pomme homme
Regular.
The following originally was posted on MattH1973's thread entitled '2017 apple harvest cider thread' but, on reflection, maybe it would have been better for me to initiate a discrete thread, rather than 'hijack' his. Hence this approach.
I'm wondering whether what started as an annus horribilis (a late frost in May, when the apple trees were in flower, resulting in much less fruit) will turn into an annus mirabilis (the recently pressed apples yielding ABV of between 9.7% and 10.5%). If so, it seems that the cider will reflect what a local viticulteur told me of his 2017 grape harvest - significantly reduced yields but offering the potential for amazing quality wine!
I started my pressing on Tuesday and finished on Thursday. I had only 550 litres (by volume - that's seven dustbins full) of apples (exclusively Clochard) which produced enough pomace for two pressings (the volume of my press is just under 0.7 mó) which yielded a little over 70 litres of apple juice.
Now I'm agonising over whether to dilute the apple juice to an ABV of around 6%. But even though to do would increase the amount of cider made, adding water to pure fruit juice is an anathema to me. So I think that either I'll add a little commercial sugar to the juice, with a view to making an apple wine of about 12% ABV or, more likely, I won't ferment out all the natural sugar so that I make a very strong cider with a residual apple sweetness - that is unless someone has some good alternative ideas with which to persuade me to follow a different course!
I'm wondering whether what started as an annus horribilis (a late frost in May, when the apple trees were in flower, resulting in much less fruit) will turn into an annus mirabilis (the recently pressed apples yielding ABV of between 9.7% and 10.5%). If so, it seems that the cider will reflect what a local viticulteur told me of his 2017 grape harvest - significantly reduced yields but offering the potential for amazing quality wine!
I started my pressing on Tuesday and finished on Thursday. I had only 550 litres (by volume - that's seven dustbins full) of apples (exclusively Clochard) which produced enough pomace for two pressings (the volume of my press is just under 0.7 mó) which yielded a little over 70 litres of apple juice.
Now I'm agonising over whether to dilute the apple juice to an ABV of around 6%. But even though to do would increase the amount of cider made, adding water to pure fruit juice is an anathema to me. So I think that either I'll add a little commercial sugar to the juice, with a view to making an apple wine of about 12% ABV or, more likely, I won't ferment out all the natural sugar so that I make a very strong cider with a residual apple sweetness - that is unless someone has some good alternative ideas with which to persuade me to follow a different course!