Cider Digest #1303

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in 

Cider Digest

 · 7 months ago

Subject: Cider Digest #1303, 27 February 2006 
From: cider-request@talisman.com 

 
Cider Digest #1303                                         27 February 2006 

                 Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues 
                      Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor 

Contents: 
  Re: Cider Digest #1302, 22 February 2006 ("Julian Temperley") 
  RE: Cider Digest #1292, 16 January 2006,  R2 yeast - be careful ("deva maas") 
  Re: Cider Digest #1302, 22 February 2006 (Roy Bailey) 
  Sodium Benzoate warning (Tim Bray) 

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: Re: Cider Digest #1302, 22 February 2006 
From: "Julian Temperley" <somcb@globalnet.co.uk> 
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:08:13 -0000 

 Dear Dick,  As normal  at this time of year we are busy  organizing  this  
year's  Bath and  West   Cider Competition in Somerset, England, which takes  
place at the  Royal Bath and West Show at the end of May.  The competition  
is the oldest and  biggest in the UK. Entries come from  all over ,  
including Spain, France and  the USA.  Last year a bottle fermented from the  
US was a prize winner.  This year the main section will have three judges, a  
well known  food and wine writer Tamasin Day Lewis, assisted by  Robert  
Kaufelt from New York, and  Nick Bradstock, a former Master Cidermaker at  
Taunton Cider and  president of the European Cidermakers' Association.  The  
farmhouse  section will also have three respected, but more local , judges.  
We would be very pleased to  have   entries from the US, and  I am happy to  
help . Ciders can be sent to the us in Somerset and we can arrange their  
delivery to the show etc etc. If anybody needs  help please contact Julian  
Temperley, www.ciderbrandy.co.uk 

------------------------------ 

Subject: RE: Cider Digest #1292, 16 January 2006,  R2 yeast - be careful 
From: "deva maas" <devamaas@hotmail.com> 
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 10:24:52 -0800 

Sorry for not replying sooner.  I wanted to warn Ben Watson of his use of R2  
yeast.  I have used this strain in the past and found it needs high levels  
of nutrients to not produce excessive amounts of H2S.  I have created stinky  
cider from this yeast and advise all who use it to be sure to add proper  
nutrients.  in the same year with the same cider a very clean cider was  
produced with DV10 which is my currant favorite cider yeast. 

thanks,  Eric - Burdett, NY 

------------------------------ 

Subject: Re: Cider Digest #1302, 22 February 2006 
From: Roy Bailey <sales@lambournvalleycider.co.uk> 
Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:53:49 +0000 

> 
>Subject: cider apples and pruning 
>From: "Mark Parranto" <apple@mninter.net> 
>Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006 21:49:11 -0600 
> 
>Jason asked about pruning in #1298.  I treat my cider varieties the same as 
>my dessert apples.  From his description I would suggest cutting off 1 or 2 
>of the low branches if the others can be bent down.  A fruiting branch will 
>have a crotch angle of 45deg or more from the leader.  A branch that is 90 
>deg will be stronger and hold more apples.  The tree thinks a horizontal 
>branch is the fruiting branch and not the leader, so it puts out more buds 
>there and does not try to grow too long. 

I was told by a fruit tree expert a couple of years ago that the best 
angle for a fruiting branch is 30 degrees above horizontal. 

Roy. 
- --  
                         Roy Bailey - Proprietor 
                     The Lambourn Valley Cider Company 
                     (Real cider from the Royal County) 
                       <www.lambournvalleycider.co.uk> 

------------------------------ 

Subject: Sodium Benzoate warning 
From: Tim Bray <tbray@mcn.org> 
Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:08:24 -0800 

Dan McFeeley posted a link on MLD to this article: 

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=65840 

Andrew, do you have data on the concentrations of Ascorbic Acid in apple  
juices?  Given that all apple juice probably contains some concentration  
of Vitamin C, and that many people add it to keep the juice from  
oxidizing, adding sodium benzoate is quite likely to create some  
concentration of benzene in cider. 

Benzene is a known human carcinogen.  While the WHO drinking water limit  
is 10 ppb, the USEPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) is 5 ppb and the  
California MCL is 1 ppb.  The California Proposition 65 level is 3.5  
ppb, representing an excess cancer risk level of 1 in 100,000 assuming 2  
liters per day.  You'd have to be quite the cider aficionado to consume  
those kinds of quantities over a lifetime... Cancer potencies are  
frequently non-linear, however, and I have no information on the risks  
at higher levels like the 60 ppb alluded to in the article. Probably a  
lot less than we get from driving in rush-hour traffic, but still: I'd  
rather believe my cider was good for me. 

Cheers, 
Tim 

------------------------------ 

End of Cider Digest #1303 
*************************