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Cider Digest #0672
Subject: Cider Digest #672, 30 June 1997
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #672 30 June 1997
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Cider Colour ("Keith Robertson")
re: Easy Cider? (Dick Dunn)
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Subject: Cider Colour
From: "Keith Robertson" <apples@lin.cbl.com.au>
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 06:13:33 +0000
I have now been subscribed to the Cider Digest for some months and I
must say that I have found it most interesting and helpful. I was
wondering if anyone could advise me how to get a bit more colour into
the ciders that I make. I wondered if fermenting the cider before
pressing the juice for a while would help and pick up some colour
from the skins or should I allow the pulp to oxadise for a while
before pressing.
I recently made a small 1 gallon batch using my steam juicer and the
apples I used were a mixture of Kingston Black and various other
cider apples which were off my trees first crops and using this method
certainly extracted more colour from the skins. Just as a matter of
interest I also made a small batch of elderberry wine using the same
steam juicer and I must say I am very impressed with the result its
an excellent red wine.
Well its the end of the season here and winter is closing in and I
have only enough apples left to make another 10 gallons of cider
still now there is plenty to do pruning, digging trees and planting
and grafting more varieties
Keith Robertson
Creswick Victoria
Australia
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Subject: re: Easy Cider?
From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 28 Jun 97 09:05:38 MDT (Sat)
(Easy Cider? Ouch! I can almost see the marketing angle...a chopper in
the background of the bottle artwork...no, I digress...)
Richard Rooker (RKRRooker@aol.com) wrote...
> It has been with some apprehension that I have been reading the Digest of
> late. What with all this talk of root stock & varieties of cider apples, so
> to redress the balance:-
[simple cider-making discussion...]
I hope people aren't put off by the orchardist-oriented discussions...it
just tends to be where the digest wanders during spring and summer when
there aren't any reasonable apples in bulk for pressing. (The digest does
seem to have enough "down-under" subscribers that the seasonal bias is
leveling out somewhat.)
To me, the pursuit of growing your own cider apples for cider-making is
similar to moving from extract to all-grain brewing of beer. I don't mean
to imply any elitism or superiority there; I'm strictly an extract brewer.
It's a major step up in the amount of control you've got; it's also a major
step up in effort and commitment (moreso with growing apples than with all-
grain brewing).
One of the biggest (if not THE biggest) factors in being able to produce
good cider is having good apples or a good blend. You can find the apples
or juice you need without having your own trees...if you're in an apple-
growing area you're likely to find all sorts of cast-off apples and crabs.
The ones people dump--too small, too sour, hail-marked, etc.--are often
just the ones you need to bring character to a blend that's otherwise just
bland dessert fruit.
But the sources are almost always erratic, so if you're somewhat obsessed
with cider, eventually you'll decide to solve the problem by trying to
plant your own trees...and suddenly you're tossed into a whole new world
of questions and concerns. I think there's useful knowledge to be gained
from the variety/growing discussion even for the cider-maker starting from
commercial juice, and I hope those folks aren't intimidated from contribu-
ting to the digest by the deeper discussions.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd, domain talisman.com Boulder County, Colorado USA
...Boulder was.
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End of Cider Digest #672
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