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Cider Digest #1046
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Subject: Cider Digest #1046, 9 June 2003
Cider Digest #1046 9 June 2003
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Cider Competitions and a Proposed New Thread of Discussion ("Gary Awdey")
Re: How did your fall batches turn out? (Tim Bray)
My fall batches (Tim Bray)
RE: Cider Digest #1039, 5 May 2003 ("scott")
RE: Cider Digest #1040, 13 May 2003 ("scott")
Competitions (Michael Arighi)
Lea's cider competition thoughts (Sketchpub@aol.com)
Boston Beer Co. (Benjamin Watson)
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Subject: Cider Competitions and a Proposed New Thread of Discussion
From: "Gary Awdey" <gawdey@att.net>
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 12:10:54 -0400
Another question to consider for cider competitions is the judges'
knowledge and experience with respect to various styles of cider. If
you insist on depth and breadth of experience then it may be be
difficult to locate a pool of qualified candidates (at least on a local
level in the US). At the other extreme, judges with little or no
experience with cider are plentiful but the value of their judgement is
questionable. To draw an analogy, if you took a panel of Gin & Tonic
drinkers who had no experience with Scotch whiskey and asked them to
judge a single malt Scotch competition in a blind tasting, they'd
probably find a coctail made of Bourbon and Coke a pleasant drink more
to their tastes and might award it the top prize. The findings of the
panel would be counterproductive because it would confuse others who
want to develop a true appreciation of Scotch. So it is with cider. If
you have judges who know nothing of cider, they're much more likely to
choose one-dimensional sweet alco-pops.
The number of judges seems to be important--too few judges and a strong
personal bias may skew the results too much. Too many (or too many
non-judging tasters as was the case last year with Planet BUZZ!'s
"Chicago International Cider Competition") and the volume of cider
required may be so great that small scale competitiors are discouraged
from submitting entries.
Conflicts of interest--judges who have entries in the
competitions--seem rather obvious. Surely it can't be all that
difficult to avoid that sort of situation. I have no idea about the
truth of what has been said of the Hereford Cider Championship but
(fairly or unfairly) it's reputation seems to have been badly tarnished.
In order to prevent the entry of special batches that are not
representative of cidermakers' typical product one contributor suggested
last year that there should be a requirement that the entry come from a
batch of prescribed minimum volume (I don't recall the volume but
remember that it sounded pretty large). This sort of entry would have
the undesirable effect of limiting amateur entries as well as trial
batches of commerical producers (some are quite serious about putting
out excellent cider but may have limited quantity of certain varieties
of cider apples when orchards are young or may not want to expand
production until they are confident of how it will be received). An
alternative would to require competitiors to agree in writing (as a
condition for acceptance of their entry) not to post or use any awards
from the competition in marketing without providing an accurate
description of the exact entry and competition category (e.g. "Blue
Ribbon in the 2003 Buckfum International Cider Competition Bottled
Category with a 2002 Single Varietal Yarlington Mill"). As agreed in
advance a cidermaker who uses this award without the pertinent details
(such as using the fictitious example above but omitting the last nine
words) in order to promote sales of other cider whose main ingredient is
vaguely listed as "cider" or "hard cider" (and whose label provides no
other information about varietal composition) could be stripped of the
award later. This ignominy might prove a newsworthy event and provide a
strong incentive not to abuse the award. The objective isn't to
discourage entries but rather to help careful consumers determine if
what they are buying is reasonably comparable to the cider that won an
award.
