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Cider Digest #1063
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Subject: Cider Digest #1063, 8 August 2003
Cider Digest #1063 8 August 2003
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: defining real cider (Benjamin Watson)
Homemade Cider Press ("Fellenz")
Re: Cidermaking research ("Ian A. Merwin")
North American Cider styles ("McGonegal, Charles")
To mill or not to mill (Chaad@aol.com)
Re: Cider Digest #1062, 7 August 2003 ("Bill Rhyne")
Re: Cider Digest #1062, 7 August 2003 (Scott Smith)
Group data (Jason MacArthur)
Metcalfe's Cider (John Tanzini)
please...not "artisanal" (Dick Dunn)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: defining real cider
From: Benjamin Watson <bwatson@monad.net>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 07:56:23 -0400
Heron Breen wrote:
> I would much rather promote REGIONAL or LOCAL cider in each of its
> unique
> manifestations than create a derivitive collection of adjectives and
> rules
> to define REAL cider for the world or the US as a whole. And it seems
> the
> state and regional chapter structure of Slow Food would embrace this,
> or have they changed their charter system and mission? Or am I hearing
> that we all wish to emulate the UK cider styles and forget about or own
> rural traditions? I come from Somerset county in MAINE, not across the
> Atlantic, right? This is not a case of nationalism, its a case of
> diverse
> evolution. And much due credit to Brit Alan Rowe saying cider is apples
> and nothing but, and any added this and that and the other can be left
> for
> the birds. Strong words, but an honest perspective from his tradition,
> region, and experience. Cider is maybe not meant to be seen in the same
> arena as wine? Country drink for simple folk I feel, so let us try to
> keep a definition country and simple. Wine is seen as such in some
> places
> still, thank god. To hell with consistency (sp?), let's return to
> reality.
> Let Britain have its Cyder, which differs from Spanish cider, which
> differs
> from French cider, and I'll spend more time embracing and
> re-establishing
> the lush taste of Baldwins, Golden Russets, Twenty Ounce Pippins and
> the
> like in a New England style of cider.
Just to address a couple of these points: I don't think that Slow Food
in their Ark of Taste are trying to set strict guidelines for "real
cider" or "artisanal cider" -- but I do think that for it to be a
meaningful distinction, we need to have some minimum standards or
criteria. That's also important if, for instance, I get hit by a bus
and someone else has to take over the program.
We are NOT trying to define American cider as a type, or to use
English, French, or other cider as a template -- which would be
ridiculous, since the varieties and growing conditions in this country,
and every region, differ so markedly. I agree, and have always felt,
that so far as different styles are concerned, "Viva la difference."
There is no way that two cideries are going to make exactly the same
product, even if they use precisely the same blend and methods there
will be subtle differences. That's one of the things that defines an
artisanal cider -- it is like producing wine, which differs from
vineyard to vineyard and vintage to vintage. Slow Food does celebrate
local and regional products, but I have not found consistent and
distinctive differences among ciders from different regions of the US
- -- it varies more with apple varieties, terroir, yeast strains, and the
fermentation/production process used by the individual cidermakers.
I like David Daly's suggestion of using "traditional cider" instead of
"artisanal cider", as a more friendly, understandable term. It too has
its limitations, but it seems a less snooty or confusing word than
"real" or "artisanal".
There's been some discussion of "New England style" cider. I would
certainly agree that New England cider is a traditional style, but the
fact is I don't know of any commercial producers that are making it!
I've made it myself, and other amateurs produce it too, but the Slow
Food Ark will recognize only commercial products. If there's a
well-made New England style cider being made out there for sale, we'd
certainly consider it.
But the bigger truth that has emerged from this discussion (for me at
least) is that we need to be very careful in defining "real",
"artisanal", or "traditional" cider -- there's a real danger in being
too detailed and proscriptive. The goal is to define what we mean by
the traditional, small-scale, authentic product (in all its wonderful
variety) just so far as to distinguish it from industrially produced
ciders, which can sometimes be pleasant to drink, but are not, by
nature, "traditional".
