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Cider Digest #1179
Subject: Cider Digest #1179, 20 November 2004
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1179 20 November 2004
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Taste Expectations ("McGonegal, Charles")
2004 North American Cider Competition Awards (John Ross)
Topping with CO2 ("Davis, Jan CIV N11 FOB2, 2, 2527")
Brun but no chapeau ("John Howard")
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Subject: Taste Expectations
From: "McGonegal, Charles" <Charles.McGonegal@uop.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:32:49 -0600
Richard and/or Susan Anderson write:
"So maybe this is the key, our nose tells one thing our taste another."
I run into this _frequently_ with guests in our tasting room. They really
have an expectation of what 'sweet' smells like. I try, in my ciders, to
keep a lot of floral bouquet notes. And I fool people all the time. They
smell one thing, and taste another. Most especailly, they don't seem to
expect a fruity and floral bouquet to be followed by a dry taste.
I, myself, seemed to have unlearnt that expectation. Granulated sugar
doesn't smell 'sweet' - so 'densely fruity', 'tropical fruit/melon',
'banana' and other 'sweet' descriptors must be aspects of something other
than sugar sweetness.
One of my favorite tricks this fall has been to turn that expectation on its
head and diliberately fool people. Marilyn's Delight is a nice sized apple
with a green ground and yellow blush. It has an _intensely_ 'fruity'
bouquet - and is so sour that sweating it to the point of mushiness still
leaves it puckering. I love watching people's eyes scrunch up when they
bite into one >:-}
Charles McGonegal
AEppelTreow Winery
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Subject: 2004 North American Cider Competition Awards
From: John Ross <johnross@halcyon.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:17:12 -0800
Northwest Cider Society Recognizes Nine Artisan Ciders
The Northwest Cider Society awarded medals to cidermakers from across the
United States and Canada this week, at the Second Annual North American
Cider Competition in Seattle.
"The overall quality of the entries was noticeably better than last year,"
according to Peter Mitchell, the technical advisor to the competition, and
an internationally recognized expert in cider production. "The best of
North America's artisan ciders are now comparable to long-established
products from Britain and continental Europe."
All of the award winners are made by small producers in limited quantities,
using fresh, locally-grown apples.
The following ciders received awards in the competition:
Gold Medals:
Macbeth's Three Witches Hard Cider, made by The Traditional Company in
Culver, Oregon.
Merridale House Cider, made by Merridale Ciderworks in Cobble Hill, British
Columbia.
Silver Medal:
Oliver Beanblossom Hard Cider, made by Oliver Winery in Bloomington, Indiana
Westcott Bay Orchards Vintage Cider, made by Westcott Bay Orchards of
Friday Harbor, Washington
White Oak Traditional English Style Cider, made by White Oak Cider of
Newberg, Oregon
Bronze Medal:
Juliet's Love Dry Sparkling Cider, made by The Traditional Company in
Culver, Oregon.-
Blue Mountain Semi-Dry Cider, made by Blue Mountain Cider Company of
Milton-Freewater, Oregon
White Oak Black 100% Kingston Black Cider, made by White Oak Cider of
Newberg, Oregon
Judges' Recognition:
Appely Doux Sparkling Apple Wine, made by AeppelTreow Winery of
Burlington, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Subject: Topping with CO2
From: "Davis, Jan CIV N11 FOB2, 2, 2527" <jan.davis@navy.mil>
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:55:22 -0500
Gentle cider people:
Several weeks ago, I asked about your experience and wisdom on "sealing"
fermenting cider with CO2 vice and air lock or other seal. Many of your
provided thoughtful insight and expertise.
I report back to you on the results of my use of CO2. It worked
perfectly! I admit I was a bit hyper, recharging the CO2 every week or
so to ensure there was a good seal on top of the cider. The primary
fermentation went without a hitch. I've racked the cider and re-topped
it with CO2.
Mini-Brew designed food-grade plastic containers in varying sizes
especially for using CO2. WWW.minibrew.com.
I do have a question for you wise cider makers - I am going to carbonate
my cider this year, but am stumped on finding a counter-pressure filler
beyond the single manual ones. Is there a two-spout one out there that
someone can recommend? Or, do I really need a counter-pressure filler?
Yours in cider,
Jan Davis
Weasel Hill Farm
Amissville, Virginia
------------------------------
Subject: Brun but no chapeau
From: "John Howard" <jhoward@beckerfrondorf.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 12:00:01 -0500
I have 3 five-gallon carboys filled with 4 gallons of prime juice, that have
been CaCl2ed and PMEed, and keep at 51 degrees, for the last 12 days. There
is an approx 3 gallon brown gelatinous mass sitting under aprox 1 gal of
golden clear juice. No signs of fermentation yet but I'm getting nervous.
Last night I attempted to bubble one of them with CO2 using a fish tank
bubbling stone. Fished the stone down the side of the mass and tilted the
carboy and released what seemed like a decent amount of gas into the jellow,
stopped when a few bubbles began to tear through the top of the mass. I
sliced off a good chunk of jellow pulling the hose out. Alas, my brun is not
still not a chapeau.
Seems like my options are:
1) siphon the good juice off the top now and discard 75% of my prime juice
2) rack the good juice off the top and hope that the jellow will form a
chapeau and more juice will clear
3) sit on my hands until the damn blob rises
4) sit on my hands until first signs of fermentation and then rack the good
juice off the top
3) be more aggressive with the bubbling
Any and all experiences, advice, opinions, or hearsay appreciated.
John Howard
Philadelphia
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End of Cider Digest #1179
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