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Cider Digest #0908
Subject: Cider Digest #908, 2 July 2001
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #908 2 July 2001
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Vancouver Ciders (peter g)
Re: New book on cider apples ("Ian A. Merwin")
Re: watering trees ("Pat Maloney")
bottles (Martin McGee)
The Silly Season! (Andrew Lea)
USDA application (mike tomlinson)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Vancouver Ciders
From: peter g <peter.g@telus.net>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 17:30:51 -0700
Folks,
Kristine Adam's comments about Merridale ciders are quite correct!
though i've only tried the cider, cyser & scrumpy ... loved every drop !!
the scrumpy's ~ 11% ABV & made with 50% crabapples, lightly
carbed , but filtered bright-clear. strong cider and very nice indeed .
the cyser, is (if memory serves) ~ 10% ABV & holds strong honeyed
undertones, but the apples are still there; also brilliant-clear. fine stuff!
Merridale Estate Cidery has a webpage at ...
http://www.merridalecider.com/ it features their full product line , and
offers suggestions about where to get product. although, not every style
is available at every retailer.
Highly recommended for BC'ers!
regards
peter g
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Subject: Re: New book on cider apples
From: "Ian A. Merwin" <im13@cornell.edu>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:13:22 -0400
Folks-
For all you hard cider and apple aficionados, there is a great new
book just out, written by Liz Copas (Cider Pomologist at the Long
Ashton research Station in southwest England, and Field Trial Officer
for the National Cider Makers association in the UK. The title is "A
Somerset Pomona: The cider apples of Somerset." It features some
interesting historical text and photos on English cider apples and
cideries, a detailed description of the major commercial cider
orchard varieties in southwest England today, and really excellent
representative photographs of the important cider varieties grown
today. Considering that there are quite a few misidentified cider
apples trees being grown and sold around the USA, these photographs
are a good way to verify that your trees really are what they were
purported to be from the source nursery. This is a lovely book to
spend an evening with, and will be an essential reference for cider
apple growers. It can be purchased through Amazon.co.uk for about
$25. The ISBN # is I 874336 87 3. I just received my copy today,
and recommend it highly.
____________________________________
************************************
Ian A. Merwin (im13@cornell.edu)
Associate Professor, Pomology & International Agriculture
118 Plant Sciences, Dept. of Horticulture
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853
Work phone: 607-255-1777. Home phone: 387-5312.
URL. http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/merwin/index.htm
------------------------------
Subject: Re: watering trees
From: "Pat Maloney" <pmaloney@callatg.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 17:39:08 -0700
John Ray provided some welcome advice for newly planted trees, but what
about well-established ones? I have several (not planted in a row) that
have a 15-20' diameter canopy. Should I set up a drip line under the
outer edge of the canopy? These poor trees have had no standardized
watering since they were planted (we just bought the property 2 years
ago) so I'm sure the roots go everywhere at this point. The ground is
adobe for the most part. It's amazing how much more fruit is on them
since we've begun regular watering for the past year. Right now I'm
using a sprinkler and yes, the weeds love it! But I'm a bit concerned
(and my wife is a LOT concerned!) about using something like Roundup at
the drip line. Won't this just facilitate the poison getting to the
roots of the tree? It's not something I want to take a chance on eating
- - or drinking. Any thoughts?
Pat Maloney
Rohnert Park
Sonoma County
California
------------------------------
Subject: bottles
From: Martin McGee <yakkherder@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2001 11:19:51 -0700 (PDT)
I wish to ask the members of fo the digest a few
questions on the topic of bottling.
Right now, I am using simple 2 liter plastic bottles
that used to be filled with generic brand carbonated
water. They are cheap, easy to clean and seal, and
are reusable.
But, I wish to make my product a little more, how
shall I say, presentable. By that I mean bottled.
Now, my question is, will the carbonation in cider be
to great for beer bottles? Meaning that I will have
to use champagne bottles? Does anyone have a favorite
bottle type/brand?
Thanks in advance, all replies appriciated.
Martin
=====
------------------------------
Subject: The Silly Season!
From: Andrew Lea <andrew_lea@compuserve.com>
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2001 19:52:40 +0100
Slightly off topic... but I've just spent an hour hanging discarded
CD's in my cherry trees to dissuade the birds from pecking the fruit as
it ripens in the next critical few days!
This 'new wives tale' has rapidly gained currency as the latest in
biological control, but is it an urban myth or does it really work? I
will report back!!
Andrew Lea, nr Oxford, UK
- --------------------------------------
Visit the Wittenham Hill Cider Page at
http://www.cider.org.uk OR
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andrew_lea
------------------------------
Subject: USDA application
From: mike tomlinson <tugger@netreach.net>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 17:08:46 -0400
I'm looking for help in the form of data, references, letters of support,
etc. for the formation of a National Guild of Hard Cider Makers. Last spring
I was fortunate enough to visit some of the writers to this site at their
cideries in the UK and came away with the desire to recreate the home/farm
house cideries here in the states as a way to help the US apple industry in
similar fashion to how its done in the UK. At about the same time I attended
a wine industry session in Lancaster PA where there was meeting of a sub
group of about 30 of us who make cider. I obtained a list of these folks
and have corresponded with many of them in the intervening months and several
including several of the speakers at the session were quite helpful in
helping to formulate the idea and concepts of such a guild. From those
discussions came the idea of a how to do it manual for folks who want to
make hard cider and sell it from their homes. Such a manual would cover not
only recipes but legal issues, sources of supply of fermentation vats and
the like with a healthy dose of references to this web site and its
counterpart in the UK. At the end of April I submitted a grant application
to the USDA value added program where they supposedly would help fund
"...related activities necessary to establish alliances or business ventures
that allow producers to better compete in domestic or international markets
for value added products." and have just learned that the application was
judged eligible but did not qualify for fund for the following reasons:
1. Techinacal Feasibility: While the activity is technically feasible the
reviewers wrote that the "Economic sustain ability is questionable" ????
2.. I had only obtained 4-6 letters of support from makers of hard cider.
And so under the category of "Level of producer commitment": they
responded with "Minimal participation at this early stage." (What else
is there at an early stage of any venture?)
3. Level of commitment from end users of the product. While I included
a number of letters from individual consumers and from several consumer
groups- Slow Foods for one- they questioned whether there were any market
research studies existent that would document demand. Anyone know of any?
I was, and will be again, in contact with US Apple and the PA Apple
Marketing Board with specific questions. They were quite supportive in their
comments and hopefully will expand their letters to cover several other area
in the reviewers comments.
Apples and most fruits did not fair well in this cycle. Corn and beef
from the Mid west and West seemed to win the money. With your help maybe we
can win in the next cycle. The amendments to the "eligible" application must
be in by July 27th so any comments, ideas, letters of support and the like
would be appreciated ASAP.
Thanks
Mike Tomlinson
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End of Cider Digest #908
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