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Cider Digest #0886
Subject: Cider Digest #886, 11 January 2001
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #886 11 January 2001
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Cider Digest #885, 31 Dec ("squeeze")
Yeast Storage ("Fred L. Johnson")
RE: Cider Digest #885, 31 December 2000 ("Richard & Susan Anderson")
Not fermenting to dryness (David Pickering)
Cider competition, Natural Yeast, Cider Guide ("David Matthews")
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Subject: Re: Cider Digest #885, 31 Dec
From: "squeeze" <squeeze@mars.ark.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 10:39:50 -0800
Wishing all of you the best of apple crops in the dawning millenium,
from 'the squeeze', at 'The Cider Press' on Vancouver Island, Canada.
I've been following the Digest from the shadows for ages (kudos to the
janitor for the archive), but have avoided posting due to perpetual
time constraints, and because there's always others, such as Andrew
Lea, to respond more aptly, but the last few issues have pinged too
many times at my area of 'expertise', and my web presence has always
been intended to share any knowledge I've gleaned from 20 years
experience of apples as food/pleasure, so I'll add two cents here.
For starters, I'll second Andrew's last post: "new cidermakers".
Neophytes do seem to expect homemade cider to taste like alcoholic
apple juice and be sweet/sparkling by default.
I'll also point out that Andrew must be a bit compulsive about updating
his bookmarks(!!), as he's picked up the link from the refresh page I
put up over the holidays, which won't work now. The correct default
link is: <http://mars.ark.com/~squeeze/> where you'll find a variety
of info useful to newbies in particular, concerning apples as food and
juice.
Further, I'll point out that the most effective 'crushing' of apples
for use with rack and cloth or basket style pressing, is obtained with
a hammermill shredder, as opposed to the grater style toothed drum rig
that has been described a few times recently. The crush is important
to both yields and ease of pressing, and the hammermill works well with
soft dessert apples or hard cider varieties, and with fresh picked or
stored. I could have more detailed pics of mine available in the next
while if anyone's interested - it's an evolution of the one described
in the AgCan booklet Andrew mentions.
A last piece of advice for now: Fred from Tucson got some juice that
was bulging the jug after only a few days in the fridge - cross that
source off your list, Fred! Fresh juice from a clean mill, properly
refrigerated, shouldn't show ANY sign of fermentation for a week or
more. If it was going enough to expand the jug in 3 or 4 days, that's
got to be one filthy mill. There are many little beasties other than
yeast that will inhabit a never-cleaned chopper, and rapidly multiply
to the point of being a health hazard. At the same time I'll point out
it's good that jug was plastic. One should NEVER put unpasteurized
juice in a tightly sealed glass container as that pressure build-up
will turn even a thick strong bottle into a bomb. And yes,
fermentation will occur at fridge temps - even at most home freezer
temps. As for saving that natural yeast, I've done it simply by saving
the whole sediment 'slurry' left after racking in a container with
minimal air space at very cool room temp. Worked the following season.
I'm one who recommends champagne yeast tho' - never fails with cold
and patience.
Regards to all from the squeeze <http://mars.ark.com/~squeeze/>
------------------------------
Subject: Yeast Storage
From: "Fred L. Johnson" <FLJohnson@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 19:15:52 -0500
Fred Bourdelier asks about how to store yeast from a previous fermentation.
I have stored yeast for brewing beer in the fridge for many months (even a
whole year), but I am talking about small volumes of yeast, not the entire
slurry from the bottom of a fermentor of a whole batch. However, many folks
simply pour the slurry from the bottom of the fermentor into a sterile jar
and stick it in the fridge. These folks usually use the yeast within the
next week.
I can't ususally use the yeast from a previous batch very soon after
harvesting it, so I don't try to store it all. I only store small batch
cultures that I am pretty confident are sterile, i.e., those that have been
specifically cultured in as sterile a fashion as possible.
My typical method is to simply let the yeast complete the fermentation in
the medium it is in, allow it to floculate and sediment, resuspend it, pour
it into sterile vials or bottles, and store in the refrigerator. When I am
ready to use the yeast again, I resuspend it, flame the opening of the
container, and pour the yeast into about 10 volumes of sterilized, aerated
medium at ambient temperature to get it started. The longer the culture has
been stored in the fridge, the fewer cells that will remain alive and the
longer it will take to show signs of life in the new starter culture. For
brewing beer, one would step up this starter culture once or twice more into
a 10-fold volume of aerated medium at each step. I usually allow the
stepped up culture to floculate, decant the spent medium, and give the yeast
a small feeding a few hours before pitching.
- --
Fred L. Johnson
Apex, North Carolina
USA
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Cider Digest #885, 31 December 2000
From: "Richard & Susan Anderson" <baylonanderson@rockisland.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 22:17:33 -0800
> Subject: Crushing vs. Grinding
There is a third way, shredding. The unit we have is essentially a two hp
Cusinart. It consists of a long stainless tube to channel the apples to a
8-9" 1/2" shredding disk and eject the pomace for loading into the press. It
produces a consistent pomace, does not slice up the seeds and works well
with uniform, dense crisp apples. We find however with mellow apples the
unit tends to clog up and requires constant tending. I am interested in
replacing this unit and what others use and recommend.
------------------------------
Subject: Not fermenting to dryness
From: David Pickering <davidp@netwit.net.au>
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 22:38:26 +1100
On the basis that the cider digest exists to escape re-invention of the
wheel.....
Whilst talking to a home brewer in Melbourne this afternoon I mentioned
the difficulty of producing a cider with residual sweetness. He doesn't
see this as a problem. Simply run a poly tube through your domestic
microwave, pump (or gravity) the cider through the tube with the
microwave running and the yeast is de-activated - QED.
Has anybody tried this technique to know what the effects are on the
yeast and cider?
------------------------------
Subject: Cider competition, Natural Yeast, Cider Guide
From: "David Matthews" <Dave.Matthews7@btinternet.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 17:09:46 -0000
Greetings from the UK. Three things to report:
1. Cider Competition
The Museum of Cider, Hereford, England, holds an annual Cider
Competition. Last year, over 90 entries were attracted from all over
England and Wales, with the overall winner being Veryan Cyder from
Cornwall.
This year, the Museum wishes to attract entries from not just the UK,
but also from other countries. A big silver cup is up for grabs!
The competition is to be held on May 9th 2001. For entry details, please
contact Museum Administrator Margaret Thompson, telephone 01432 354207.
The museum's website is at www.cidermuseum.co.uk
2. Natural Yeast
I have read in a number of places, including on the Digest, that natural
yeasts are thought to find their way into cider from the cidermaking
equipment. This year I made cider (on a kitchen scale) using brand-new
equipment from Vigo. Within a couple of days, a good, clean natural
yeast fermentation had started. I believe that the primary innoculation
of the juice comes from airbourne yeasts, much in the same way that
Lambic beers are fermented in Belgium.
3. Cider Guide
I have discovered that my bank does not charge for exchanging foreign
currency cheques. So please send, for example, a cheque for 23 US
dollars if you would like a copy of my 'CAMRA's Good Cider Guide'.
Apologies to all those who have gone to such trouble obtaining pound
sterling cheques.
All the best,
Dave Matthews
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End of Cider Digest #886
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