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Cider Digest #1482
Subject: Cider Digest #1482, 16 January 2009
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1482 16 January 2009
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
A few simple questions ("Thom Mitchell")
Decantian Dilemma ("Jesse Rutschman")
Am I stuck or just impatient? ("Casey Sayre")
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Subject: A few simple questions
From: "Thom Mitchell" <thommitch@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:48:18 -0500
Hello all, I just want to say this digest is a great resource and I really
like the weekly format. I'm currently fermenting my first batches of cider
now. I was able to procure 2 gallons of unpasteurized juice which I
fermented with natural yeasts. One I fermented at room temperature 65-70
degrees for a week before transferring to my basement - about 50-55 degrees.
The second I fermented in the fridge for 3 weeks before transferring to the
basement. I racked the fridge fermented cider to 1/2 gallon containers and
tasted - it was actually pretty tasty and fairly dry. I plan to bottle in
the spring and let age until next fall. Regardless of the outcome it's a
learning batch.
Anyway enough about my initial efforts. While I can acquire unpasteurized
cider in the fall and can even get custom blends crushed, the only cider I
can acquire now or in the spring is UV pasteurized. How do other people
handle UV pasteurized cider? Right now I'm planning on using champagne yeast
for one gallon, ale yeast for another gallon. What else should I consider or
what steps am I missing? Is there a preferred yeast to use, or to ask
another way what yeasts give what flavors/styles? Any advice would be
welcome on or off the digest.
BTW, thank you Claude for your detailed description of your award winning
cider. I can't wait to start a batch of Cortland cider next fall.
Thanks,
Thom
[Note from Janitor: It's not -supposed- to be a weekly digest!! It's
just that sometimes the influx of articles for the queue, or the outflux
of thinking from the janitor's brain, causes it to diverge from its
intended interval, which is really "about twice a week". But, carry on.]
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Subject: Decantian Dilemma
From: "Jesse Rutschman" <jrutschman@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:12:22 -0600
I currently have a 5 gallon batch of apple cider, a 1 gallon batch of date
mead, and a 1 gallon batch of pear-citron mead, with a variety of yeasts in
them. Following recipes, there are always general instructions on when one
must decant the wort or *must* off the lees, but sometimes things do not go
by the book and question remains. Is there a standard formula or a
particular science one should follow when it is time to decant?
In fear that my barrel cider must was not effectively purging bacteria in
the *chapeau breax *(the brownish foamy residue on top of the wort or must)
since it did not bubble over the bunghole during primary fermentation, I
decanted a little early into a clean 5 gallon, and then unscrupulously added
champaign yeast to ensure that yeast would be the microbial victor. It
never really took off again, and 2 months down the line, now that I am
supposed to technically decant and rack off, there does not appear to be
really any lees in the vessel to decant off of. Also, it seems tasty.
Should I decant again, or consider the cider racked until March?
With the date mead, I used a wild yeast found in Mexican *Tepache, *and a
wild one it is; my bottled Tepache nearly exploded from pressure days after
bottling. I decanted the mead according to directions once, and now
the *chapeau
breax *and much yeasty residue is back once again. I am tempted to decant
again. Just for the sake of learning, I think I will proceed to do so
without professional advice.
With the pear-champaign mead, it is the prescribed time to rack and the
primary fermentation has calmed down, but the bubbles continue to rise.
Should I wait until the bubbling stop? Will it ever stop?
Switching bottles back and forth again and again is a recipe for dreadful
error, not to mention over-oxidification. But I don't want to be drinking
nutritional yeast pudding in the end. I am sure others have struggled with
this decantian dilemma.
- --
Jesse R. Rutschman
GEAR UP Post-secondary
Work: (773) 841-2362
Home: (773) 814-5260
jrutschman@gmail.com
------------------------------
Subject: Am I stuck or just impatient?
From: "Casey Sayre" <csayre2@comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:56:54 -0800
This fall, after feeling guilty and wasteful for throwing dessert apples
from my 8 neglected semi-dwarf trees into adjacent fir trees and watching
the fruit explode, I have my first 5 gal carboy of cider fermenting. I have
scoured several sources for information to help me along but find that I
really can't google experience or pick some up at the book store. I have
found Andrew Lea's site invaluable as a first time cider maker and I am
looking forward to the arrival of his book (which I just ordered). I have
also been helped a great deal from lurking CD and working my way through the
CD archives. A great deal has been covered in great detail. Thank you all
for the help so far.
To my 90 pounds of dessert apples that I had not chucked into nearby lumber,
I added 100 pounds of Kingston Black Apples from a very friendly lady that
the local ale shop guy recommended to me. I realized there is much more to
cider that just smashing any old apple. She has a great couple of acre
orchard with a variety of vintage and cider apples near Sherwood Oregon.
After doing some reading, I am now excited to go talk with her more about
the trees but don't want to bother her, although it turns out she is an
acquaintance. I also added 15 pounds of small green apples from a wild tree
on my property.
I ended with about 7 gal of juice (two gal of which were enjoyed by all of
us over thanksgiving; ok I'm impatient). I used something that Jack Lanne
would sell on his info-mercial to extract the juice. Eight hours with very
stained and sore hands later I had the must. (Next year I'm using a press).
It was pretty slimy with a big foamy head. The slime seemed to settle within
the hour and the foam from the juicer mostly stayed in the funnel. I
immediately racked the must off the slime, added 50ppm bisulfite and a
pectolytic enzyme. I waited 24 hours then pitched English Cider Yeast
(WLP775). Using narrow range ph strips (Accuvin, LLC out of Corvallis, OR)
the must had a ph of 3.3 or 3.4 as the strip is a little tough to be
certain, but it gave a good idea. Acidity was .6% (Brewcraft acid test kit)
and the SG started at 1.059 on 10/29. The must was quite clear and a nice
amber color. I immediately placed an air-lock as I was/am a little paranoid
about turning my precious beverage into vinegar. The fermentation began
about 48 hours later & moved right along bubbling CO2 out the lock. There
was never any wild and crazy thing as all the gas exited the air-lock even
though the plug was just loosely set in place. The SG dropped 0.001 every 2
to 2 1/2 days; kind of slow with respect to what I've read. By 11/12 the SG
had moved nicely down to 1.008. I immediately panicked as I just had to get
my cider off the nasty lees and I racked the cider (but the process was
fun). I had to top it off at this point to avoid the evil acetobacter bug
and I added a "10%" sugar solution. This bumped the SG back up to 1.024. It
has slowly worked back down to 1.017 as of 01/05. There are small bubbles
coalesced at the edge of the must where it meets the glass and a few bubble
islands, but it really doesn't look like there is anything going on and I
have seen no gas to speak of exiting the air-lock.
Since I'm pretty excited about this whole process, I really want something
to bottle as I want to learn how to do that also (so far, it tastes better
than a lot of white wines I've had, I've got to develop the whole palate
thing). My guess is that I've got a cider low in nutrients with a slow
fermentation, I'm just not too sure. But I'm tempted to add the nutrients
and give it a stir as I think it would taste better dry. On the other hand
I'm concerned about turning it into vinegar. From what I understand is that
if I bottle at SG 1.017 or so I'll have ATF on my doorstep for making
explosive devices.
The question is, what's the best way to get there (SG 1.005 or below) from
here (SG 1.017 or so)?
Thank you in advance for any feed back you may be kind enough to offer.
Casey Sayre
Beaverton, Oregon
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End of Cider Digest #1482
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