"Proper" cider query

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Tim_Crowhurst

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I've made three gallons of TC so far this summer - four if you include the DJ sitting next to me that's gradually turning into vinegar.

The non-vinegar three have all been experimental - spiced, mixed berry and elderflower - in preparation for making several gallons of cider from fresh-pressed juice this autumn. That means ~80Lbs of apples for 5 gallons, and my original intention was to use equal parts eaters, cookers and crabs, since I can get the cookers and crabs for free and those are the proportions used in one of my wine-making books.

However it looks as if my parents' bramley apple tree and the hedgerow crab I normally plunder will both produce bumper crops this year. In the case of the bramley, it's probably because it didn't produce even one apple last year. There's no way my mum will be able to store that much stewed apple in her freezer, especially since she's also got bumper crops of blackcurrants, beans and plums to find space for. Like my mum, I have a severe shortage of space in my freezer, so that's not an option either, and there's only so much jam and chutney you can make, so I guess I'll have to turn them all into cider. It's a hard life, eh?

I'm wondering if I can save a little money and reduce the proportion of eating apples, which I'd have to buy, and if so by how much? I know it means a more acidic cider, and I'm wondering if maturing the cider for longer would make it less sharp, as happens with TCs?
 
If it was me i wouldn't bother paying for the eating apples, thay are not going to add much to the cider. Having been forced to use crab apples last year i would go 50:50 cookers:crab. If you can pulp the crab apples the day before ank keep them in an airtight drum you should get more tannin extraction and better juice yield.
Last year i kept some crab apple, cooking apple and cider apple ciders seperate and had a blind taste test in the local pub to see which people liked most. we got an even spread of likes across all three ciders.
 
Your Bramley's will be around 1.07% Malic Acid and 0.1% Tannin and around 10% fermentable sugar.

I don't have the data for crabs I'm afraid, I don't think anyone's paid to have the juice analysed...

You want somewhere around 0.4% Malic, 0.2% Tannin and 15% sugar for the "ideal" cider juice. I guess the crabs should give you a good lot of tannin but they're not going to help with the acid levels or the sugar.

You could, of course, cheat just a little and whack a good few litres of supermarket juice in there to take the acid down a bit and bump up the sugar.
 
That is were the asters come in for the sugar.

To make proper cider you need cider apples, but for the next best thing a mix of 1/3 cookers, 1/3 crabs and 1/3 eaters will make for a good cider.

As Calum says add some apple juice to make up the eaters proportion.

:thumb:
 
calumscott said:
Your Bramley's will be around 1.07% Malic Acid and 0.1% Tannin and around 10% fermentable sugar.

I don't have the data for crabs I'm afraid, I don't think anyone's paid to have the juice analysed...

You want somewhere around 0.4% Malic, 0.2% Tannin and 15% sugar for the "ideal" cider juice. I guess the crabs should give you a good lot of tannin but they're not going to help with the acid levels or the sugar.

You could, of course, cheat just a little and whack a good few litres of supermarket juice in there to take the acid down a bit and bump up the sugar.

Tannin levels aren't something I'm worried about, as I'll be adding extra. Each DJ will have a different flavour, and two of them will have a load of extra tannins in the flavourings - in one case oak chips, in the other a 2:1 mix of blackberry juice and mashed elderberries. The other DJs (one spiced, one plain, one elderflower) will all get some stewed rooibos.

I hadn't thought of whether or not there'd be enough sugar. Using shop-bought AJ was something I considered as an alternative to eaters, but decided against since I want to get a nice strong apple flavour, and carton AJ might dilute that. In any case, most of the carton AJ I've seen (especially the cheapo stuff) is in the 9-11% range for sugar, well below the 15% target.

If I do want to boost the OG then one option would be honey, i.e. turn it into a cyser. I think about 1/2Lb per gallon should bring the OG up to around where I'd want it. It would make the maturing time a bit longer, but that might be wise for a sharp cider anyway. That's assuming I'm right in thinking that leaving the cider (or cyser) to mature for longer will deal with some of the excess acid?
 
Why not use a yeast that reduces the acid levels? There is a Gervin yeast that can reduce acid levels by 35% I think.
 

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