As my young orchard grows and the equipment accumulates I'm inching
toward development of a commercial operation. By design I'll be
producing a fairly wide variety to serve what is now a small,
undeveloped regional market. Hopefully this market that can be grown
over time to support the business. By economic necessity most of those
batches will have to be small and will have to be repeated over a
period of years so good varieties aren't overlooked in a bad year. If
such a business had existed locally I wouldn't have considered going
into the cider business, but the niche was there and I decided to fill
it in...well, what some see as a rather unbusinesslike way. Our local
cider tradition is long gone. It is easier than ever before to identify
and grow a wide variety of cider fruit. I plan to grow and do small
batch trials with a staggering number of varieties (a list of well over
200 pushes logistical limits for a one-person operation). This sort of
small-batch operation is definitely not the most efficient way to start
a large and successful business on a shoestring budget (regrettably I
lack Donald Trump's ability to start with $40 Million and parlay it into
a fortune), but I hope it turns out to be an effective way to develop
the ability to produce interesting, enjoyable ciders that can be
produced under local conditions. Hopefully these ciders will one day
compare favorably with ciders produced anywhere in the world.
You may have to look to find some of them, but there are other small and
medium scale cider operations built on ambitious plans and high hopes.
Some go out of business, others emerge, and in the US you generally
don't see many represented at cider competitions. I agree with Charles
McGonegal's assessment last February that for now there are currently no
"good" cider competitions in the US. Hopefully this will change and the
organizers of future cider competitions will consider carefully what
their rules for entry and the quality of the judging may mean for the
quality of cider that will be produced and available for enjoyment in
the future.
With all this said, I believe that laws regarding distribution
infrastructure are far more significant as a factor in the success of
small cidermakers (and availability of interesting ciders for cider
lovers). A gourmet shop nearby that goes to great lengths to seek out
variety for it's customers says it can not sell my cider (once my cidery
is licensed) alongside it's French counterpart and some domestic
industrial ciders unless it comes to them by way of a distributor (even
though I'd gladly show my barn as point of sale and offer free delivery
for local retailers). Distributors and large retail chains put a huge
squeeze on margins of profitability so what you see on shelves are
produced in bulk and sold by the producers at the lowest price. Indeed,
even in the UK where there is a strong cider tradition, the number of
producers is said to be dwindling while local pubs are bought up by
corporations that determine in a boardroom what product will be offered
based on profit margins rather than local tastes. The conventional view
of the larger producers appears to be that long-term strategy for
profitablity requires market share, and acquiring market share requires
painful short-term price slashing and acquisition of retail
establishments regardless of short-term costs. The largest producer,
Bulmers, is now on the precipice of bankruptcy even though total cider
consumption and their market share are both at a high level. In the US,
laws regarding distribution, rather than quality, seem to be the biggest
factor in determining what ciders dominate the market and shape people's
perception of cider as a beverage. I'd love to see more discussion on
this topic, especially if it could lead to a better understanding of
what sort of legislative reform is needed. Do any cidermakers or
enthusiasts have any stories or frustrations along these lines to share?
Gary Awdey
Eden, NY
------------------------------
Subject: Re: How did your fall batches turn out?
From: Tim Bray <tbray@mcn.org>
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 15:16:42 -0700
>Batch 1
>was with some store apple juice and the Wyeast cider yeast, for an
>experiment. It lacked acidity and sugars so I amended to bring it up
>to 1.065 sugar and 3.8 pH. But, it tasted quite acidic.
I'm confused - it lacked acidity, based on what? Taste, or litmus
paper? Seems like it was a mistake to lower the pH. What was the gravity
before amendment?
>and was racked and 50ppm SO2 added at 1.016 gravity.
Was that done to stop fermentation? Did it work?
> I measured the pH with a narrow-range pH paper
I'm giving up on litmus paper altogether. I don't know why, but it just
doesn't seem to work very well in cider. I will have to cough up the bucks
and get a pH meter.
But taste seems affected more by titratable acidity than pH, anyway.
>Batch 2
Sounds good!
>Batch 3
>Similar to 2, but I goofed and accidentally re-added part of the
>siphoned bit when I did the freeze/thaw. So I only got to 1.065.
I'm curious - why the emphasis on raising the gravity?
>Additionally the cider is no
>longer clear; after [MLF] fermentation it was perfectly clear.
I had the same observation on a batch I inoculated. The cultured MLF
bacteria don't seem to floc and don't settle out well.
