Apple varieties from the northern prairies.

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chevalcider

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I am wondering if there are other members from the northern prairies who are brewing cider from locally grown varieties.

I am in southern Manitoba, about 14 miles north of North Dakota. I live in a town known for its "Corn and Apple" festival (without any commercial apple growers!) In the past the Agriculture Canada research station located in town produced a good collection of apple varieties hardy enough for the region. One of the best know varieties was the Goodland, a eating/baking apple.

http://www.hardyfruittrees.ca/catalog/apple-tree/goodland-apple-tree-a-sweet-and-early-harvest

Another variety that is popular out here is an apple/crab known as Trail. I made my first ciders (single variety) ever this fall from three locally grown apples; 5 1/2 gallons of Trail, 6 gallons of Goodland, and about 5 gallons from a mystery apple I was allowed to pick in a stranger's backyard. Of those three, the Trail is my favourite. It seems to be balanced and when back sweetened and carbonated, some say it tastes like a Strongbow. The other varieties come across as sour and a little watery. There are still in secondary and may improve if I back sweeten and carbonate.

Here is a list of trees hardy in our region. (USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 3A)
http://uniquegardencentre.com/info_sheets/Apples.pdf

Are there any others here who are making local ciders in the area...southern Manitoba, all of North Dakota, and north western Minnesota? If so, what varieties are you growing/fermenting? I'd like to be able to share notes.
 
I'm in La Salle so not far from you! I've only done ciders with store bought juice, but I try to use a variety. I've looked into pressing apples but there is only one place nearby that does it, and it's pretty pricey.

I should keep better track of what I make. We have one bottle left of a cider I bottled a year ago, and it's sure aged nicely.
 
I'm in La Salle so not far from you! I've only done ciders with store bought juice, but I try to use a variety. I've looked into pressing apples but there is only one place nearby that does it, and it's pretty pricey.

I should keep better track of what I make. We have one bottle left of a cider I bottled a year ago, and it's sure aged nicely.

We if you don't mind going out to Summerland, then this is the thing for you! Press your won. Can't see it for selling anywhere near the reserve bid...$250 just seems too cheap.https://www.gcsurplus.ca/mn-eng.cfm...htype=&lci=&str=1&ltnf=1&frmsr=1&sf=ferm-clos

There is a business near Landmark that custom presses apples.http://www.johnboyfarms.com/Apple Pressing information sheet hand-out.pdf

I took mine to a mom & pop operation that they ran out of their garage in one of the villages south of Winkler. They charged 40c a litre.

Nice to see another Manitoban on here! Hopefully there are more from here and neighbouring states who will add to the discussion.
 
I'm in La Salle so not far from you! I've only done ciders with store bought juice, but I try to use a variety. I've looked into pressing apples but there is only one place nearby that does it, and it's pretty pricey.

I should keep better track of what I make. We have one bottle left of a cider I bottled a year ago, and it's sure aged nicely.

Are there any Hutterite colonies in your area that might do custom pressing? I teach at a colony and they have a press but don't do custom pressing.
 
Johnboy is the nearby operation. Way cheaper to buy fresh cider when it's available rather than pay them to squeeze mine. I am near the Vermilion colony but they are more into manufacturing.

I have 5 gallons of Kreuger's fresh cider from Costco - best before Dec 6th so I better toss some yeast in there soon! Picked up a keg last weekend - just kegged a batch I've had in a pail since the start of October.
 
Interesting! I see Goodlands are on the list. They are the omnipresent Winnipeg apple. Tasty and prolific. We have a freezer full right now, all sliced for apple pie.

I picked up a keg kit and it's full of cider, aging right now. I think I will go test some.
 
I just bottled my last batch of cider. The cider from Goodlands apples has turned out super tart. So mush so that I might not drink it all. There is another variety that remains a mystery to me that I will be trying as well. I tried it still and dry and it was fairly tart as well. So far my vote is with the Trail apple crabs. They give a nice tartness along with a pleasant "bite" that I think I can attribute to tannins. Too bad I only made 5 gallons of it and it is almost all consumed. Next year I am going to try and get a variety called "Kerr". Supposedly it is at its best after a killing frost and yields and interesting flavour.
 
