Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Cider Digest #1525
Subject: Cider Digest #1525, 15 August 2009
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1525 15 August 2009
Cider and Perry Discussion Forum
Contents:
crabapples (Terry Bradshaw)
Re: crabapples (Ben Watson)
Cider season, What apples? (Peter Matra)
Bulk storage of cider. ("Stephen Viarengo")
UK Visit (John Mott)
NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to cider@talisman.com.
Use cider-request@talisman.com for subscribe/unsubscribe/admin requests.
Archives of the Digest are available at www.talisman.com/cider#Archives
Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: crabapples
From: Terry Bradshaw <terryb@lostmeadowvt.com>
Date: Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:41:45 -0400
> The less common use of "crab apple" over here is for wildings--apples
> grown from discarded seeds. Searching these out may very well turn up
> some tannic apples that aren't too sharp, and are large enough to mill
> and press reasonably. Then, yes--if you're in an area where apples
> grow well, it's worth hunting around for wild trees, asking permission
> of the landowner, and trying them in a cider.
I have done this for many years, and a cidermaker in my area makes a
small living off squeezing these and selling canned juice and vinegar.
I find feral apples to be the best thing going for native US cider,
except that they can be so much work to attain any large quantity. I
tend to blend them 20-40% with a base of Liberty or Russetts, based on
taste.
TB
------------------------------
Subject: Re: crabapples
From: Ben Watson <BWatson@chelseagreen.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:03:09 -0400
Dick Dunn (our esteemed CD Janitor) wrote:
The less common use of "crab apple" over here is for wildings--apples
grown from discarded seeds. Searching these out may very well turn up
some tannic apples that aren't too sharp, and are large enough to mill
and press reasonably. Then, yes--if you're in an area where apples
grow well, it's worth hunting around for wild trees, asking permission
of the landowner, and trying them in a cider.
[Re the terminology problem: I know some folks try to distinguish
"crabapple" vs "crab apple" or even "apple crab", but there's no
understanding of a distinction that's well enough known to help.]
I agree with Dick, up until the last part. Separating apples and crabapples
isn't too hard for me, and Andrew Lea suggests the distinction in his
posting, which separates apples into two basic camps:
Malus x domestica (or Malus pumila), that is, the cultivated apple probably
derived from M. sieversii and originating in Central Asia; and
Malus spp. (or, as Andrew says "Malus non-domestica") -- in other words,
pretty much all other native, largely "unimproved" apple species, which
generally are smallish, either naturally or because they aren't cultivated
and thinned, etc.
The problem arises with unfortunate variety names like "Wickson Crab" for
"Wickson" (which is not a true crab, but presumably a Esopus Spitzenburg x
Newtown Pippin cross). It is one of my absolute favorite cider apples,
because although it does have high acidity, it is usually balanced with
outrageous sugars (up to 25 Brix in a good year). Would I make a
single-variety cider out of it? Maybe, as an experiment, though I suspect it
would ferment alone into something that Steve Wood would describe as an
"acid bomb" (like Ashmead's Kernel), that would require several years of
cellaring before it mellows enough so as not to remove the enamel from your
teeth. The only downside to Wickson is that it takes a cussed long time to
pick a bushel or two, since the fruit is rather small.
"Chestnut Crab" is an excellent little eating, roasting, and ornamental
variety, quite sweet and relatively low acid (for a crab cross). One of its
parents is the Vermont apple "Malinda". I've had Chestnut-heavy blends of
late-season sweet cider from a local orchard that is really excellent, so
this might be a worthwhile addition to a cider press schedule. I believe the
apple ripens over a long season from late September through late October in
New England. It's a reliable annual cropper, and I have done some grafting
for our nursery project -- with about 10 or 11 two-year-old trees. I plan to
plant a few out next year.
There are three (possibly four) species of native crabapples thought to be
indigenous to the US, notably: the garland crab (M. coronaria); the southern
crab (M. angustifolia), and the prairie crab (M. ioensis). They are
relatively scarce, except as occasional nursery planting for ornamental use
or wildlife, and I have not used any of them for cidermaking. I have always
been curious, though, about some of the really small-fruited crabs like
"Snowdrift" or other apomictic crabs, which bear multiple small fruits on
short stalks. I suspect these would be high in tannins, and that a few
handfuls would improve an otherwise uninteresting cider schedule that's
heavy with aromatic but relatively indifferent-tasting fruit like McIntosh,
Red Delicious, etc.
Also, I suspect it would be worth checking out a crabapple collection like
the one maintained by Harvard University in central Massachusetts -- to
taste the various types and see what qualities each one could contribute
(though I can only imagine the awesome stomach aches that the tasters would
have afterward).
In the end, Dick's advice about "wildings" (seedling apples, for the most
part, that are often found as "escapes" from cultivation on old farms or
along roadsides) is probably the best strategy: I don't gather any wild
apples for cidermaking unless they have average or better sugars, and
usually have at least a soft tannic edge to them.
Ben Watson
Francestown, NH
------------------------------
Subject: Cider season, What apples?
From: Peter Matra <peter@petermatra.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:44:21 -0400
I feel like making a hard cider batch but have no clue where to go to
get proper cider to use. I live one hour north of New York City and was
hoping someone knows where I can get cider with the correct apples.
What do you suggest? Is anyone in this area with info?
thanks
peter matra
------------------------------
Subject: Bulk storage of cider.
From: "Stephen Viarengo" <viarengo@verizon.net>
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:27:24 -0400
I have moved into uncharted territory this year. In the past, I fermented
cider in glass carboys and bottled in summer. This past fall, we had a large
crop of apples and were offered a fresh bourbon barrel, which is now filled
with about 50 gallons. I do not have nearly enough bottles and I don't keg.
Can I fill the bottles I have and put the rest into carboys for long term
(maybe a year) storage in my cellar, bottling when I have enough emptys for
a 5 gallon batch?
Thanks,
Stephen Viarengo
------------------------------
Subject: UK Visit
From: John Mott <jrmott2@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:03:40 -0400
My wife and I will be attending Peter Mitchell's cidermaking course in
Gloucester from Sept 5-9, and will be staying on an additional week to visit
farm cideries in the "3 counties" and beyond (as time permits). We would be
grateful for any first-hand advice on "must-see" sites and locales. We'll be
packing a copy of Camra's Good Cider Guide (2005), but nothing beats a
personal recommendation.
By way of background, we are in the start-up phase of developing a small
commercial craft cidery in the Georgian Bay apple growing region of Ontario,
Canada. Cideries have taken off in the provinces of Quebec and British
Columbia, but have been slow off the mark in Ontario. We have planted a
low-density heritage orchard on M106 consisting of Gold Russet, Roxbury
Russet, Tolman Sweet, Fameuse (Snow) and Wealthy - varieties that have all
thrived in the area at one time and have historically been used for cider.
We are converting a century barn for production and sales. Anyone with an
interest in keeping tabs on our endeavor is invited to drop me a note.
John Mott
Beaver Valley Winery & Cider Co
Kimberley, Ontario
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1525
*************************
