It's Apple Season

[drsmurto]

Ever tried reculturing yeast from a bottle conditioned breton/normandy? Something I might try (although their keeving process etc might completely destroy it???)

Fark I am such a retard.

Didn't even think of that while pouring out the yeasty dregs from the bottle last night.

I have more bottles of the stuff so will have a crack at reculturing the yeast.

And by building up the cell count using apple juice i may as well drink the 'starter'......

Cheers Manticle!

 

[manticle]

Have to offer credit to Vitalstatistix who suggested it to me some time ago.

They sell a French cider at my local and I keep meaning to try and forgetting.

Let me know how you go anyway - definitely worth experimenting with.

 

[Muggus]

Currently supping on a glass of the Natural Selection Theory cider.

I really need to pull the finger out and brew a cider using the wild yeast on the skins to ferment it.

So wonderfully appley, dry, tart, cloudy with a touch of funk.

It screams old world cider, not that clear, characterless shite that is commercially available (Strongbow, Magners/Bulmers, etc etc)

Sounds like my kinda cider.

Might try and source some ciders locally this year. Though places in the Hunter arn't particularly common...more grapes really.

 

[Fodder]

It screams old world cider, not that clear, characterless shite that is commercially available (Strongbow, Magners/Bulmers, etc etc)

If you can find it, take a look at Westons 'Old Rosies' Scrumpy Cider. Usually in 2L glass flaggons (which if I could find a way to re-cap would work great for HB).

I remember having it on tap whilst living in York (UK) and have seen it about in a few of the better bottle shops around town. Craps on those other characterless ones mentioned above.

7.8% and if the missues has one pint she'll be skipping down the cobbles stone lanes on the way to the next stop. ahh the memories, I miss the UK...

 

[Airgead]

If you can find it, take a look at Westons 'Old Rosies' Scrumpy Cider. Usually in 2L glass flaggons (which if I could find a way to re-cap would work great for HB).

I remember having it on tap whilst living in York (UK) and have seen it about in a few of the better bottle shops around town. Craps on those other characterless ones mentioned above.

7.8% and if the missues has one pint she'll be skipping down the cobbles stone lanes on the way to the next stop. ahh the memories, I miss the UK...

Not a bad cider that one. Comes in 500ml and 2l flagons at my local Dan's (and probably yours as well).

Cheers
Dave

 

[punkin]

I'd be happy if i can get close to some of the Sutton's ciders. :icon_cheers:

 

[Muggus]

If you can find it, take a look at Westons 'Old Rosies' Scrumpy Cider. Usually in 2L glass flaggons (which if I could find a way to re-cap would work great for HB).

I remember having it on tap whilst living in York (UK) and have seen it about in a few of the better bottle shops around town. Craps on those other characterless ones mentioned above.

7.8% and if the missues has one pint she'll be skipping down the cobbles stone lanes on the way to the next stop. ahh the memories, I miss the UK...

I also (first) tried it in the UK of hand pull, in London I think. Pint of that knocks you around a bit! Having said that, it'd be great to see more (scrumpy) ciders like it on the market.

 

[Greg.L]

I pressed my first apples today. 50L of "Kidd's orange red" with sg of 1.047 (a bit disappointing) and pH 3.4. 12L of crabs with sg of 1.060 and pH 3.3, 8L of beurre bosc pears with sg of 1.044, 70L all up with sg of 1.050 and pH 3.4. Pitched the yeast (awri350) and plan to rack in 6 days.

 

[punkin]

I had a look at this tree on saturday..



That picture is of a 20'+ tree in early March last year... unfortunately while the one or two apples i found were close to ripe, the tree has been stripped bare as far as you can reach with a ladder.


Suspect the pig growers are in there before me and fear that it will be the same at a lot of my favourite roadside trees. :unsure:

 

[Greg.L]

To reach the highest apples, you need a panking pole.

More rain here last night, the creek is up and the orchard is on the other side. It hasn't been an ideal season for growing fruit but at least the apples are easier to ripen than the grapes. The hailstones do less damage to the apples as well. It has been a good season for blackberries this year, if you live in new england there should be plenty of blackberries around.