Ben Watson
Francestown, NH
------------------------------
Subject: Homemade Cider Press
From: "Fellenz" <fellenz@fltg.net>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 09:57:42 -0400
Regarding the note in the last digest concerning cider press plans, I
came across this plan a while ago and it looks like a nice size for
anyone wanting a small hydraulic press. It calls for a 1 1/2 ton jack
w/8" stroke. Here's the web address:
http://mars.ark.com/~squeeze/ag-can/ag-book.htm#5
If I was building the press for myself, I'd consider putting the
cylinder on the bottom, rather than the top to minimize chances of
contamination from a possible hydraulic oil leak. I would also use
steel tubing rather than wood for the frame.
The website with this plan also has plans for a small
hammermill/shredder from the Geneva NY ag station.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cidermaking research
From: "Ian A. Merwin" <im13@cornell.edu>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 10:51:02 -0400
Folks-
Some of you will be interested in research just completed by Sarah
Valois, a Cornell graduate student working with Dr. Olga
Padilla-Zakour in the Food Science and Technology program at the New
York Ag Exp Station in Geneva NY. Sarah will be publishing a full
report on this work in the near future, and she plans to continue
research on cider apples and cider making while completing her PhD at
Cornell. A summary follows:
Sarah Valois (2003) M.S. thesis, Dept. of Food Science & Technology,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
"Fermented Hard Cider: Effect of Pre-fermentation Juice Processing on Quality
and Characterization of Selected Apple Varieties"
Abstract
New York is the second largest producer of apples in the United
States. Approximately 45% of these apples are processed in the
state, therefore creating a need for value added products for
processors such as fermented cider. The product is mainly produced
regionally by craft cidermakers, although a few mass distributed
brands are available. The study was divided into two parts: effect
of pre-fermentation juice processing on the quality of hard cider,
and characterization of selected apple varieties used for fermented
cider. Five processing treatments were performed on the apple juice
blend made from 5 commercial apple varieties and 21 cider varieties.
Processing treatments included addition of SO2 at 50 ppm (standard
industry practice), microfiltration (0.45mm), UV irradiation, and
thermal pasteurization at 71 deg C for 6 seconds and at 85 deg C for 60
seconds. An alternative processing treatment to addition of SO2 was
the ultimate goal of the study. Microbiological analyses were
performed before and after each processing treatment to evaluate
their effectiveness in controlling microorganisms that can affect the
fermentation and the quality of the final cider. The processed
batches were fermented at 18 deg C using champagne type yeast and
bottled.
Analytical and sensory evaluations were performed on the finished
cider samples. No significant differences were detected among the
chemical analyses for acidity and turbidity of the processing
treatments except for the control. All processing treatments
prevented malolactic fermentation from occurring which affects
acidity and flavor. Thermal pasteurization was most effective in
reducing microorganisms present in the fresh pressed juice, although
all treatments reduced microbial counts. SO2 had significantly more
phenols than other samples. All treated ciders resulted in clear
product. Processing treatments minimized the off flavor sensory
attribute, indicating panelists slightly preferred the processed
treatments over control or addition of SO2. Samples were perceived
similarly by panelists. Processing treatments such as
pasteurization, UV irradiation, and microfiltration offer viable
alternatives to replace or minimize sulfiting in the production of
hard cider.
Thirty-one cider variety apples from various origins and grown in
upstate New York were characterized by physical and chemical
analyses. Physical analyses included average fruit weight and
firmness. Chemical analyses included pH, titratable acidity, soluble
solids, and total phenol content. Results showed a large variation in
each analysis performed. Twenty-one of the varieties had acidity
levels above 0.45% and therefore classified as sharp apples.
Varieties evaluated had higher concentration of phenolic compounds
compared to commercial fresh market apples. Some varieties showed
the potential to contribute a significant amount of phenolic
compounds, which provide complexity as body and mouthfeel to the
cider. The phenolics could be extracted through high pressure
pressing, hot pressing, or skin fermentation. Varieties seem to have
similar characteristics when grown in upstate New York as when grown
in Europe.
- --
Ian A. Merwin, PhD
Associate Professor of Pomology & International Agriculture
118 Plant Science Bldg, Dept. of Horticulture
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
E-mail <im13@cornell.edu>; work phone 607-255-1777; home phone 607-387-5312
URL. http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/merwin/index.htm
------------------------------
Subject: North American Cider styles
From: "McGonegal, Charles" <Charles.McGonegal@uop.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 10:29:40 -0500
I think that claiming New England cider as the only established American
style might be going to a bit of an extreme. It's kind of like claiming the
West County/Shire/Somerset cider is _the_ British cider, in the face of
Kentish/Channel Coast/Jersey ciders.
