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Cider Digest #0860
Subject: Cider Digest #860, 4 May 2000
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #860 4 May 2000
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Pruning Advice? (Dan McFeeley)
Re: Ace Ciders / Cider Tasting Notes ("Michael L. Hall")
Re: New Wyeast strain for cider (dwegeng@att.net)
6th Boneyard Brew-Off, Champaign IL ("Brian J. Paszkiet")
Fermenting bittersweets (Andrew Lea)
Strongbow (Ciderist@aol.com)
Wyeast #3766 (Ciderist@aol.com)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Pruning Advice?
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 12:11:52 -0500
Having moved to a new home, we found ourselves with a nice pear tree in
the backyard. Fruit produce was low last year but it's in flower again
and hopefully will do better this year.
I know next to nothing about caring for fruit trees. Could someone
give me some advice on the benefits of pruning and the best way to
do this? Thanks in advance for any help!
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ace Ciders / Cider Tasting Notes
From: "Michael L. Hall" <hall@galt.lanl.gov>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 11:58:26 -0600 (MDT)
Tim Bray writes:
> The tasting notes were very interesting - thanks for posting them!
I'm glad they were useful...
> You were more generous with the Ace than I would be. The pear "cider" is a
> little better than the apple cider, but still not very good, IMHO. I'd
> give the Pear a 5 and the Apple a 4. Maybe I should try it again...
Maybe so. I'll have to try it again. As I said, these were all tried
on separate occasions, so the comparison numbers may be bad. The text
comments are probably more accurate.
I would really like to sit down and do a blind side-by-side tasting of
the various commercial ciders. If I do, I'll post the results.
> I liked Wyder's cider much better, but can't really put a rating on it yet.
> I can't seem to find the apple or pear cider in stores here any more - for
> some reason, they only have Wyder's Peach cider, which sounds too weird for
> me.
>
> I agree with you on the Dry Blackthorn, although I have not tasted it in
> years; I quit drinking it because of the sour, dry character.
Yes, I find that I tend to prefer ciders that taste like apples,
rather than like white wine. I don't like overly dry, acidic ciders.
I like medium dry to sweet, lots of apple character, malic and woody
notes, golden ciders. I guess that puts me in the Norman style too.
> Being a huge fan of the Norman style, I really like the Herout Fils, when I
> can get it. You should look for Duche' de Longueville "Muscadet de
> Dieppe," which is similar but even better; richer, deeper.
>
> Now I have to go find some of the "Wild Country" - have never seen it in
> stores here (CA). Also will have to try the Woodpecker again and
> report back.
The Herout Fils and the Wild Country were definitely my favorites of
the bunch, but I can't get them locally. Thanks for the tip -- I'll
try to find the Duche' de Longueville "Muscadet de Dieppe".
> One problem with the comparison is that the styles are so different - would
> you have a comparative tasting with California Chardonnay, St-Emilion,
> Pinot Noir, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and Port? I like Normandy
> style cider, so none of the English style ciders are going to compare very
> well.
Good point.
- -Mike
============================================================================
Michael L. Hall, Ph.D. <mailto:Hall@lanl.gov>
President, Los Alamos Atom Mashers <http://hbd.org/atommash>
Member, AHA Board of Advisors <http://www.beertown.org/aha.html>
============================================================================
I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer. - Homer Simpson
------------------------------
Subject: Re: New Wyeast strain for cider
From: dwegeng@att.net
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:27:16 +0000
A couple months ago someone at Wyeast told me that their
cider yeast came from France, and is indeed a cider yeast
(not a wine yeast). They expressed interest in the wild
yeast that is often used in some areas of the US, but I
have not had time to try to find a good batch of cider
for them to experiment with (any volunteers?).
/Don
dw@gsp.org
------------------------------
Subject: 6th Boneyard Brew-Off, Champaign IL
From: "Brian J. Paszkiet" <bpaszkie@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 12:07:19 -0500
Since we will be judging meads and ciders at our competition, I
thought this announcement might be of some interest.
Brewers, start your kettles! Judges, mark your calendars!
The 6th Annual Boneyard Brew-Off will be held on June 10,
organized by the Boneyard Union of Zymurgical Zealots (B.U.Z.Z.),
Champaign Illinois. Entries will be accepted May 26 through
June 5 in all 1999 BJCP categories (beer, mead, and cider).
We are also continuing our tradition of a No One Gets Out
Alive High-gravity category, with a hedonic judging of any
beer or mead with a starting gravity over 1.070.
Details are available on the World Wide Web at
<http://www.uiuc.edu/ro/BUZZ/contest6.html>. Entry forms
will be available for download, and snail-mailed out to
regional clubs and judges, in the next week or so.
Judges can sign up now on the web.
To receive a hard copy of the materials, send us your
mailing address.
Contacts:
Competition Organizer: Brian Paszkiet <bpaszkie@uiuc.edu>
Registrar: Brian Beyer <brianb@soltec.net>
Judge Director: Joel Plutchak <plutchak@uiuc.edu>
------------------------------
Subject: Fermenting bittersweets
From: Andrew Lea <andrew_lea@compuserve.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 20:42:26 +0100
Rod MacDonald, Bill Rhyne and others have mentioned fermenting single
variety bittersweets like Yarlington Mill and Nehou, and then being
surprised(?) by the result.
I'd just like to say that this was never really the purpose of
bittersweets. Nobody in their right mind makes single variety
bittersweet ciders, since they are totally unbalanced to drink and of
such high pH that they're very prone to bacterial infection and hence
horrible off-flavours. They are / were always intended for blending
with other more acid fruit. Preferably this is done before fermentation
but otherwise as soon as possible afterwards.
That's why the very few bittersharp cider cultivars (e.g. Kingston
Black, Stoke Red, Foxwhelp) which can make a tolerable single variety
without blending have acquired such a legendary reputation (justified or
not!).
And before anyone tells me that there are a number of purportedly single
variety bittersweet ciders springing up on the UK market now - get real,
people!! You think these guys haven't heard of malic and citric acid
from a bag, and glucose syrup from a tanker?? That's how they can blend
it off to make it balanced and pleasant to drink!
Andrew Lea
- --------------------------------------
Visit the Wittenham Hill Cider Page at
http://www.cider.org.uk OR
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andrew_lea
------------------------------
Subject: Strongbow
From: Ciderist@aol.com
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 02:35:50 EDT
Phil Wilcox,
Yes we do have Strongbow here in the U.S., I had a pint of it at a pub called
Biddy McGraws in Portland Or.
I thought it was pretty good as commercial cider goes, far better than any of
the American pop ciders I've tasted, much drier than most.
Jo Deal in her book Making Cider (1976) states that Bulmers LTD. Hereford is
the largest cider produccer in the world and that their most widely
distributed product was Strongbow and that in 1975 they built a 1.6 million
gallon tank and named it Strongbow. It was (still is?) the largest container
for alchoholic liquid in the world.
Shaun Shepherd
Portland Or.
------------------------------
Subject: Wyeast #3766
From: Ciderist@aol.com
Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 01:17:33 EDT
Stuart Ing asked,
About the new Wyeast Cider yeast, I just bottled a batch that was 100% Golden
Russet. I started it on Nov. 30, S.G.1060 it didn't blow much and fermented
steadily right along. It had cleared by Jan. 13 and was very dry already
S.G.904 .Last week I racked it onto 16 oz. commercial apple juice conc. and 4
oz. cane sugar, bringing the gravity back up to 1001 and bottled . It was
cristal clear, had good color and tasted like it will be very good in a
couple of months. Ask me later and I'll let you know.
Shaun Shepherd
Portland Or.
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #860
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