Cider question

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Cider question

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KatP

Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Aberdeenshire

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 8:45 am Post subject: Cider question

I have a lot of apples, so planning on trying a batch or two of cider this autumn. A previous attempt at apple wine was not terribly successful, so looking for advice.

Apple varieties are unknown (the trees were here when I moved in), but suspect they are cooking apples based on taste. One is most likely a bramley or similar, the other is an odd one - shape a bit like golden delicious (such a poorly named apple imo!) but has a floury texture and is quite sharp.

Juice to be extracted using a juicer.

Thoughts and suggestions?
Thank you

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45694
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 9:09 am Post subject:
Never made cider, but people do use dessert and cooking apples to make it. As for Golden Delicious, it's very well named, if you let it ripen nicely on the tree.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 9:22 am Post subject:
Juice apples, put juice in fermentation bin, pitch in yeast, when it calms down a bit put it in demijohns with air locks on. Leave for as long as it takes.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46291
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 10:35 am Post subject:
what sean said. plus try to get a mix of sweet desert and cookers in each batch, all cookers can be rather acid even if you mature the cider after racking and as fresh (rough style) all cookers isn�t very nice.

KatP

Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Aberdeenshire

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 12:28 pm Post subject:

Thanks folks.

Unfortunately the one definitely a desert apple tree has already had all its (5 or so) apples pinched by the voracious blackbirds when I wasn't looking. A shame, as the apples from it are delicious. Giving it a good prune this year (none of the trees have been pruned for I don't know how many years) so hopefully will get a better crop next year.
The odd tree might be a desert variety, the jury is still out. Have never seen apples the shape of these before.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46291
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 12:59 pm Post subject:
prune well can improve cropping over a few years (plenty of online how to stuff ) prune badly ,just dont as to id if the trees are less than 50 yrs old it is fairly easy as there are limited choices with good online guides etc but if they are ancient it can be really tricky in a "which of those 7000 types is it then?" id linky basic types

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 16 6:01 pm Post subject:
If the juice is sharp then the cider will be very dry and sharp as well as all the sugar has fermented. I'd just try a small batch. If it turns out to be tooooo sharp then you can cut the cider with plain apple juice. Anyone lse with any spare eating apples?

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 9:26 pm Post subject:
just a few thousand here

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45694
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 9:53 pm Post subject:

yummersetter wrote:

just a few thousand here

You don't want to know how many I've blinking got!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46291
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 11:30 pm Post subject:
i can think of several tons around and about here.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 16 9:59 am Post subject:

Juice the apples.
Bramley will make it thin and sharp. If you can mix in a lot of dessert apples it will be more balanced. Ive made delicious cider with dessert apples alone.
Small scale use demijohns.
You can buy a cider yeast off ebay - just small packets. Fill demijohns to the shoulders with juice, let ferment with just a plug of cotton wool for a few days. When it starts to slow down then fit an airlock.
Should finish fermenting by end Nov. Taste it, if its still prickly then let it sit for a few days more.
Syphon into sterile demijohn and top up to the very top with water.
Mature like this for at least 3 months before drinking.

KatP

Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Aberdeenshire

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 16 4:34 pm Post subject:
Was planning on just trying a demijohn to begin with. No dessert apples here. North East Aberdeenshire if anyone wants t send me some! Thank you very much for that link dpack! It looks like being a Golden Spire (which I had never heard of), apparently a cider apple as well as a cooker, bonus! Can't be any harder than mead (which is what I mostly make), right?!

KatP

Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Aberdeenshire

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 16 4:37 pm Post subject:
Oh, and as to pruning, I used t help dad prune his trees, and grans. And have seen first hand how bad pruning can ruin an apple tree (dad got a bloke to do his about 3 years ago, he pretty much pollarded them )

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