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Cider Digest #1566
Subject: Cider Digest #1566, 23 May 2010
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1566 23 May 2010
Cider and Perry Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: My apple grafting experiment is acting up (Dick Dunn)
Gel in bottom of carboys (WhetstoneCiderWorks)
Re: Terry Maloney memorial (Ben Watson)
Re: Redfield (Ben Watson)
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Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
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Subject: Re: My apple grafting experiment is acting up
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 10:59:16 -0600
Joseph Margevicius wrote about his first grafting attempt. Some points I'd
wonder about:
>...I cleft grafted apple scion wood onto M106 and M111 rootstocks.
Why cleft graft? Were the scions very small? It's harder to get a cleft
graft right than a whip/tongue.
>...I did this in mid March, covered the grafted joint with
> a recommended bitumous material, packed the roots in damp moss, and put
> them in my garage to keep cool.
Offhand it doesn't sound like you gave the graft enough structural support.
It would be more usual to wrap it with a grafting rubber or tape, before
the coating to hold moisture in. If the scion shifts at all from the
rootstock, it will break the developing bond.
Also, normally once you've done the graft, you want to give it sun and
bring it out of dormancy--this will get scion and rootstock to grow.
As to leaves sprouting on the rootstock--yes, this is normal, but you
don't want them, so rub them off.
Personally...I found grafting to be one of those tasks that I just could
not learn by study. Once somebody showed me, it was "ah ha!" on about
five separate points.
That said, though, have a look at fruitwise.net. Stephen has numerous
short videos. He prefers a saddle graft, and I take his point that it
is structurally better, although experienced people get very high success
with whip/tongue.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
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Subject: Gel in bottom of carboys
From: WhetstoneCiderWorks <whetstoneciderworks@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 06:29:09 -0400
This year we have had several carboys develop what looks like a
jellyfish an 1" or so thick floating at the bottom of the cider. 2 of the
carboys contain Kingston Black cider, the other perry. The flavor of cider
taken from the top of the carboy does not seem to be negatively affected,
but the blob is a little worrisome.
The Kingston Black ciders were both sulphited at 75 ppm prior to
fermentation but not since then. The perry was sulphited at post-fermentation
racking but the free SO2 level is low, around 10ppm.
What these carboys have in common is that all were topped up using
the same batch of cider from the previous year. This topping up cider
has recently starting developing big chunks of goop in the bottle, which
leads me to suspect that we inadvertently inoculated this years batches
with contaminated cider from the previous year.
Does anyone have any guesses as to what we might be seeing in
these carboys?
Thanks!
Jason MacArthur
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Terry Maloney memorial
From: Ben Watson <BWatson@chelseagreen.com>
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 19:02:16 -0400
Andrew Lea wrote:
For those of us who cannot possibly be there in person but would like to
be there in spirit, will there be any chance of obtaining some sort of
copy of any written / spoken tributes / eulogies? A PDF in return
perhaps for a donation to a chosen charity?
Great idea, Andrew, but the simple answer is, "I don't know what's going to
be available in the way of information." Certainly if there is anything
printed or otherwise that seems relevant to the Cider Digest list (or to you
or others off-list), I'd be glad to send it along.
We know that a lot of folks from the greater cider community who respected
and liked Terry won't be able to come this Saturday. But I think Judith and
Field, and everyone, knows how many people will be there "in spirit." And
again, for anyone planning to attend Cider Days this November, we will be
remembering Terry then, as well -- since he was such an integral part of
making that happen every year.
Ben Watson
Francestown, NH
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Redfield
From: Ben Watson <BWatson@chelseagreen.com>
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 19:18:46 -0400
I agree with Dick Dunn's recent post about the Redfield apple, and have
become even more enthusiastic about it in the past year or so since I have
been growing it in my little nursery.
First, it's a beautiful ornamental tree, from the dark reddish bark and
leaves to the wonderful dark pink blossoms, to the amazing fruit. I used to
think it wasn't great for fresh eating, but I've even developed a taste for
the fruit in the brief period when it's tree-ripe and firm. It's also quite
nice for pies and other cooking uses.
But it really shines in cider, and this is one of Terry Maloney's lasting
contributions to the American cider world, as far as I'm concerned. He
picked up a fairly obscure but interesting variety developed at Geneva, NY
in the 1930s and liked it enough to plant it and use it in his cider. West
County's Redfield cider is really the gold standard for cider tastings -- in
fact, I have retired it from mine, because it is so distinctively colored
that it can't be anonymous, and because it always beats the tar out of other
ciders that I put up against it -- by a wide margin. It is so
straightforward and pleasant: first-time or unsophisticated cider drinkers
like it because it's fruity, light, and jolly. Experienced tasters and
cidermakers like it because it's balanced and well-made.
I can't say enough about this apple, and Terry deserves a lot of credit for
championing it, as he did with other, little-used varieties like Catamount
and Reine de Pomme.
Terry's success with these apples should be an inspiration to all other
cider producers in this country: Don't just rely exclusively on the
"tried-and-true" varieties that everyone else is growing. Instead, put your
teeth into old and new (and wild) apples that are less famous, and size up
their potential for making great cider. Only by doing this will we continue
to develop really distinctive regional cider styles.
Ben Watson
Francestown, NH
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End of Cider Digest #1566
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