Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Cider Digest #0895
Subject: Cider Digest #895, 29 March 2001
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #895 29 March 2001
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Highly pleased with "chuffed" ("Pat Maloney")
Apple Varieties ("The Johnson Family")
RE: Cider Digest #894, 20 March 2001 ("Richard & Susan Anderson")
sources for trees for cider varieties (US)? (Dick Dunn)
Send ONLY articles for the digest to cider@talisman.com.
Use cider-request@talisman.com for subscribe/unsubscribe/admin requests.
When subscribing, please include your name and a good address in the
message body unless you're sure your mailer generates them.
Archives of the Digest are available at www.talisman.com/cider
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Highly pleased with "chuffed"
From: "Pat Maloney" <pmaloney@callatg.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 21:12:53 -0800
I am greatly indebted to Andrew Lea for adding another useful and
extremely fun-to-say word to my personal lexicon. i.e. "chuffed"! The
fact that it can refer to something either pleasing or unpleasing makes
it especially useful, for example, when one is asked to comment on a
friend's latest batch of cider - "Why, I'm dead chuffed to have had the
honor of tasting that!" You smile, your friend smiles and everyone's
happy, secure in their own interpretation of the word.
I must admit, however, the fact that the word "dead" seems to take on
the characteristics of an adjective with positive connotations is a bit
confusing. Nevertheless, Andrew has once again contributed another
useful bit of knowledge to the digest - of that I am dead certain.
Pat Maloney
------------------------------
Subject: Apple Varieties
From: "The Johnson Family" <dmjalj@wekz.net>
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 10:34:24 -0600
Greetings all!
Thought I would mention my latest. My trees are not yet in full
production. Thus sometimes, I have had to make do with seconds from a
local orchard. I bottled a very nice Cyser this year that was made from
approximatel 45% Gala 45% Honeycrisp and 10% Irish Peach (this
identification is in some doubt) from my own orchard. I added 1 US
gallon of honey from a friend (he raises a LOT of roses- I guess this
could be "rose honey"?). My starting gravity was 1.136 and I finished at
1.020. I had a pH of 3.6 and a titrable acidity of .5%. I sulfited with
6 campden tabs. The yeast I use is Lalvin D47. I like the D47 because it
leaves me with a product that is drinkable much sooner than other yeasts
I have used. Also, I find it's performance to be very predicable. My
wife and I like semi sweet wines. D47 tolerates starting gravities of
1.130-1.140 well and stops fermenting after a drop of 115-116 points of
gravity.
After racking, I left this for about 10 months before bottling. It is
now quite a nice well rounded wine with good apple flavor and nice honey
tones. The sweetnes is well-balanced and it is an overall pleasant
beverage. I intend to enter it in the next Mazer Cup mainly to get some
feedback from my more experienced colleagues.
I have a batch of cider that has been finished with oak that I intend to
get into bottles soon.
Now for some questions.
I will be looking at planting some new trees for my orchard this spring.
Unfortunately my Dabinette succumbed to fireblight in only one season.
I am looking for some info on disease resistance of classic cider
varieties. Most seem to only have comments on scab resistance.
I am interested in experience with cider made from fireblight resistant
cultivars as well. Varieties that have been recomended for my area
include Northwest Greening, Spartan, Empire, Enterprise, Haralson, Nova
easygro, Redfree, Prima, Priscilla, Jonafree, Liberty. Keepsake(I have
already added this one but am a few years away from production), Sweet
16, Mutsu, and Wealthy. I love Goldrush, but have been told that my
season is too short for this apple. Personally I am thinking of giving
it a try anyhow. There is an orchard down the road growing Mutsu and
Braeburn so I have a hard time believing I can't grow Goldrush which by
flavor seems it would make excellent cider.
Maybe there are those that would want to pursue this as a kind of
interest group within our board.
Dave Johnson
dmjalj@wekz.net
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Cider Digest #894, 20 March 2001
From: "Richard & Susan Anderson" <baylonanderson@rockisland.com>
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 12:34:08 -0800
Regarding cider nomenclature. Unfortunately it does not get any better when
you look at the Federal definition. Title 27, Part 24 for example insists on
using the definition of "hard cider". It is to bad that we did not give this
more thought several years ago when the BATF was soliciting input on cider.
------------------------------
Subject: sources for trees for cider varieties (US)?
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 15:07:16 -0700 (MST)
(This seems to be one of those periodic questions.)
Anyone have news/updates on sources for trees (i.e., bare-root stock) of
cider apple varieties in the US? My paltry notes follow; you can see why
I'm looking for more info. Yeah, I'm being kind of lazy, wanting to be
able just to order and pay for trees (the "rub money on the problem"
approach)...but part of that is thinking/hoping that there exists a market
from folks who want cider apple trees but aren't quite up to the invest-
ment of time to become amateur nurserymen.
Apparently Bear Creek Nursery in WA is out of business. This is a real
disappointment because they were nice folks to deal with, and their "bench
graft" program was an economical way to get a bunch of trees. Anybody know
if someone else managed to buy their stock?
I've gotten a few trees from Sonoma Antique Apple Nursery in the past, and
they were also good to deal with. Trouble is, they don't graft onto the
sort of rootstock I need/want here.
It would appear that Southmeadow may still be in existence, but after they
cheated me of over $200 a couple years back, I'm certainly not going to
give them a second chance nor recommend them.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #895
*************************
