Recent content by cidergoats

If the cider doesn't appear to be turning cloudy or have an off odor I would suspect it to be a film of yeast, or flor. I see it sometimes when I ferment in a bucket and let it sit for a while before racking off. Here's a good reference on the topic: Film Yeast – Flor – Pellicle

I haven't used that particular product but the base apples, Mac and Granny Smith, should give aromatics and a bit of acidity but pretty much no tannin. You might want to consider the British bittersweet apple cider concentrate available from the MoreBeer/MoreWine sites as part of a blend with...

I found a lone wild crab, Malus coronaria, on my property and decided to grow some from seed. I had the time, the curiosity, and have the land to plant them on when they grow. The variety is known to be self-fertile and this one is fairly isolated. This was the third year for the seedlings and...

I'll have 140 for the year, so... 140+856=996.

I bought several bushels of AR Blacks from an orchard last fall and stored them for about 45 days or so. I pressed them at the end of December and got about 6 gallons of juice which I let ferment on its own. The batch was bottled in May. From my experience, and from talking to a local craft...

I've made a few batches with Honeycrisp juice. They were alright, drinkable but unremarkable. I've found Gravenstein juice, which makes a pretty good cider, at Whole Foods and Harris-Teeter.

I just started experimenting with persimmon and am still trying to find the best way to use them without an elaborate filter process. They are rather pulpy. The latest attempt is to cut up the fruit and put it in a brew bag. A friend suggested a couple freeze/thaw cycles and then pressing them...

A small craft cidery near me does a straight-up Asian perry and one with ginger, both are fantastic. They use Chojuro and Seuri varieties. I recently did a Seigyoku pear with Fuyu persimmon. It still needs to age a bit but an early sampling was pretty good.

I have a couple bushels of Arkansas Blacks to press and that will be the end of home pressed and orchard/cidery bought juice for the season. I still have some persimmons that I'll put in a throw in with some pear. I'll be doing some batches with generic juice to compare Hungarian oak with French...

Pear/Gravenstein blend using Cotes des Blanc. Bottle conditioned for 5 months. 2019_Batch12 by cidergoats posted Dec 1, 2019 at 4:52 PM

Total of 97 gallons so far since February. Thirty plus of those are in primary right now. I expect at least another 8 to 10 or so before the end of the year so I expect the total to be at least 105. Latest batches include 6 gallon mixed apple/pear and buckwheat honey cyser, 5 gallons gold rush...

Hello Jason. I completely agree with Chalkyt that the juice is no less important than the yeast. If you don't have access to single varietal juices, or can't press your own, you might consider doing some trials with the same juice base but different yeasts. Experimentation is indeed half the...

Not sure I'd agree with EC-1118 being the "recommended" yeast. If you're looking for a fast and furious ferment then yeah, but it is really aggressive and you can end up with a bland, albeit high-test (rocket fuel), final product. That's not to say I haven't had any good batches with it, just...

I have used RW Knudsen organic pear juice although that can be a bit pricey and hard to find. I've also used Gerber and Parent's Choice pear juice and for being inexpensive, off-the-shelf juice the results have been pretty good. This has all been in primary fermentation, I don't generally back...

Not a scientist but... I believe one of the other important benefits of malic to lactic conversion is the production of diacetyl, the "buttery" compound. The joy, of course, is experimenting to suit one's own taste. Never underestimate the value of time, and maybe a bit of oak, on the final...