Fly in the ointment!,(cider actually)

[DavieC]

I made a couple of batches of cider last year ,one batch I bottled after fermentation, the other I left in a demijohn with airlock and stuck it away in the garage over winter, my idea was to see if the taste improved by being left to 'mature'.Today I thought I'd have a look at the cider in the dj.After reaching into my shelving to retrieve the cider I was horrified to see an open demijohn, no sign of the airlock!,I must have knocked the bung out shoving stuff into the shelves at some time.It smelled fine and tasted ok so I bottled it with a teaspoon of sugar per 500ml bottle,only thing is there was a single little fly at the bottom of the dj in the sediment.I've no idea how long the bung has been out, could be weeks , any one had a similar experience, how might this turn out? Carbonated dry cider or vinegar? Cider is about 5.7%abv

 

[DavieC]

Update..after feeling as lonely as that little fly ,entombed in the sediment without a single reply to this thread,I tried a bottle of the 'fly cider' last night and its turned out fine.Tasted just like the other batch.

 

[Cwrw666]

I would have assumed your cider would have been ruined - glad to hear I would have been wrong!
Mind you, much of the cider I've made (from apples) has tasted pretty much like battery acid...

 

[DavieC]

First sip is a bit sharp, but after that not bad once your taste buds adjust.
This year I'll collect from a few different trees around the neighbours to improve on the taste.I only used apples from my tree last year so taste is a bit 'narrow'.Not bad though,it was my first attempt .

 

[Cwrw666]

Cool, I planted about 10 cider apple trees plus a couple of cookers about 7 years ago and they started giving a few apples about 3 years ago. I have to say the cider I made just from those apples was pretty hard to drink but last year I blended the cider I'd made with apple juice from Tescos (presumably eaters) about 50/50 and refermented it and the result was really quite good.

 

[An Ankoù]

I shouldn't worry too much. When you think of all the stuff that goes into farmhouse cider: maggots, wasps, worms, probably stuff from the soil, even if the apples are given a cursory hose down, a fly isn't going to make much difference. Remember that acetobacter needs oxygen to grow and reproduce and as you've primed and sealed your bottles, very little oxygen will be available to the bacteria- even if they are present.

 

[An Ankoù]

Cool, I planted about 10 cider apple trees plus a couple of cookers about 7 years ago and they started giving a few apples about 3 years ago. I have to say the cider I made just from those apples was pretty hard to drink but last year I blended the cider I'd made with apple juice from Tescos (presumably eaters) about 50/50 and refermented it and the result was really quite good.

That's interesting, Cwrw, I have done the same. We already had something of an orchard when we moved here three years ago, and I've added a couple each of Yarlington Mill, Dabinet and Stoke Red. Haven't had anything off them yet. The cider I made from the eating apples, plus apples "nicked" from neighbouring fields and roadside trees tastes quite good. I know I'm in a minority, but I'm not expecially fond of fizzy Breton or Normandy cider, I prefer West-Country still cider. Hecks' was my favourite.
In fact that's not quite true, Gwint y Ddraig from Llantwit Fadre is my all time favourite, but it makes me fall over!

 

[Cwrw666]

Mine are:
Tremletts Bitter, Yarlington Mill, Lady’s Fingers, Kingston Black, Bulmers Norman , Browns , Court Royal, Tom Putt , Fair Maid of Devon, and Killerton Sharp. All on M25 rootstocks so they'll be enormous by the time they stop growing.

Have to say we made a p*ss poor job of planting them as most still need tieing to stakes to stop them falling over.

I don't much like bottled cider from the supermarket. Mine comes out fizzy but really dry which I've grown to prefer.