But it does highlight that we don't really have a clear idea of what
American cider styles were/are like.
If New England is chaptalized with unprocessed sugars, and a bit rough, then
what is a:
New Jersey cider like?
Virginia/Carolina?
Appalachian?
Great Lakes?
Nova Scotian/Acadian?
Quebec/Montreal?
Pacific Northwest?
California?
I'd even add Cajun, but it looks like they switched to spruce beer after the
move south.
Charles McGonegal
------------------------------
Subject: To mill or not to mill
From: Chaad@aol.com
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 11:46:37 -0400
I have a friend with a large apple orchard who is interested in pressing
for apple wine and cider. He has a large number of apples and never gets
them all picked and pressed because of the amount of time it takes to mill
them (too many apples, what a problem...). He uses a 90-ton fruit press
and a basket that is probably 90-100 gallon capacity.
He is considering pressing without milling so that he can use more of
his apples, since he has to pick them to get them off the ground anyway.
Efficency is really not an issue, since he can't use all of the apples he
grows in time to get them picked and pressed.
My question regards any effect this will have on the character of the juice.
Is there anything in the flavor-producing process that is different with
milling than without? Also, should apples be left sitting some time
before pressing?
Is there anything in cider comparing to the process of leaving the grape
skins in the fermentation? Would there be any flavors to be gained by adding
skins or pomace to the fermentation, or would this just make it cloudy?
Any advice appreciated, and regards to the listmaster.
Chad Brown
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cider Digest #1062, 7 August 2003
From: "Bill Rhyne" <rhyne@wli.net>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 09:18:19 -0700
RE: bottle pasteurization after second fermentation
Outside in our orchard, the Gravenstein are smelling very nice right now and
it is the middle of Gravenstein season for Sebastopol area. While we have
owned this orchard for 6 years, we are now living on the property so I get
to notice the progression of the apples through the season better. We are
having The Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol this weekend. Unfortunately,
I have other plans so I won't be there pouring our cider but Ace might be.
When we first started making cider back in 1995-96, we sourced apples from
around Sonoma, Mendocino, and Santa Cruz counties to evaluate the quality of
apples--fresh off of the tree and from storage. We also compared the same
varieties from different farmers and from different counties. We found
historical texts at UC-Davis in the library that had historical data about
the composition of cider apples and hard cider in England, New England, and
France. We found many "recipes" or ways to make cider historically. We
tasted as many apples and ciders to discover our preference--sweet, dry,
still, sparkling, organic, industrial, etc. We fermented sixteen different
varieties of apples and tried various wine, lager, ale, and wild yeasts
before settling on a process that met with our taste criteria and personal
work schedules as this was a weekend venture while holding full-time jobs.
Given that my sister-in-law was a French born and trained winemaker and my
wife likes Salon champagne, it was no surprise that we settled on a "French
Style Sparkling Hard Cider" as a style to produce that we felt would be
proud of and confident to sell.
When we started selling it or having people taste it, the main reaction was
that it tasted like champagne, not an apple product. So we tried to figure
out how to retain more of the apple character without resorting to chemical
flavoring or adjuncts. Again we got inspiration from the French in the form
of Louis Pasteur and his pasteurization techniques from the 1860's which
were developed for the wine industry. We totally backed into this
"in-the-bottle" pasteurization as a way to deliver something that our
consumers could identify as an apple product. Retaining some of the
sweetness helps to retain the apple character.
For me, the aroma that we smelled during fermentation was to nice to be left
in the barn and not in the bottle so that is why the secondary fermentation
in the bottle was important as it allowed those aromas to develop and to be
trapped in the bottle. Upon opening of the bottle, the aroma is released and
so you get the extra sensory experience to the nose as well as the sound of
"pfhisshhh", the sight of tiny bubbles, and the taste of a relatively dry
beverage with a lingering apple taste. We wanted to be the "Apple product
with an easy user interface and a multimedia experience" to borrow from
Silicon Valley. "Cyber Cyder"--not virtual but very real! Once we realized
that we could do this by "in-the-bottle" pasteurization, the next step we
was to make or buy some equipment so that we could do it efficiently and
consistently so we would have predictable results. We worked in batches of
85 cases per batch so that we did not run the risk of ruining really large
batch. We did ruin an earlier batch because the pasteurization was not
effective so we had very dry and very very sparkling cider. The staff at
the Greystone Resaurant in St. Helena have been very supportive of us even
during these periods. We were told that they sprayed a few customers with
our cider when opening it at the table. Gradually, we got our technique
together and our product achieved some level of acceptance and consistency
that we were happy with.
