Framboisement

[ithacabrewing]

I have been reading a copy of Sweet and Hard Cider by Annie Proulx and Lew Nichols and their is a quote in the book about second racking your hard cider during fermentation. It reads "Avoid racking the cider when the density of the must is between 1.025 and 1.035, for there is a risk then of framboisement. I looked all over to find out what framboisement is but could find no definitions of it. I assume that it means something along the lines of halting the cider and thus keeping it slightly sweet, but I could be totally wrong. Anyways if anyone knows what framboisement is or just what happens when you rerack between 1.025 and 1.035 I would be very interested in finding out! I must admit before reading this book I reracked two five gallon batches one at 1.03 and the other at 1.025. Hoping I didn't do something terribly wrong to them, their fermentation has certainly slowed considerably it has now been one and a half months and I checked the gravity today and the 1.03 batch is at 1.015 and the 1.025 is at 1.01. So it looks like their trucking along. Anyways I would love to get some imput on this matter! Also, I read in this same book for sparkling cider to prime the cider to a 1.01 gravity reading and so I wonder if it is safe to bottle the one at 1.01 in champagne bottles and just assume they will carbonate without the addition of any sugar or does that sound like too much priming sugar for a preferred sparkle?

 

[Beernik]

Framboise is french for raspberry. It probably means there's a risk of fruity ester off flavors.

 

[Beernik]

Okay, I googled around a bit.

I think what they are talking about is "cider sickness", where a secondary fermentationtakes place and spoils the flavor and clouds the cider.

 

[CandleWineProject]

I have been reading a copy of Sweet and Hard Cider by Annie Proulx and Lew Nichols and their is a quote in the book about second racking your hard cider during fermentation. It reads "Avoid racking the cider when the density of the must is between 1.025 and 1.035, for there is a risk then of framboisement. I looked all over to find out what framboisement is but could find no definitions of it.

Hmm, the index of the book says Framboise (cider sickness), 57-58, 82. You are refering to page 82. On the bottom of page 57:

"Cider sickness, la tourne, or framboise. An infamous cider problem. It occurs in low-acid ciders containing unfermented sugar, especially in warm weather. It is caused by an organism called Zymomonas mobilis, which produces acetaldehyde in cider. A heavy, milky turbidity or haziness, a horrible aroma of rotten lemons or banana skins, and sometimes a white foaming head are the symptoms, caused by the tannins uniting with the acetaldehyde. After four to twelve months, the dreadful odor and taste may disappear, but the tannins will be one, and the cider will be thin and insipid..."

Page 58 goes on to say that it doesn't live below pH of 3.7, and if caught early, it can be fixed by adding citric or malic acid, and add in some fresh yeast and nutrient "to compete with and vanquish the Z. mobilis by converting the sugars." It also says to store a sick cider below 50 degrees F when done fermenting.

 

[ithacabrewing]

Well thank you very much for being a more thorough reader than I am. I looked in the back and the front without thinking of referring to the beginning of the chapter to find definitions. That helps a lot. I don't think that either of my ciders took to that description although their is just a small amount of white head, not even enough to cover the top surface and they both look cloudy but a smell and taste test both seem to confirm that they do not have a rotten banana smell or a tannin taste. I'm going to keep my eye on both of them though. Thanks a lot CandleWineProject and Beernik!

 

[gregbathurst]

A google search shows that framboise is also a slang term for clitoris. Maybe it means the cider tastes of clitoris, which may be a good or a bad thing.

 

[corexcore]

Good thing.