Fresh Cider...blend it?

[JMan551]

I am about to venture into my first cider experience and I was able to get a hold of a very nice 4 apple blend of cider made specifically to turn into hard cider. This cider was pressed as part of a special promotional event at an apple orchard and giving to a few people who signed up for a hard cider class, so I may never get to have a juice like this again. I have a couple of recipes I want to make and would like to create both of them with this blend. So here is the mighty question(s)...

Split the batch and only make 2.5 gallons of each?
Split the batch and top each one off to 5 gallons using good quality store bought juice
Just make one using all 5 gallons, and create the other using 5 gallons of good quality store bought juice

Anyone have experience like this? One of the recipes will be a variation of Edworts Apfelwien and the other a smaller cider.

Thanks
JER

 

[modF]

My natural inclination is to experiment with things, so if I had two recipes I wanted to try, I might opt to do 2.5 gallons of each, assuming they won't let you buy more the day of.. Of course space is always an issue so I might just do one 5 gallon batch too.

 

[ryane]

what is the blend made from? and what are the percentages?

 

[frydogbrews]

in my experience, good quality store bought juice is pretty pointless. i have made cider from lots of different juices, and they're all fine, but none of those drinking juices make a really good cider because the balances are all wrong for cider. toss in a handful of crabapples and you can improve store bought juice quite a bit though.

i certainly wouldn't top up with store juice before you have tried that fresh stuff fermented to completion.

you're in washington, can't you get frsh cider from somewhere else also? lots of apples over there right?

 

[JMan551]

I cannot remember the apple varietals that were being pressed for cider, but they were chosen specifically so the people in the cider class could take home a very nice cider blend to ferment...read: The teacher and the apple farm collaborated so that we could use a nice layered cider. There were 4 varietals total. We looked at recipes that had a 70/20/10 mix, so I could assume the cider falls along those lines. The cider that is squeezed for resale is usually only of one variety.

As far as store bought juice here, I live in a community that supports agriculture very much. I can get local, fresh pressed cider at my grocery stores (same farm I received the original cider from). Unfortunately, as stated above, the cider is only one variety (it's the end of Honeycrisp and the beginning of Jonagold cider seasons). I live on the west side of the mountains, and although there are many apples available the vast majority of apples come from Wenatchee valley...about 3 hours away. It would be possible for me to visit about 3 different local farms and get fresh squeezed cider, but aside from Jonagold I am unsure of what other varieties are available. The problem there is there would be no other varietals added (crabs, or other non drinking type), thus still making a non layered cider.

frydogbrews...I do have access to some crabs, any advice on getting them into my juice without access to a press? Adding crabs could potentially solve my issue.

I really appreciate the feedback. I would really like to try and grab this cider making by the juevos. Living in such a fruit bearing state, I feel like I could really get a leg up on it!

Thank you,
JER

 

[frydogbrews]

frydogbrews...I do have access to some crabs, any advice on getting them into my juice without access to a press? Adding crabs could potentially solve my issue.

do you or anyone you know have a juicer?

you could just get a bunch, rough chop them with a few pulses in a food processor, then just squeeze them in cheesecloth. i've done this, and it works well, even though it is very loud in the processor! it really doesn't take much crabapple juice to seriously improve a cider.
a quart would lend a strong helping hand.

single varietal ciders can be accomplished with a very special apple. in england its the kingston black (i think) and around me the arkansas black makes a tasty single.

our orchards almost never press just one variety though because they have more then one ripe all the time, but then again, missouri apples don't get shipped all over the place like washington, so your orchards are probably much larger.

 

[JMan551]

I'll have to try the food processor and cheesecloth trick...good idea! I wonder if doing some sort of poaching would help get some juice out?

Our orchards are very large, but I'm pretty sure the large commercial juices/ciders that get made are made from multiple varieties, but probably only sweet varieties and no layers are added...acidic or tannic flavors.

I looked at the orchards web page, and I remember these two being mentioned as being added to the cider I have:
Belle de Boskoop: Harvested late October. Excellent cooker, the firm, crisp, creamy yellow flesh is rather acid and very aromatic. It keeps very well, and sweetens somewhat in storage.
Jonamac: Introduced in 1972 from New York. Parentage: Jonathan and McIntosh. Harvested mid to late September. Excellent for fresh use; good for salads and baking.
Honeycrisp: Introduced in 1960 from Minnesota. Parentage: Macoun and Honeygold. Harvested mid to late September. The Honeycrisp apple is continually ranking as one of the best apples in taste tests. It is a large fruit that is exceptionally crisp and juicy. It is a gourmet eating apple, with excellent storage capability under normal refrigeration. It also retains it white flesh color long after it has been cut. It is also good for baking.

As far as my plans go...I'm going to use all 5 gallons to create a 'Super Cider' and see what it's capable of. For my next cider, I'm going to do the best I can to get as many layers as I have available to me. I will really get to compare the two and learn how well a 'good' cider blend helps...and also how I can better blend my own ingredients to simulate a better original cider blend.

Thank you for the info and advice. Anybody have advice on a good hard cider recipe? The blend is going to be an apfelwein.

JER