If it's too tart, forget about it a year and then you might have a really nice dry cider.

I've used the Lalvin EC1118 yeast a few times - and it always ferments out super dry. It takes a long time to age. After maybe 9 months or so (bottle carbed) you get a champagnelike cider that I really enjoy.

The stuff I kegged in November is just getting drinkable. A little disappointing in that it is taking a long time for a yeasty aroma to go away, and it dispenses foamy but is pretty still after that. However, it's my first batch with Nottingham yeast and is sweeter and more appley than with the Lalvin.

I also have a batch I bottled in September - they're getting pretty good too, but they are the dryer taste.
 
I am in zone 6 so cant give you local knowledge, but there is St Lawrance nursery that lists cold hardy apples including some for cider. We have a couple NW Greenings, we like tart apples and this is a nice apple for us to use in our cider blends, most consider it just a cooker. Our best bitter apples are wild crabs also. WVMJ
 
If it's too tart, forget about it a year and then you might have a really nice dry cider.

I've used the Lalvin EC1118 yeast a few times - and it always ferments out super dry. It takes a long time to age. After maybe 9 months or so (bottle carbed) you get a champagnelike cider that I really enjoy.

The stuff I kegged in November is just getting drinkable. A little disappointing in that it is taking a long time for a yeasty aroma to go away, and it dispenses foamy but is pretty still after that. However, it's my first batch with Nottingham yeast and is sweeter and more appley than with the Lalvin.

I also have a batch I bottled in September - they're getting pretty good too, but they are the dryer taste.

I used 1118 as well. It seems like a good, bomb proof yeast. Took less that a week to reach near terminal gravity. But the cider is super dry. Yesterday I sampled another bottle. It had a really apple like aroma but is still crazy tart. I did blend it with a little honey and seemed a lot better with some extra sweetness to mask the acid. I wish I had backsweetened to 1.013 like I did the Trail apple cider. I've got really good carbonation on it a week after bottling and now I will be pasteurizing to stop the fermentation and prevent bombs. Will I still see a mellowing of tartness after pasteurization? I am sort of assuming that the MLF bacteria might be dead after that as well.
 
I am in zone 6 so cant give you local knowledge, but there is St Lawrance nursery that lists cold hardy apples including some for cider. We have a couple NW Greenings, we like tart apples and this is a nice apple for us to use in our cider blends, most consider it just a cooker. Our best bitter apples are wild crabs also. WVMJ

Thanks for that! I will check it out. Right now we have a tiny back yard and the house isn't in our long term plans so I am reluctant to plant more trees. If I could utilize the other trees growing in the community I will! It seems like every Tom, Dick, and Harry has an apple tree in this town (so much so that you could consider planting one tree and never have to worry about pollination) but they are not really cider apples. I think all of them have crab apples in their parentage at some point and many could be considered "apple crabs". Next year I'd like to try the "Kerr" crab apple.

http://www.saltspringapplecompany.com/Kerr-(crab).htm

Developed right here in the town I live in! Looks like a cross between the Dolgo crab and Haralson apple.
 
I used 1118 as well. It seems like a good, bomb proof yeast. Took less that a week to reach near terminal gravity. But the cider is super dry. Yesterday I sampled another bottle. It had a really apple like aroma but is still crazy tart. I did blend it with a little honey and seemed a lot better with some extra sweetness to mask the acid. I wish I had backsweetened to 1.013 like I did the Trail apple cider. I've got really good carbonation on it a week after bottling and now I will be pasteurizing to stop the fermentation and prevent bombs. Will I still see a mellowing of tartness after pasteurization? I am sort of assuming that the MLF bacteria might be dead after that as well.

I've never tried pasteurizing. I assume any 'aging' will stop at pasteurization time as well.

