Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Cider Digest #1119
Subject: Cider Digest #1119, 7 March 2004
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1119 7 March 2004
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
carbonation of still cider ("mporch@valstar.net")
Bentonite blues! (Andrew Lea)
11th Annual BUZZ Off Home Brew Competition (including ciders) ("Christophe...)
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: carbonation of still cider
From: "mporch@valstar.net" <mporch@valstar.net>
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 01:13:26 -0500
i have experimented with in the bottle carbonation, priming with sugar etc.
can anyone tell me the exact process and equipment needed to take a still
cider with NO active yeasts (2-3 year old) and bottle it so it will be bubbly
when i open it and drink? counter pressure bottle fillers etc. i can't seem
to get a straight story from the homebrew shops. thanks, doug fincke@
mporch@valstar.net
------------------------------
Subject: Bentonite blues!
From: Andrew Lea <andrew_lea@compuserve.com>
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 21:15:46 +0000
Mark wrote:
> I racked again and tested the ph at 6.1. I was shocked. I had only
> recently bought the ph meter, so I opened a bottle of last years batch (
> only 4 left, I'll never make it to the fall ) and found the ph to be 4.0,
> about what I would expect since I cold store the cider to age it for about
> 4- 5 months before bottling.
>
> Ok, I used the same procedure as in previous years and everything seemed the
> same up to the addition of bentonite. Has anybody got an idea what
> happened? I'm not too sure about trying to raise the acid up to .6%, which
> is where I read that cider should end up. I checked my meter with a
> titration test that showed about .2% acid, so I know the acid is really low.
> Has anybody tried to raise acid this much with either tartaric or malic
> commercial compounds? I think that with cold aging the cider will lose even
> more acid and will end up insipid. I would be interested in any suggestions
> from the group. Thanks
This is a bizarre story! Either the bentonite is faulty or the pH meter
is. First question, are you calibrating the pH meter correctly each
time before use, with freshly made pH 4 and pH 7 buffers? Most pH
meters have a calibration routine which involves setting a potentiometer
at each of those values to ensure that the response slope is correct.
Are you using clean containers for the pH measurement and are you
rinsing the electrode with the test solution and then discarding it
before each measurement? Sorry to sound like a school ma'am, and I hope
I'm not 'teaching my granny to suck eggs'! Second question, what's the
measured pH of your bentonite slurry made up in pure distilled water?
If you're using the pH meter correctly, and the reading of the bentonite
slurry is well over 7, it sounds like you've got the wrong grade. Maybe
the type used for pond lining, not for beverage use. Or maybe it's been
wrongly labelled and it's not bentonite at all?
Andrew Lea
nr Oxford, UK
- --
Wittenham Hill Cider Page
http://www.cider.org.uk
------------------------------
Subject: 11th Annual BUZZ Off Home Brew Competition (including ciders)
From: "Christopher Clair" <buzz@netreach.net>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 08:31:05 -0500
Brewers Unlimited Zany Zymurgists (BUZZ) is proud to announce that the 2004
BUZZ Off home brew competition will be held on Saturday, May 22nd at Iron
Hill Brewery & Restaurant in West Chester, PA. For another year we will be
a qualifying event for the prestigious Masters Championship of Amateur
Brewing (MCAB) as well as the Delaware Valley Homebrewer of the Year. All
BJCP recognized styles including meads and ciders are eligible for entry.
For complete details and forms, please visit the BUZZ web site at
http://hbd.org/buzz.
Entries will be accepted between April 26th and May 16th. For drop off and
mail in locations please refer to the BUZZ web site. Please, do not send
entries to Iron Hill.
BJCP Judges and stewards will be needed. If you are interested please
contact me or another committee member (contact information can be found on
the web site). All judges must be BJCP certified.
Good luck and cheers!
Christopher Clair
buzz@netreach.net
http://hbd.org/buzz
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1119
*************************