Cheers,
Tim
------------------------------
Subject: My fall batches
From: Tim Bray <tbray@mcn.org>
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 15:16:24 -0700
Here's my results:
Batch 1
Mostly Golden Russet and Roxbury Russet, with some mixed bittersweets
(Yarlington Mill, Porter's perfection, etc). First batch of "cider" apples
from the trees I planted four years ago. Pressed a week or two after
picking. OG 1.062, TA 0.6% malic. No keeve attempted, no sulfite;
pitched Epernay II yeast. Fermented outdoors, at about 45 - 55
F. Fermented to dryness in about 6 weeks or so. Left on lees another
month, then primed and bottled. WAY too acidic. About March, the acidity
started to smooth out - probably a MLF taking place. Now quite drinkable,
for those who like a bone-dry cider with firm acidity; about like a very
dry sparkling wine. No apple nose at all. Noticeable and pleasant
astringency, also a certain heavy-bodied mouthfeel. I think the Epernay
was a mistake and will avoid it in the future - too dry, accentuates the
acidity too much. This fall I will try that Lalvin 72B that takes out some
of the malic.
Batch 2
Mixed apples from some old trees - the only identifiable one is Yellow
Bellflower (25%). Sulfited with 5 Campden tablets in a 5-gal
carboy. After one week, a few mold spots developed, so racked and added
one more Campden tablet, this time crushed, mixed with cider, then poured
in on top of the cider in the carboy. After two more weeks, the cider
cleared and threw a thick layer of sludge. Racked off and pitched Wyeast
cider yeast. Fermented at about 50 F, dry in about 6 weeks, brilliantly
clear. Racked to a priming bucket with sugar - big mistake, the cider was
supersaturated with carbonation already, would have been perfect to bottle
straight from the carboy. This cider is lighter in taste and body than
Batch 1, but less harshly acidic and has a slight apple nose. Pleasant,
but unspectacular.
Batch 3
A gallon of extra cider from Batch 2, pitched with lager yeast instead of
the Wyeast. Haven't tried this lately, but the first taste was nice; very
smooth, less acid bite.
Batch 4
In March I discovered that I had left a box of apples in the
storeroom. These were mostly an unidentified old apple, probably a Pippin,
that ripens very late, is green when ripe but turns yellow in
storage. Just for grins, I picked out the best ones and pressed enough to
get a gallon of juice. No discernable acidity to taste (I'm out of NaOH
for the TA test kit). Apparently the long storage converted most of the
acid, as these apples usually have a pretty good 'bite.' Sulfited at
about 50 ppm; the cider cleared nicely. And then, lo and behold - after
about a month, a spontaneous fermentation began! (First time I've ever
gotten one here.) So I quickly racked to get it off the sludge. After
about two months, fermentation stopped and the cider cleared, so I bottled
without priming. OG 1.055, FG 1.018. Taste at bottling: sweet, no
acidity, bland. Sulfury aroma. I'm hoping that will go away and this will
be good in another month or two.
Cheers,
Tim
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Cider Digest #1039, 5 May 2003
From: "scott" <scottpcs@adelphia.net>
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 20:42:18 -0500
"Subject: Historical Question: Acadian/Cajun Cider making
From: "McGonegal, Charles" <Charles.McGonegal@uop.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 13:26:23 -0500
French settlers to what is now Novia Scotia apparently brought apple growing
and cider making traditions along with them. Over 400 years later, the
Annapolis Valley (what was Acadia) is still an apple growing area."
I am just back from Yarmouth,Nova Scotia an I tried Stutz cider. This is
the way Cider should taste. Not sickly sweet like the big companied do in
the USA. It is cider with a bit of a bite. If anybody knows of where this
can be purchased near Maine, USA please let me know.
