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Cider Digest #1480
Subject: Cider Digest #1480, 19 December 2008
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1480 19 December 2008
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
In Praise of Old Standard Cortland Trees (Claude Jolicoeur)
Re: My press (Claude Jolicoeur)
A hobbist-sized degorgement rack (Donald Davenport)
Racking and Carbonation (jennie Grant)
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Subject: In Praise of Old Standard Cortland Trees
From: Claude Jolicoeur <cjoli@gmc.ulaval.ca>
Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:37:52 -0500
I was quite excited this morning when I opened my mails and saw a couple of
messages congratulating me for the Best of Show award that my Northern
Cortland cider had won on Sunday at the Great Lakes International Cider &
Perry Competition. So I thought I could write the story of this cider.
This was a 24 litre batch (6 US gallons). I used 20 litres of juice from my
old Cortland trees plus 4 litres mixed from Reine de Reinettes (King of
Pippins), Liberty, Chisel Jersey and Tremlett Bitter. Juice gravity was
1,060 and titrable acidity 0,9% (as Tartaric acid). Pressing was on 10 and
11 November 2006, and this was my last pressing for 2006, the apples were
already slightly overripe by then.
As usual, I didn't add anything to the juice, no sugar, no sulfite. I
started the fermentation with an envelope of Lalvain EC-1118 Champagne
yeast. Very quickly, it became obvious that this one would be a slow
fermenter. By Christmas, I did the first racking at a density of 1.030. And
it went on all winter, spring and summer. By mid August 2007, density was
1.014, and it was starting to clear, indicating the fermentation was
stopping. I did let it go until end of October, but the density hadn't
changed really - had dropped to 1.013... Tasting it then, it was really
good, but a bit sweet for my liking. When I bottle, I usually add some
sugar to get some in-bottle fermentation and obtain a sparkling cider. In
this case, it had plenty of sugar, so I decided to experiment by simply
adding a small amount of yeast nutrient to provoke some fermentation in the
bottle. I added 1/8 teaspoon of yeast nutrient and bottled it, without
adding anything else. This is a really small amount as yeast nutrient
should normally be added at a rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon. But it was
sufficient. A year later, the cider was very sparkling and I measured the
residual gravity at 1,004, thus ideal for a semi-dry cider. I had one
bottle that broke under the pressure, and 2 mushroom stoppers that had
their wire slip and popped up. So this is pretty much the maximum one can
get for pressure without getting into real trouble...
So, this is the story of this award winning cider. My personnal opinion
about it is that is was a quite simple cider, very well balanced, but
without any really complex or strong flavours. The perfect cider to enjoy
with friends or as an everyday drink. I do other ciders, for example with
my Douce de Charlevoix apple, which I think have more complex flavour with
some slight bitterness and are more interesting in my opinion. However, the
GLOWS judges last year didn't think the same way and gave a Bronze medal to
that cider...
This fall I had a few intensive tasting sessions with my wife trying to
figure which of my ciders I would present at the competition. I secretly
wanted to do better than the Bronze of last year. When reviewing the
different ciders, all were very dry except this Cortland one which had a
nice residual sweetness. So I decided to bet on the sweet tooth of a
typical americal judge - and it worked!
Overall, I am quite pleased that the produce of my old Cortland trees was
appreciated by the judges. We had a discussion on the merits of the
Cortland apple for cider a few years ago on this digest, and it appears
that the quality of the cider obtained is quite dependent on the location
and culture practices of the orchard. In my case, it is quite minimalist
orchard maintenance: I do prune, but I don't spray nor fertilise. And my
trees are pretty close to their northern limit, and are quite stressed.
They are also quite old and suffering from cankers. The apples they produce
are much smaller than standard, and quite scabby. However the juice is of a
richness unequaled in commercially grown apples. I have a few pictures of
my orchard and Cortland trees that you can see at :
http://picasaweb.google.com/cjoliprsf/OrchardPictures
To conclude, I would like to thank Gary Awdey who made all this possible by
his implication in the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition
and who tore my arm to participate in this competition even if I wasn't too
excited about it in the beginning and by making it really easy for me to
participate!