Any time I've used the Lalvin, it's at least 3-4 months before the cider is remotely drinkable. After a year it's REALLY GOOD. It will ferment out every last sugar molecule so yes very dry.

Generally I do about 3 weeks to a month in primary, then bottle with a little priming sugar, then apply lots of patience. Of course like this I can only make a very dry cider.

My kegged batch is a lot less dry. But I left it 6 weeks in primary so I think that was too long for it to sit on the lees.
 
I use EC1118 as well. I ferment then let it age all winter. Early summer I take it out and keg/carb it, then ~2 months later I bottle it. I backsweeten mine to about 1.018, and it always tastes great.
 
Now here's another question...this last batch of apples I had pressed weren't as ripe as I would have liked. What effect will this have on the cider? I know that the Goodland apple is a little more tart than some but when unripe has even more pucker factor. When cutting the apples to inspect them it seemed like some were nicely ripened while others still had seeds on the green side. The fruit was falling off of the trees quite easily and that is one reason why I picked when I did.

It seems as if people are pretty antsy to get the apples picked off of their trees. As soon as the apples start to fall they think that they are ripe and would like you to come and get them out of their yard. One tree I had lined up for picking was all cleaned up by the time I was ready to get the apples...and even at that time I don't think they were really ready for picking. The trees I did harvest I also cleaned up. One tree in particular had just as much fallen fruit as what was left on the branches. Hopefully this puts me in a good position to leave it a little longer next year. It was on a rental property and the landlords were quite happy to have someone rake up all of the rotting fallen fruit as well as take the apples off of the tree. I will be emailing them this summer to see if I can get into their tree again...hopefully once the apples are riper.
 
After doing more research I have discovered a few things. First I was able to find some scholarly research that speaks to the acidity of my Goodlands apples. Apparently they should range from 0.55% to 0.7% malic acid (my understanding is that malic acid represents 0.89 of tartaric acid.

According to Quebec cider genius Claude Jolicoeur, apple cider should be in the 0.5-0.9% TA (tartaric). If I am correct, Goodlands should be in the 0.5% to 0.62% tartaric (malic measurement multiplied by 0.89 - am I correct?).

Next fall I think I am going to be letting the apples mature more before picking. I think a lot of the tartness I am experiencing reflects the lack of ripeness. I also think that I am going to invest in a means to test the acidity of the juice i get pressed and make nots of what I am finding.

http://www.fruit.usask.ca/apples/goodland.html

http://cjoliprsf.awardspace.biz/Documents/AppleBlendingCider.pdf
 
Have you run across the iodine test for ripeness yet? Havent used this test yet but we are planning on it to judge better when our wild apples are ripe to confirm our taste tests. You need to get an acid test kit if you want to know what the real acid levels are in your cider, the amount can vary due to ripeness, the weather etc. WVMJ
 
Have you run across the iodine test for ripeness yet? Havent used this test yet but we are planning on it to judge better when our wild apples are ripe to confirm our taste tests. You need to get an acid test kit if you want to know what the real acid levels are in your cider, the amount can vary due to ripeness, the weather etc. WVMJ

I have heard of the iodine test but never had iodine handy when I was out picking apples. I will be doing it next year. This was my first time making cider and I was under the impression that I was going to have hard time finding apples with enough cider...now I know otherwise. Most of the apples around here have plenty of acid available. I actually think that they have enough tannin as well. Being able to test the acid would take a lot of guess work out of fermenting a good cider as well.
 
I picked a lot of apples with a friends and ended up finishing my press and grinder on Friday night. Between myself, a friend, and a father-in-law we pressed about 140 litres of juice on the weekend. I currently have 16 gallons of three different varieties fermenting right now. Kerr, Trail and Goodland. Kerr = 1.052 OG, Trail = 1.062 OG and Goodland was about 1.042 OG. An acquaintance offered to loan his refractometer to me. I suppose it is too late now! I tried to test the acid level on one...I think I read the test correctly...Goodland is at about 0.80 TA. I have pitched 73B-1122 having read that it is good at knocking out acid...right after doing that I cracked into a bottle of still cider from last fall that seemed too tart when I bottled...it is beautiful now. I used 1118 for it. Isn't that what all the experienced cider guys say? Wait, wait, wait! It gets better with age.