So with regard to Charles McConegal and Jack O Feil's comments and questions
regarding their experience, I felt the need to share some of our experience
so that others may benefit as we have benefited from others experiences.
So are we real cider or artisanal cider? I tell people that we are into
anachronistic business models for those consumers who like to time travel.
Opening a bottle of Rhyne Cyder hopefully suggests what one might have
experiences in the 1860's if he happened to find a French trained
Californian making cider in Sonoma County with local apples,such as the
Gravenstein. Our product is somewhat historical in its inspiration but not
historic.
Aloha!
Bill Rhyne
Rhyne Cyder, Inc.
Sebastopol, Ca
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cider Digest #1062, 7 August 2003
From: Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 14:59:31 -0400
From Heron Breen:
> I would much rather promote REGIONAL or LOCAL cider in each of its
> unique
> manifestations than create a derivitive collection of adjectives and
> rules
> to define REAL cider for the world or the US as a whole.
A fairly generous set of rules would serve to promote regional ciders,
because they would define an official separation from the water-addled
products.
There also could be a multiplicity of categories, but it seems like the
best way to start is with one category in which all of the different
traditions could fit. If you want to make a New England cider, you
don't give a hoot about "single variety" so are free to ignore that
aspect since you are not wanting to slap a single apple variety name on
the label. Instead, you have "New England Country Cider" on the
label. Disallowing honey or raisins would be a big mistake, because it
would rule out an important tradition.
I noticed I said "all the different traditions could fit" above, but
really there should be nothing wrong with new methods as long as they
are toward a high-quality, non-factory product. For instance I have
been getting a lot out of the idea of freezing cider to concentrate it
before fermenting it. There is a long tradition of freezing cider
after fermenting (applejack), and of freezing grapes before fermenting
(eiswein), but no tradition of freezing cider before fermenting. I
hope that doesn't make it a bad (and disallowed) idea as far as rules
would go.
> .. Country drink for simple folk I feel, so let us try to
> keep a definition country and simple.
Agreed on the simple part. But, you can make your country cider and
I'll make my city cider :-)
Oh, "craft cider", is another potential name instead of "real" or
"artisinal" cider. Its more or less the same idea as artisinal cider,
but perhaps a less obscure-sounding name. And of course "craft beer"
is well-known.
Scott in the city of Baltimore
------------------------------
Subject: Group data
From: Jason MacArthur <rotread@localnet.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 17:15:22 -0400
Following up on a message I sent a couple digests past, I
invite(request) cider group readers to send me a brief description of
their cider making operations. I will combine this info into some sort
of coherent group profile.
What country,state/province do you live in?
How many gallons do you make a year? Do you sell cider or make it for
yourself?
Do you grow some or all of your own apples?
Feel free to include any other comments you may have.
Thank you, Jason MacArthur
<rotread@localnet.com>
------------------------------
Subject: Metcalfe's Cider
From: John Tanzini <johntanzini@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 17:59:55 -0700 (PDT)
I spent a few days in Vermont last week, and I came
across a bottle of Metcalfe's Cider. Since they claim
to be a "traditional English cider," I picked up a
bottle and brought it home. I'm very curious to find
out what a "real" cider tastes like. I don't see any
in the stores near me, and I can't find any true cider
making apples either.
So what is the consensus of the experts. Is this a
traditional English cider or close to it?
------------------------------
Subject: please...not "artisanal"
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 20:41:43 -0600 (MDT)
As we try to figure out what we do and what we call it...may I plead against
the use of "artisanal" as the descriptive term?
First, it's barely a word...many dictionaries don't recognize it as such.
"artisan" is of course recognized.
Second, and following partly from the first, if it's a dubious word, people
will not be able to pronounce it or spell it.
Third, even "artisan" isn't a very good description for cider-making, as
it's not "by hand" nor is it a matter of manual skill or dexterity.
Fourth, the tail end (as it were) of "artisanal" is difficult and easily
co-opted by those who would make it pejorative.
Dick
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1063
*************************