And let's drink a good glass of cider in praise of the old standard
Cortland trees of this world.
Cheers!
Claude
in Quebec
------------------------------
Subject: Re: My press
From: Claude Jolicoeur <cjoli@gmc.ulaval.ca>
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:29:59 -0500
In Cider Digest #1479, 8 December 2008,
I wrote about my Press, and got a few messages of inquiry which I thought
could be of general interest.
From Joan:
>saw your pictures of your press and crusher. Thank you for posting
>them. Are the wooden parts finished so that they can be sanitized?
>What finish did you use? What did you use for the crusher drum?
From Jennie
>I looked at your pictures on the link you provided on the cider
>digest. I was intrigued by the grinder you built. How did you make
>what appears to be a metal drum. Do you happen to have instructions or
>plans for the grinder? I want to make one just like it but instead of
>a motor, make it pedal powered.
Wooden parts are finished with 4 or 5 coats of high resistance floor
varnish. You need to do that at least a month (or more) before the pressing
season as the odor is quite persistant, and you don't want it in your cider.
The rotor of the grinder (the metal drum) is made from a piece of stainless
steel pipe 6 inches diameter. There are 2 circular side plates welded to
close the ends and a stainless shaft that goes through holes in the side
plates. The teeth are welded on the exterior of the cylinder. I had the
rotor done by a good machinist that I know. Even if we mostly reused
existing material, it was a bit costly.
Unfortunately, I don't have real plans that I could give to someone else. I
would have to work quite a bit on this. But I think you can pick a lot from
the pictures.
I saw a picture recently of a pedal powered grinder - was it in Ben
Watson's book? I am at the office now and don't have the book handy. For me
the main advantage of the motor drive is that I don't need to have some
help when I grind. Could you load the grinder with apples while you are
pedaling? I guess it depends on how it is setup.
Claude
------------------------------
Subject: A hobbist-sized degorgement rack
From: Donald Davenport <djdavenport@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:46:32 -0700
This is still a work in progress, but it seems like it will work. We
thought maybe others might want to do a little tinkering as well.
For a couple years my buddy and I have been doing small batches using
the ice/brine (and last year, propylene glycol) in a tub method, with
varying results.
In looking around for a better system, we came across a surplus
warehouse that is blowing out what were originally "desktop beverage
fountains." These are basically a refrigerated basin that holds
about a gallon and a refrigerated pressure bottle that holds about
half a gallon. The units have never been used. They operates on 110
VAC. There is other equipment included, like pumps and temperature
probes and sensors, transformers and stirrers. Much of the stuff has
been disabled to prevent using the device for its original purpose,
but the refrigeration system is completely intact. There is a good-
sized compressor and condenser with fan. The evaporator jacket wraps
completely around both the basin and the pressure bottle. I'm
guessing they were manufactured in the early 90s or before, since
they use R-12.
With some simple modifications, the thing can easily hold four
bottles at a time. In temperature tests, it we have been able to get
sustained temperatures of 5 degrees F.
And the price? $19.95 plus shipping (sold as is).
For us guys that want to degorge a hundred bottles or so, it just
seems like it might be perfect.
At last check, the warehouse still had about 130 units left. We
ordered two. If anyone wants more information, feel free to contact
me off-list and I can send you pictures of what we've done in terms
of mods. There may be better ways to adapt the box than what we've
come up with, and some of you engineering types might come up with
something really great.
But, for twenty bucks, it just seemed too good not to mess around with.
Donald Davenport
Santa Fe, NM
------------------------------
Subject: Racking and Carbonation
From: jennie Grant <jenniegrant@mac.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:26:05 -0800
This is my first year making hard cider. I have a few carboys brewing
at about 50 degrees F in my basement. I originally pressed the cider
in late October and used a lavlin champagne yeast. I racked the first
of December and plan to bottle at the end of January. If I wait that
long, do you think the yeast will have died and prevent me from being
able to carbonate it in the bottles? Should I bring the cider upstairs
(around 66 degress F) to warm it up and get it fermenting faster?
Many Thanks,
Jennie Grant
Goat Justice League, www.goatjusticeleague.org
Seattle, WA USA
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End of Cider Digest #1480
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