Here is thier website:
http://www.grandprewines.ns.ca/stutz/stutz.html
Scott Snaith
Maine, USA
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Cider Digest #1040, 13 May 2003
From: "scott" <scottpcs@adelphia.net>
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 20:56:26 -0500
"Subject: pasteurized juice does work
From: mike tomlinson <tugger@netreach.net>
Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 05:54:20 -0700
As some of you know I have relocated from my orchard in PA to the CA
coast in Santa Cruz- wine county!"
Mike,
It may be a 8+ hour drive but have you tried the cider/apple juice that
comes out of
Julian, CA (about 45 min. east on San Diego). You can get un-pasteurized
cider a great start
to some good hard cider.
Scott Snaith
Maine, USA
------------------------------
Subject: Competitions
From: Michael Arighi <calzinman@earthlink.net>
Date: 08 Jun 2003 22:24:38 -0700
Andrew Lea noted:
>Although I share the same misgivings as most people about the practice
>of claiming winning status for a commercial cider which is patently not
>the same as a 'specially made' competition winner, it would hardly seem
>fair to restrict competition entries only to ciders which are readily
>available in the distribution chain, would it? I have no idea how one
>squares this particular circle.
I think the concern I have is that, if there's a commercial winner, I'd
like to be able to use the results of that competition to go out and buy
that product. After all, why not try the best. I may not like it and may
end up with something else, but why not start there? Isn't that part of
what a competition like this is intended to do? Stimulate demand for the
best, thereby fostering competition to make the best? And increase the
total market to encourage the entry of other players who may be able to
make an even better product?
But I also understand that sometimes the best one a larger manufacturer
has made may not be readily available. The best cider apples, like the
best grapes, are in short supply.
Would it be possible to have three categories? One for amateurs, one for
professionals, and a separate category for "retail," this category
having as a prerequisite that the cider be available in some reasonable
retail chain of distribution. To me, that kind of a structure would make
sense, and fulfill several of the purposes that, to me, make this kind
of competition interesting. I think it would also be worthwhile to have
a "best of show" award that could go to any of the entrants. Even if
your retail cider didn't win, if what your cidermaster produced as his
"best of batch" was good enough to win "best of show," that would be
worth some publicity back home, I'd think. Enough, anyway, to be worth
the time and energy to actually do something for the show. And can you
imagine the buzz if an amateur entry took "best of show"?
Even for the winners in the other categories, I'd be more than happy
with a gold for my amateur cider (right, in my dreams!). And the
publicity to a company that won a gold in the retail category--
essentially saying "Hey, I beat out the other ciders you may be able to
buy in your store; you should buy me"--would be worth gold. I know my
great-great grandmother was very proud of the several medals she won in
Paris competitions for her California wines in the 1880s. They were
sales tools par excellence, particularly for wines from an area that was
virtually unknown in the wine world at the time (and went back to
another half century of obscurity thereafter, due to the combined
plagues of phylloxera and Prohibition).
For a product that is not well known in the marketplace--the position of
cider in the US market now--or have become eclipsed by other
beverages--cider in the UK?--competitions with as much attendant
publicity as can be garnered, are an excellent way to bring attention to
the product and get both customers and potential suppliers interested.
Homebrew beer competitions began in the late '70s in California, and
some of those people went commercial and are now providing me with
absolutely wonderful and varied alternatives to mass-market pap. As a
result, the level of such mixed competitions as the Great American Beer
competition is now incredibly high. So the model works.
<getting down off my soapbox>
- --
Michael Arighi <calzinman@earthlink.net>
------------------------------
Subject: Lea's cider competition thoughts
From: Sketchpub@aol.com
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 01:30:49 EDT
I think there should definitely be categories to differentiate between
amateur, commercial, and special batch ciders.
They are all different, and made for different purposes.
I also think that only ciders made solely from fresh apple juice should be
allowed entry.
And I think that commercial conflicts of interest should be avoided.
Consultants and cidermakers can be brought in as silent judges, not to
judge but maybe to help educate other judges.
Ron Irvine
Irvine's Vintage Cider
Vashon Island, Washington
vashonwinery.com
------------------------------
Subject: Boston Beer Co.
