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Cider Digest #0678
Subject: Cider Digest #678, 4 August 1997
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #678 4 August 1997
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
starting out (Jon Lynne-Davies)
The Neverending Ferment (Ron Sielinski)
Hemispheres (Dick Dunn)
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Subject: starting out
From: jld@naturland.com (Jon Lynne-Davies)
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 11:04:24 -0400 (EDT)
I am interested in growing cider apples in Southern Ontario. I have about
3 acres to devote to the project and I am interested in traditional French
and British varieties. I need a step by step guide on what to do. As I
understand, it is not neccessary to actually have these varieties at the
start, but they can be grafted at a later date. Hopefully this exposes my
total lack of knowledge but I hope someone can help me. Thanks.
Jon Lynne-Davies
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Subject: The Neverending Ferment
From: Ron Sielinski <sielinr@dynisys.com>
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 20:56:55 -0400
For the past couple of years, my ciders always began with a vigorous
intial ferment. But I've read here and elsewhere that a slow, controlled
ferment results in a better beverage. So last fall, I left my cider
outside, where the temperatures were in the 40-50s. And, as winter
approached, I moved the cider to the basement, where the temperatures
were consistently in the 50s. After a couple of months, the fermentation
activity subsided, and the cider began to clear. So far, so good.
But this spring, when the temperatures began climbing again, I decided
to rack the cider before bottling (to help clear it). I gave the cider
time to settle, and it began producing CO2 again. I thought, okay, so
the cider got too cold for a while and now it's starting back up again.
In a couple of weeks, everything will be fine. But two weeks later, the
cider was still at work. Slow, but steady. Two weeks later, still at
work. And two weeks later.... Now it's August and the cider is still
bubbling. After the initial ferment, I never bothered with gravity
readings, because I always thought the cider was on the verge of
finishing. Now I'm not sure the cider will ever finish. Can anyone
explain to me what's going on? I'd especially like to know what's kept
my cider going for so long.
TIA,
Ron
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Subject: Hemispheres
From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 4 Aug 97 19:59:51 MDT (Mon)
For the jet-set cider makers: The August issue of _Hemispheres_ (United
Airlines' seat-pocket magazine) has an article on cider: "How 'bout them
apples?" It's a typical sort of article for a magazine like this, about
the equivalent of two pages and nothing too deep (after all, how much of an
attention span can you expect from this audience?) but it could be worse.
The gist of it is that cider is emerging from obscurity to be one of the
next trendy beverages. There's some good stuff; there's a mention of Cider
Space and there's a decent explanation of the distinction from apple juice
(for the benefit of US folks) plus what the process involves.
There's also some dubious stuff, like some apple writer/aficionado's list
of the supposed "finest varieties" for cider that is a list of too-popular
American varieties: Golden Delicious, Empire, Golden Russet, Red Delicious
(to his credit, even the author questions the inclusion of this one), plus
some slightly better choices: Northern Spy, Newtown Pippin, but then back to
McIntosh and Winesap. There's no mention of the real cider apples...which
is too bad, because their names make good copy in an eye-catching article:
Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill, Foxwhelp, and the like are picturesque;
Slack-my-girdle and a few others are the hooks that writers usually look
for. Too bad they didn't dig this deep.
A fair bit of the article is aimed at the "new trend" aspect of cider...
something I regard with mixed feelings at best, but it's there and to be
reported upon. If we're serious about cider, we're going to have to deal
with the trendy aspect; we'll see the cider-equivalent of "wine coolers"
(actually, in one American brand we already have). With luck, we might
find a way to turn it to our advantage in promoting real cider.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd, domain talisman.com Boulder County, Colorado USA
...Boulder was.
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End of Cider Digest #678
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