labels ("Geoffrey J. Schaller")
Cider @ Doric Ale Yeast (Peter Matra)
Re: Cider Digest #562, 29 October 1995 (Jim LaFronz)
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Subject: Re: Cider Digest #562, 29 October 1995
From: Ron Sielinski <sielinr@cris.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 06:56:51 -0500
Michael S Ferdinando wrote:
>
>Krehbiel@ix.netcom.com (Greg Krehbiel) wrote:
>- -[snip]-
>>So now I have 3 gallons of cider/honey mixture not fermenting in the
>>basement. I used fewer tablets than the recipe called for, but I noticed
>>that Zeigler's cider already has preservatives. What do you think? Have the
>>preservatives killed the yeast? Is this batch hopeless?
>>
>
>Unfortunately, if the cider you used has preservatives in it, you might as
>well pour this must down the drain. A very small amount of preservative in
>cider will inhibit yeast growth to the point that it is not fermentable.
>
The following isn't new to the Cider Digest, but it's been long enough that
a lot of readers probably didn't see it the first go-round:
According to *The 1993 Encyclopaedia of Food Additives*, "Like sorbic acid,
potassium sorbate . . . deteriorates if exposed to sunlight or to
temperatures over 100 deg. F."
So if you ever end up with cider that contains sorbic acid or potassium
sorbate again, you might try heating up the cider to drive off the
preservative.
Ron
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cider Digest #562, 29 October 1995
From: msf2@cornell.edu (Michael S Ferdinando)
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 11:24:35 -0400
>From: AltonPress@aol.com
>Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 19:01:10 -0400
>
- -[snip]-
>I would like somebody to address the issue of labeling. I have used Avery
>labels through a laser printer, but this is expensive and not very
>attractive. Is there a cheaper, more attractive way to print labels for our
>cider?
I picked up the following from rec.crafts.brewing, and it works wonderfully:
I print beer, mead, and cider labels at 4x actual size using my ink-jet
printer at home. My artistically-inclined partner then draws an
illustration with black ink over pencil onto this original. We then take
this original to a copy center, and have it reduced and duplicated to have
four labels per 8-1/2" x 11" page. We then cut the individual labels to
size.
To adhere the labels to the bottles, we use milk. Yes, milk. Actually, we
use reconstituted instant non-fat dry milk ('cause it's cheap). Soak the
labels for a minute or so, until the paper begins to absorb the liquid.
Then, place the wet label on the bottle. Using a small, cheap paintbrush
(like the kind that are three for $0.99 at K-Mart), brush the outside of
the label with more milk, and work out any wrinkles. Let dry.
The dried milk will hold the label quite well. To remove the label, soak
the empty bottle in warm water for five to ten minutes, and it will float
right off.
The only drawbacks to this method are: 1) You can't ice the bottles in a
cooler: the labels come right off when they get wet. 2) You can't use them
on bottles which have raised patterns in the glass (like Grolsch or IBC
Root Beer bottles).
Michael S Ferdinando
Production Control Assistant--Cornellcard
Cornell University Office of the Bursar, 260 Day Hall, Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-5980 // msf2@cornell.edu
"I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety."
--Shakespeare, _Henry V_, act III scene 2
------------------------------
Subject: Labels
From: "Geoffrey J. Schaller" <drake@libertynet.org>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 19:09:40 -0500
Several people have given ideas for labels. Here's my 2 cents:
I use a page layout or graphics program that handles text very well, such as
PageMaker or CorelDRAW! to design my labels. For wine bottles, I put 4 to a
page (Portrait-oriented paper, divided into quarters), and for beer bottles
I use 6 to a page (Landscape, 2 rows, 3 columns). I set up guidelines to
divide the page up, and put a border inside these guides, and fill in the
label with text and clipart. I can then copy the label and paste it 3 or 5
more times, and print it out. I use either white paper if I'm going cheap,
or parchment-like paper form the local copy store for fancier bottles. I
use a glue stick or rubber cement to put it on.
Some tips: use the full page, and don't leave unused paper - it's extra
cutting you don't want to do. Use the non-printable area on the page as the
margin on your label (i.e. - leave a .25" gap between the drawn border and
the edge of the label itself on all 4 sides). If you want straight cuts and
need guideines, put in short, very light dotted lines on the guides between
the labels at each end - these will be nearly invisible when cut along. Cut
with a papercutter, or an x-acto and a steel ruler on a matt (Scissors are
not straight enough, but I'm a perfectionist for labels :).
I have some files people can copy - ask me and I'll e-mail you a .cdr (4.0)
or a .pm5 file with my Big Red Cyser label on it. (I went to Cornell, the
"Big Red", where I was indroduced to Woodchuck Cider and Home Brewing - It's
only fitting I give it some credit! :)
As for Ale Yeasts: I tried Glenbrew's Secret Brewer's Yeast, and I am leery
of the results. It has a very medicine quality, and is so strong I don't
enjoy it. Aging 5 months has helped a bit, but I'm not sure I'll use it
again. I'm trying Windsor London Ale Yeast right now - I'll give a full
report and recipie when it is done. Being introduced to Woodchuck since I
don't like Beer, I prefer my ciders at about ale / beer strength, as opposed
to wine strength.
- --
Geoffrey J. Schaller "Laugh, and the world laughs with you
drake@libertynet.org Weep, and you weep alone.
1831 Canterbury Road For the sad old Earth
Abington, PA 19001 Must borrow its mirth
(215) 886-7999 But has troubles enough of its own."
http://www.libertynet.org/~drake/
------------------------------
Subject: Cider @ Doric Ale Yeast
From: Peter Matra <stalkwol@cloud9.net>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 19:58:14 -0500 (EST)
Well I just racked my cider and checked the SG and tasted it. The
SG was 1000, and tasted very watery, no sweetness. It wasn't good at all.
Is that because of the yeast? I can't think how regular cider that
tasteds so good can taste so watery and nasty later on! Well I'm getting
more cider and trying natural wild yeast and also montrachet or champagne.
Stalking Wolf
Peter Matra
stalkwol@cloud9.net
"Those who walk the woods, in God's country, walk on his ever changing
church. Drink the wine, plow the earth, listen to Mother Nature."
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cider Digest #562, 29 October 1995
From: jlafronz@tribeca.ios.com (Jim LaFronz)
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 23:48:49 -0500
>I have had a good deal of trouble finding truly preservative free cider.
Even the local orchard (Tices' Farm in Montvale, NJ) has been using
potassium sorbate in the last few years. I have found that I can get these
ciders to ferment with higher pitching rates. Extra aeration also seems to
help, although I don't know whether the preservatives are driven off, or the
extra Oxygen helps start the yeast in spite of them.
Meantime, anybody know of any fruit juices or extracts to enliven this
year's ciders?
I would appreciate any tips.
Thanks.
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #563
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