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Kerr is supposed to be a good cider apple, never heard of the others. There is a Canadian apple breeding program, they have selected for several cold hardy apples and bred some new ones. Looks like you guys were busy and yes cider can mellow out after aging a little, maybe you had some MLF going.

This Canadian site has some good info on cold apples http://www.siloamorchards.com/apple_tr.html#Cider Apples

WVMJ
 
It's been a year of inactivity on this thread. It's still a topic I think about and research a lot. I recently ran across some good information and will share it for the benefit of those living on the prairies where extreme climate dictates that some excellent traditional cider varieties cannot be grown. I live 14 miles north of the Canada/US border quite near the very centre of the continent. Bitterly cold winters followed by comparatively hot summers place us in USDA zone 3. The very northern edge of zone 3.

My community is host to a government agriculture research station that used to play an active role in breeding fruit. As a matter of fact, many of the varieties grown in the region are Ag Canada releases from the Morden Research Station. The problem with these varieties is they were bred for dessert/cooking largely and I've found tannin very hard to come by. Many of them also tend to the acidic side. Government spending has since been reallocated to grain crops at the station. I don't even think an orchard remains.

Recently I discovered that the University of Saskatchewan (to the west and north of me by 8-9 hours - zone 2) has been breeding and testing apples varieties with cider production in mind. What I am finding from them is the best research information I have found for the cider apples on the prairies. I am certain it would be valuable for those in Wyoming/Idaho/Montana and certainly for those is North Dakota and northwest Minnesota as the climates there can be as extreme as ours.

Here are the links to the two pieces of the info I found the most informative (a large body of research was released last year). There is also a Facebook page, but I don't find it to be of much use to the cider apple enthusiast.

http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/apps/adf/ADFAdminReport/20100079.pdf

http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/cider_processing.pdf

Interesting slideshow

http://www.usask.ca/soilsncrops/conference-proceedings/2014 pdf/day-2-presentations/04-sawatzky.pdf

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/uofsfruitprogram
 
It's been a year of inactivity on this thread. It's still a topic I think about and research a lot. I recently ran across some good information and will share it for the benefit of those living on the prairies where extreme climate dictates that some excellent traditional cider varieties cannot be grown. I live 14 miles north of the Canada/US border quite near the very centre of the continent. Bitterly cold winters followed by comparatively hot summers place us in USDA zone 3. The very northern edge of zone 3.

My community is host to a government agriculture research station that used to play an active role in breeding fruit. As a matter of fact, many of the varieties grown in the region are Ag Canada releases from the Morden Research Station. The problem with these varieties is they were bred for dessert/cooking largely and I've found tannin very hard to come by. Many of them also tend to the acidic side. Government spending has since been reallocated to grain crops at the station. I don't even think an orchard remains.

Recently I discovered that the University of Saskatchewan (to the west and north of me by 8-9 hours - zone 2) has been breeding and testing apples varieties with cider production in mind. What I am finding from them is the best research information I have found for the cider apples on the prairies. I am certain it would be valuable for those in Wyoming/Idaho/Montana and certainly for those is North Dakota and northwest Minnesota as the climates there can be as extreme as ours.

Here are the links to the two pieces of the info I found the most informative (a large body of research was released last year). There is also a Facebook page, but I don't find it to be of much use to the cider apple enthusiast.

http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/apps/adf/ADFAdminReport/20100079.pdf

http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/cider_processing.pdf

Interesting slideshow

http://www.usask.ca/soilsncrops/conference-proceedings/2014 pdf/day-2-presentations/04-sawatzky.pdf

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/uofsfruitprogram

Thanks chevalcider. I'm new to the world of Cider and am trying to find out if there is a community of Cider makers in Manitoba. I'm from Winnipeg, and so far I haven't found a lot of people who are into it. This information is super helpful, thanks!
 
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