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Cider Digest #0769
Subject: Cider Digest #769, 22 October 1998
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #769 22 October 1998
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
New ATF definition of hard cider (Brian Black)
ATF definition ("McDonald, Rod")
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Subject: New ATF definition of hard cider
From: Brian Black <b.black@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1998 03:19:03 -0700
> I don't know if there are any commercial cider producers on this list,
> but those of us who sometimes purchase and consume commercial cider might
> like to make our voices heard, and this is the time to officially do so!
>
I, too, waded through the new proposed regulation, and I sent the
following as comment:
Regarding comments on the proposed rule, I can only summarize my
> thoughts in general. I agree with the proposal that non-apple fruits and
> products should not be permitted. Wine coolers exist for that category.
> Cider is developing as a separate category in the marketplace, and it
> needs to remain a distinct category to avoid confusion for consumers,
> and to assist in keeping cider quality high and reliable. The "horse is
> out of the barn" on much of this - for example, I think that hard cider
> should be made only from fresh juice, and that the use of concentrate
> makes is something else - perhaps a wine cooler. Are any domestic grape
> wines made from foreign fruit concentrates, as some
> large-scale domestic cider producers use? I think that any additional
> regulation should move toward designating "hard cider" more strictly.
> Diversity in these catagories will help preserve the designation
> "cider", will ensure quality, will clarify product contents for
> consumers, and will serve to assist small cidermakers, and small
> orchards.
I was assured by way of a response that my comments were filed and will
be reviewed when they revise the reg for final issue. Good idea to
respond now, and thank for your work, Mike, in getting all of that sent
off!
Good cider is worth fighting for.
Brian Black
Black & Fagan Cider Co.
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Subject: ATF definition
From: "McDonald, Rod" <Rod.McDonald@dist.gov.au>
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 10:00:13 +1000
> Subject: New ATF definition of Hard Cider and New ATF Cider
> Tax category
> From: Mike Wexler <cmwexlerc@snet.net>
<snip>
> The statutory language describes "hard cider" eligible for the
> new tax rate as "derived primarily from apples or apple concentrate
> and water, containing no other fruit product, and containing at least
> one-half of 1 percent and less than 7 percent alcohol by volume."
And what happens in a good year with a lot of fruit sugars when the alcohol
content goes over 7%? My most recent cider was made with a variety of cider
apples, dessert apples and crabs, after a hot and dry summer (quite a bit
of fruit sugar, I don't have the original SG to hand) , and when fermented
to zero resulted in a 9.something % cider. Presumably any smaller producers
of vintage ciders are going to have to dilute their product to meet the tax
office definition!
Rod
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End of Cider Digest #769
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