From: Benjamin Watson <bwatson@monad.net>
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 07:51:18 -0400
While I agree with the sentiment that the US public deserves a
decent-tasting cider, I thought I'd give what context I can on Boston
Beer Co.'s latest efforts.
Early this spring I tasted both the final product and the two precursor
batches that were blended to make it. The cidermaker consultant is the
former head guy at Bulmer in the UK, whose name escapes me at the
moment. He was there (at Farnum Hill Ciders in western New Hampshire),
as was BBC's Grant Wood, who has been experimenting with real cider
apples and what can be done with them.
The cider was quite good and definitely British in style. I too asked
about BBC's plans to release this cider, and got the same answer. The
fact is, though, that I think they only produced 600 gallons of the
stuff, which is nothing to an industrial cider operation. Grant told me
they expected to put it in kegs and sell the whole 2002 batch in the
Boston market, on draft at specialty pubs (lucky buggers, those
Bostonians -- and quite a lot of cider fans, given the large Irish
population).
I will also ask Grant to try and bottle up a case or two, to use this
year at cider-related events that I will be helping with in NYC (mid
October) and Cider Day in Mass. (Nov. 1-2). So perhaps some of you
non-Bostonians can sample it this fall.
I have to say, I have more respect than criticism for BBC. They are
buying cider fruit from Steve Wood at Farnum Hill/Poverty Lane
Orchards, and have been experimenting for a few years with quality
small-batch ciders. Surely, for an "industrial" draft cider producer,
that trend should be encouraged.They are trying to learn what
characteristics they can expect from real European cider fruit, and
apply that to their Hard Core cider and perhaps new products. I already
think that Hard Core is the most drinkable US draft cider, though that
is damning with faint praise.
The problem, of course, is not just the market (the US public, and for
that matter even the UK public) simply isn't very literate in terms of
real cider. We all are trying to change that, and to the extent that
BBC is doing the same, I think they deserve our respect and support.
The more significant impediment I see is scale: how does a large-scale
"draft" cider operation retool their thinking and produce an artisanal
quality real cider. It strikes me as a tall order, if not impossible.
The requirements of industrial cidermaking (insured supply of juice and
need to produce year-round; issues of product consistency, stability,
and shippability, etc.) mean that this "Olde English" cider would
probably remain a once-a-year special "seasonal" batch aimed at an
informed cider audience. Which is probably how it ought to be, at least
for the time being. It would be nice if BBC could use their nationwide
distribution network to introduce decent cider, even on a micro scale,
to drinkers around the country -- this would help all regional
artisanal cidermakers, I expect.
David Daly wrote:
> Just wanted to chime in regarding Boston Beer
> Company's entries at the Herefordshire Museum
> Competition. Two weekends back I attended the Art of
> Beer Festival in Boston. The only cider to be found
> was from an unmarked tap at the Boston Beer table (the
> producers of the Samuel Adams beer line for those who
> might not know.) Boston Beer is also responsible for
> HardCore Ciders, a line of draft ciders available in
> parts of the U.S.. The folks at the table claimed it
> was the new HardCore product, "Olde English Cider",
> which had just won the Herefordshire competition (I'm
> not sure which category). It was a reasonably good
> draft cider, much drier than what usually passes for
> draft cider in the States, and with discernable tannin
> levels, even though the fruit quality and overall body
> of the drink were a bit scant (my opinion). When asked
> where I could purchase this beverage, I was told it
> wasn't available, nor were there any plans to make it
> available. This just seems sad to me, that a major
> micro in then U.S. goes through the trouble to create
> a product good enough to win a competition (whether
> the judges were involved in its creation or not) and
> doesn't even attempt to market this to the public. I'm
> not sure whether this is a reflection on the American
> cider market (or lack thereof) or just a case of a
> company exhibiting caution in a bad economy, but it
> seems to me that the priority should be making a
> worthwhile product for the market rather than
> collecting trophies.
>
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1046
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