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Back in February I put forward the idea that including Fuji apples in cider because of their relatively high level of sorbitol (a natural sweetener) might be a way to end up with a sweet, carbonated cider without the need for pasteurising or artificial sweeteners. This is the outline of a trial...

I thought it might be worth sharing a bit of interesting information I have stumbled across. I have posted recently about my poor apple crop and the need to buy in some juice to blend. The juice arrived and after doing the usual SG, pH, TA stuff, I noticed that the Fuji juice nutritional...

Down here in this upside part of the world, no-one seems to be carrying Cote des Blancs any more. I was able to get it a few years ago but Google and eBay searches don't turn anything up. It is getting close to the start of cider time here in Oz. Because of my failed apple crop this year, I...

I was recently reading about some high-quality ciders (that sell for $$) produced using batonnage, literally stirring with a stick. There has been a bit of traffic on the forum lately about improving flavour so I thought it might be worth throwing batonnage into the mix. It is a bit of a...

Due to adverse weather conditions last spring, most of the apple trees in our district lost their blossoms and are producing hardly any fruit. I will be lucky to have 50 assorted apples from my trees this Autumn, not even enough for a gallon of cider. In fact my Fameuse/Pomme de Neige has none...

A short time back Andrew Lea (Author of Craft Cider Making) made an observation in response to a comment from a past member of his forum who was getting back into making cider, "Yes there are still a very few of us from the old days here. But the daily traffic is not what it once was. I think...

Back in July, I posted about a problem I had with a batch of cider failing to carbonate. After some more research I think I have zeroed in on what had gone wrong and thought it worth posting the outcome for others who might strike the same problem. The short answer seems to be… Fermentation...

There have been a few recent posts about unexplained failed carbonation. I have just fallen victim to the same thing. Any thoughts as to why this can happen since I can't see any reason? This 5 litre batch started on 5 June with a mix of Pomme de Neige (Fameuse), Cox's Orange Pippin and wild...

I have scratched around and can’t really find out why beer on-line calculators appear to “understate” how much priming sugar is needed. Although, it does seem that they take into account the amount of C02 in the beer on completion of fermentation, but cider rarely gets a mention. For example...

After spending the best part of a day grinding and pressing the first cider of the year, I wondered if (cheap) technology has advanced to the point where domestic juicers are worthwhile for small batches of cider. Has anyone used a modern juicer, what are your thoughts, etc, etc? I have an old...

Things are a bit quiet in “cider land” this time of the year. However, it is getting close to “cider season” down here in Oz as we are getting a few frosts and some apples are starting to fall. I have just carried out a comparison of two popular yeasts, and just for fun I thought there might be...

Can anyone tell me if demineralised water is suitable for making up a NaoH solution for titration. It seems that distilled water has been replaced by demineralised water in supermarkets, auto stores etc as it is cheaper and quite suitable for car batteries, preventing buildup of deposits in...

Yep, I am one of the dummies, as my background certainly isn’t chemistry (and hasn’t been since High School basics many moons ago). In simple terms, titration is carried out by adding a known amount of alkali to neutralise a sample of acid (i.e. cider), then using this information to calculate...

A long and hopefully interesting story... and I have to say up-front, that chemistry isn't my long-suite. In the past, some titration kits have been available in Australia. They come with the necessary bits, are relatively cheap (although not as cheap as in the USA), and easy to use. However...

I have been trying to gather data such as typical SG, pH, TA, and Tannin for common types of "non-cider" apples. Unfortunately, they are what we have to work with most of the time here in Oz where "cider" apples are hard to find unless you have planted your own. Suitable trees such as Dabinett...

Something to ponder during the holidays. Recently, I stumbled across an article that suggested apple peel contains more flavour compounds than the pulp, and asked the question ”‘why isn’t extra apple peel added to grinding and pressing” or even into primary fermentation in order to enhance the...

Has anyone had a sudden jump in carbonation a few days after priming. It isn't a big deal but I am intrigued. I bottled and primed a "test bottle" with the original juice on 27 Dec. FG then was 1.001 after 10 days, and I added AJ to 1.009 (a bit more than I wanted but it is a bit hard to take...

Sadly the "big wet" and floods that we have experienced here in Oz over the past six months or so has caused my big old cherry tree to kark it from root rot. No sign of life this spring so endless cherries of the past are no more. Typically, I had added about 10% frozen cherries by weight to...

Down here in Oz it is the middle of Spring so no apples, just buds and blossoms. I have just returned from a vacation in Tasmania where a lot of old "eating apple" orchards are moving into cider, so after a fair bit of tasting along the way I am a bit inspired to get some juice and crank up a...

Suggestions please... I don't seem to have made enough cider this year (or I have given too much away). We are into Spring and therefore out of apple season, but I have a reliable source of preservative free apple juice and think it might be worthwhile cranking up a "different" quaffing batch...