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Cider Digest #0800
Subject: Cider Digest #800, 30 March 1999
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #800 30 March 1999
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
French cider hunt ("Chuck Wettergreen")
Re: Cider Digest #799, 24 March 1999 (Lealon Watts)
Cidermaker's Seminar -- Seattle April 20 (John Ross)
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Subject: French cider hunt
From: "Chuck Wettergreen" <chuckmw@mcs.net>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 07:39:55 -0600
This July, My Dutch mead-making friend, Wout Klingens, and
I are going to Brittany (and who knows, we might swing into
Normandy) on The Great Mead Hunt. However, it also seems
from what I've read, that they drink more cider than wine there,
so I believe that we will have the opportunity to sample copious
quantities of that wondrous nectar. If anyone has information
about favorite brands, locations of cider manufacturers that offer
tours and talk, or any other information we might find of use, we
would be very grateful.
Chuck
chuckmw@mcs.net
Geneva, IL
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Subject: Re: Cider Digest #799, 24 March 1999
From: Lealon Watts <lwatts@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 07:44:14 -0800
> I have a question for the collective as well. I still haven't
> made a really good cider yet. Many of them are harshly acidic. I tried
> dumping a small amount of calcium carbonate in, but it only seemed to have
> no effect on the harsh acid (although the cider did seem slightly more
> bland if that makes any sense). I hear that there are some acids in cider
> that seem more harsh than others. Does calcium carbonate selectively
> react with the less harsh acids?
> Also, I noticed that by diluting 2 gallons of apple juice with 2
> gallons of sugar water(1.5 lbs/gal and 4 tsp. of acid blend, I get a much
> more palatable drink. Can anybody think of what I find so offensive in
> apple juice? (Serious replies only, please. I've already heard the
> answer, "Maybe you're diluting your juice because you don't like apple
> flavor." from many of my friends.) The thing is, they like my cider as
> well. It tastes more like many of the large-scale, US-made commercial
> brands (Woodchuck, Ace, Hornsby's) than any homemade cider my friends have
> produced. I should mention that I prefer Woodchuck or Wyder's to many of
> the drier, American-made ciders(Widmer and many small companies I have
> forgotten). It seems like the undiluted juice can't be sweetened enough
> to mask the harsh acidity I speak of without becoming cloyingly sweet.
> Any ideas?
>
> Warren Place
> wrp2@axe.humboldt.edu
> www.humboldt.edu/~wrp2
Perhaps you are one of those "super tasters" with the more naturally
sensitive tastebuds?
You do not say how old you are. I can only speak from experience, but I
am 42 and even 7 or so years ago I really could not taste all the
flavors in food and/or wine. When I started taking a mineral
supplement, including zinc and trace elements, I soon was able to taste
things on a par with my husband's tastebuds--that is, pretty good, and
infinitely better than what I was experiencing before. I can taste
flavors in dry ciders and wines, where before I was only able to taste
sour and tart. Perhaps a mineral supplement might be worth the effort?
I think alot of the drier ciders are drier because it is easier to make
them that way--not that any less care is taken in their creation, but
that is the direction alot of the yeasts wish to go. I have seen
articles on the net (on beer and winemaking pages as well as cider
making pages) that talk about the effects of different yeasts on the end
product. Some yeasts are halted in their action by lower amounts of
their own waste products (alcohol) than others and can give a sweeter
product. Some can go on with highers levels of alcohol, and thus can
become drier as a result. Maybe some change of yeast is in order, for
experimentation's sake?
Also, it seems to me that the flavor of an apple is in the balance of
sweet, acid and aromatics. Some of the best ciders and apples I have
had have had a wonderful "apple" aroma, or some other pleasant aroma.
They have been not just "sweet" but have enough acid to balance the
sweet; they are not insipid, the flavors jump out at you. More
experimentation with different types of frozen concentrate would seem to
be in order. My local store carries several brands and I know I could
find mail order sources for others--maybe try blending your own?
You could also try heat pasteurizing your cider at a lower alcohol level
as in:
"2. Pasteurising sweetened carbonated cider in bottle works fine (as
Bill Rhyne does it) but beware of the risk of exploding or cracking
bottles if you do it on a domestic scale. We did it in steam-heated
tanks of hot waterat Long Ashton but there were always a few breakages
every session.. So be prepared with gloves and goggles.
"Andrew Lea, nr Oxford, UK"--Cider Digest #784, 4 January, 1999.
If you want to try the above, I would suggest pint canning jars--they'll
stand up to the heat better--not so convenient to swig out of though...
I don't have much experience in cidermaking, so if I am wrong, please,
straighten me out.
Lauria Watts
------------------------------
Subject: Cidermaker's Seminar -- Seattle April 20
From: John Ross <johnross@halcyon.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 12:29:27 -0800
Washington State University's Skagit Valley Research Unit and the Western
Washington Tree Fruit Research Foundation are sponsoring a day-long event
in Seattle for cider makers and others interested in hard cider on April 20.
I will post more information as I receive it, but here are the basic details:
Date: April 20, 1999
Morning and Afternoon
Location: Silver Lake Wineries
Woodinville, Washingon (suburb of Seattle)
Registration costs $25, which includes lunch and cider for tastings.
The program will include sessions on commercial and amateur cider
production, growing cider apples, and other topics of interest. There will
be separate tastings for commercial and home-made cider. (I'll post
the full schedule when I receive it).
After the event, I'll try to post a summary to Cider Digest.
To register, or to request more information, write to:
WWTRF (Western Washington Tree Fruit Research Foundation)
7220 88th Street Court SW
Tacoma, Washington 98498
gamoulton@wsu.edu
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End of Cider Digest #800
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