Basque Cider

Anyone have info / a method or recipe for Basque cider?

Travelling around San Sebastian in the Basque country, I got to try the local cider - amaaaazing! It is definitely different from other ciders: not nearly as sweet - a tiny bit sour, in fact - but great with food and especially on a hot day. I think the fermentation is 'malo-lactic'? Does that require a different culture than just yeast? Thanks for any light you can shed...!

Thanks Orfy! I actually saw that article in my googling...

does anyone know how malo-lactic fermentation is done?

Add a malolactic culture (liquid or powder) and let the bacteria do their magic.

It's spontaneous fermentation only, otherwise it can't be legally called sagarno in Basque, or sidra natural in Spanish

Bibulous said:

Thanks Orfy! I actually saw that article in my googling...

does anyone know how malo-lactic fermentation is done?

Click to expand...

Or let the finished cider on the lees for a while.

There's also something called batonnage (you stir up the yeast a lot) after alcoholic fermentation is done. It's supposed to start malo-lactic fermentation.

Which, by the way, gives cider a softer taste (malic acid is harsher than lactic acid).

here's another article

Sagardotegi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

my apologies in advance for digging up an ancient thread, but there is really not a lot of information online about creating basque ciders and I wanted to relay my experiences.

I made a batch of cider from pasteurized, unfiltered juice to which I added red star montrachet yeast and bottle dregs from a couple bottles of basque cider (isastegi and sarasola: see http://www.overcarbed.com/?p=1616). about a month later I went to rack the cider and discovered an impressive pellicle along with a very lambic-like aroma similar to the ciders from which I had pulled the dregs.

the cider appears to be "sick" at the moment, but I will update with results in a few (6+) months with future developments. I'm thinking about adding oak cubes, and maybe attempting another batch with a less attenuative yeast.

That's pretty funky looking.

ssf .. is there an update on your cider? I just had one get infected with lacto and it is starting to get a pellicle.

I've been meaning to post an update with pics, but the last bottle I tried was viscous and ropy, so I believe the cider is going through a "sick" phase compliments of some pedio. the cider smelled great though, very reminiscent of lambic. I'll try another bottle soon to see if it's cleaned up...

well, I finally got around to a proper tasting here. see below for my notes:



basque cider
appearance – pale gold, great clarity, very slight carbonation
aroma – earthy funk, sweet cooked apple, spice
taste – clean, light funk up front with a lingering apple finish, mellow acidity
notes – although not as funky as I would have hoped (aroma was stronger than actual taste, somewhat similar to the basque cider samples I have tried), this is a great alternative to a standard cider and a good intro to the wild side for the uninitiated.

next time I'm thinking about either doing a brett primary fermentation or adding more substantial amounts of bugs (lacto, brett, pedio).

Ssf - I read your update son your site and the how-to, thanks for sharing! I'm excited to try and find the Isastegi near Seattle