 

[punkin]

To reach the highest apples, you need a panking pole.

More rain here last night, the creek is up and the orchard is on the other side. It hasn't been an ideal season for growing fruit but at least the apples are easier to ripen than the grapes. The hailstones do less damage to the apples as well. It has been a good season for blackberries this year, if you live in new england there should be plenty of blackberries around.

They spray the blackberries round here. There should be mushrooms in the pine forests soon though.


Doesn't help with my cider unfortunately and i'm down to my last dozen bottles from last year. :unsure:

 

[the_new_darren]

Does it matter if you use bruised or "seconds" apples?

tnd

 

[Jace89]

I dont think I have ever seen a 'wild' apple tree in my life? I'd love to make cider with some road side apples man!

 

[Greg.L]

Does it matter if you use bruised or "seconds" apples?

tnd

Doesn't matter at all. Cider apples get bumped round a bit, even a few grubs don't matter. Just don't use rotten fruit.

In the ranges of NSW and VIC its common for seedlings to grow along the roads. There are a few wildlings along my road, most go to waste. There are wild plums and quinces round here as well, hawthorns and lots of blackberries, all free for the taking.

 

[the_new_darren]

Doesn't matter at all. Cider apples get bumped round a bit, even a few grubs don't matter. Just don't use rotten fruit.

In the ranges of NSW and VIC its common for seedlings to grow along the roads. There are a few wildlings along my road, most go to waste. There are wild plums and quinces round here as well, hawthorns and lots of blackberries, all free for the taking.

I dont have any apple trees or "wild" ones I know of. I was wondering if growers sell seconds cheaply for "juicing"

tnd

 

[punkin]

I dont have any apple trees or "wild" ones I know of. I was wondering if growers sell seconds cheaply for "juicing"

tnd

Good to see you say something genuine.


Yes, the growers sell seconds.
Around $7 for a box in my area. Mostly they go to pig farmers or the growers feed them to their cattle or livestock. All orchards seem to be the same (stonefruit, berries etc).

Sometimes you need to make an aquantaince with a farmer and they'll let you take what you want for nothing, but there's nothing the cockies like more than a bit of a trade. Be it jam, or wine or whatever.


There's very little wrong with the seconds though, maybe a blemish or something. Mostly you can't tell them from the marketable fruit. They all eat up good.


Knock on some doors with some humble in your hat and see how you go, i think you'll be surprised.

 

[sim]

Doesn't matter at all. Cider apples get bumped round a bit, even a few grubs don't matter. Just don't use rotten fruit.

yep, rotten, drops and windfalls pose a danger of botulism

 

[Greg.L]

yep, rotten, drops and windfalls pose a danger of botulism

Well, no. Rotten fruit can give off-flavours to your cider. There's absolutely nothing wrong with windfalls, cider apples are normally harvested from the ground with sweeper machines. Cider is a very safe drink, no risk at all from botulism. You may possibly get botulism from untreated juice, but even that is very unlikely.

 

[sim]

Well, no. Rotten fruit can give off-flavours to your cider. There's absolutely nothing wrong with windfalls, cider apples are normally harvested from the ground with sweeper machines. Cider is a very safe drink, no risk at all from botulism. You may possibly get botulism from untreated juice, but even that is very unlikely.

happy to stand corrected, just reading in "Cider - Making, using and enjoying sweet and hard cider" by Annie proulx and Lew Nichols that "drops... can be the source of the possibly deadly botulism. ...dont use drops in your cider making" p148.

 

[Greg.L]

happy to stand corrected, just reading in "Cider - Making, using and enjoying sweet and hard cider" by Annie proulx and Lew Nichols that "drops... can be the source of the possibly deadly botulism. ...dont use drops in your cider making" p148.

Americans have funny ideas about germs and stuff. The fact is that in England they wait till a good portion of the apples have dropped before harvesting, and as I said harvest with sweeping machines. For cider you want the apples as ripe as possible, which means that quite a few will drop while you wait - the situation i am in at the moment as I wait for mine to ripen fully. The fermentation process kills off harmful bacteria, what with the alcohol and co2 and all. if you are drinking raw juice it is another matter.