The HONEYCRISP

I'm fortunate enough to live in a part of the world where honeycrisps grow very well. They command a very high price and most orchardists wouldn't consider making cider out of them, given the profits made from selling them as is.
Here is where I come in.
We pressed our second large batch last night and this time used honeycrisps. 18 gallon yield from the 'Spikehorn' press (fitted with a new 20 ton bottle jack!).
Does anyone have any experience with making cider from honeycrisps? IN the end, all will be blended but I'm mostly concerned with yeasts types used and how the final product turned out

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Pressin'!

Man, I love honey crisps. They are more expensive than other apples, but they have a super taste and a great snap in the bite.

I don't make cider, sorry.

Pretty much any commercial yeast will do.

While I have no experience with honeycrisp cider, I've eaten a few and been unimpressed with the body. Sure, it's a great sweet apple with firm texture but lacking in complexity or aroma imo. It might be a good candidate for freezing and using post fermentation as a back-sweetener though.

Thank you LeBreton.
It wasn't in the original books to use honeycrisps actually but we found a good source and ended up getting a hell of a deal. I plan (i'm very new however) to use it as a sweeter blend while pairing it with Nova Macs, Tangowines (locally developed variety) and golden russets. No idea how this will turn out!

Good deals should never be overlooked no matter the variety!

Blending with those other varieties should make a pretty good base juice, Golden Russets are great cider apples & Nova Macs should bring light aroma as well. Should be a solid cider, although slightly lacking in base apple acidity. You may want to consider adding some tart varieties if it is convenient or adding malic acid post-fermentation to help liven up the character.

I'll have to keep an eye out for that Tangowine, looks interesting.

Thanks again Lebreton!
The honeycrisps were a steal considering their price in the local markets.
I appreciate you're in NY and in a different zone than us (Eastern Canada) but can you recommend a good tart apple this late in the season? Or is it just the same or better to add the malic acid?

Thanks!

Erik

I'd rather add apple than malic unless going for a specific single apple varietal. Probably the most easily located is the Granny Smith, but any apples with 'cooking', or 'culinary' in the description should yield a good dose of acidity.

A good research database is http://www.orangepippin.com/apples

So how did the Honey Crisp cider come out? Thinking about buying some HC fresh pressed juice for cider; also not sure what to blend with them. Any input or experiences appreciated. Thanks.

Montrachet all the way red star Montrachet

Any of you guys have a scion source for Tangowine, cant seem to find anyone who sells them. We have a very nice acidic crab with lots of tannin and can get very sweet, a great addition to add acid and tannin when we make cider. WVMJ

Honey crisp is a terrible cider apple itself. Very juicy and crisp but does not have a the flavors all there. It will taste like apple juice and not cider.

I always mix at least five apples for the cider.

A good late tart apple would be Winesap and Arkansas black.

Sorry for the late response,this past fall I purchased 4-5gal pails of honey crisps. Made a variation of New England Hard Cider. 2 gal of sweetcider and 2lbs of dark brown sugar and 1 packet of champagne yeast.Getting ready to bottle it tomorrow. Best part of this 10.00dollars and it yielded apx 4gal of sweet cider. Will let you know how it turns out.

I back sweeten with honey crisp juice. Nothing better in my opinion.

Good cider yeast is Danstar Nottingham. At least that's what was recommended in the "caramel apple cider" thread.

I bought 5 gallons of 100% unfiltered honeycrisp cider from trader joes. It tastes great.. I plan to make hard cider out of it. Has anyone else had any luck with it?

I find Honeycrisp apples to form a good solid base for a cider. Throw in some crabapples and McIntosh, and you're in pretty darn good shape. Cote des Blancs is the best yeast, Cote des Blancs. I'm playing with US-05 again, it makes a very good clean cider as well, and even more tart maybe but I'm not sure why.

Awesome. Thank you