Ornamental Crabapples
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Masbustelo
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Yes, they are good for a blend. And well worth experimenting with them alone. I would suggest skipping any Potassium upfront, and leaving them be after fermentation, they should do a spontaneous MLF. Let it sit for a year and you might have a very nice surprise.
chevalcider
Well-Known Member
Just picked about 14 gallons of them. I pressed around 4 gallons of juice and it tested to 1.070. I pitched S-04 on it and now am waiting. I'm hoping to blend it with the 24 other gallons I've pressed. Depending on the tannins in the other juice and this juice I might not have enough for blending on all batches.
I was a little humoured by all of the people who thought they were poisonous. I was also humoured by the number of people who stopped to ask what we were doing when I was picking on the boulevard.
How do they taste? I've never found an ornamental crabapple that was even close to edible, and haven't even tried to press them. But 1.070 means quite a lot of sugar!
chevalcider
Well-Known Member
I'd say they taste awful. I haven't blended any of it yet. I fermented separately and will blend at bottling after testing. The yield wasn't all that good and if I had had more freezer room I would have frozen the apples and then pressed after thawing (that's what you do, right?). 4 gallons of juice off of 14 gallons of apples. The juice has a sweet start and then finishes very bitter and leaves you with towel mouth. I have a good feeling about it as a blend. I fermented with S-04 and the pail stank like perpetual flatulence. That seems to be abating now that the ferment is done (I think - SG not tested, bubbles have just stopped).
I don't think I will try the ornamental crabs again though due to the tedious nature of picking them. They seem to need a good amount of effort to remove them from the tree.
LOL at perpetual flatulence. 
gregbathurst
Well-Known Member
Crab apples are meant to hold on tightly to their fruit, though there are some exceptions, because the fruit are part of the display. This can make them annoying for cidermaking, they don't pull of easily. I have a lot of crabapple trees but I only use the larger fruited ones for cider because picking the small fruit ones is just too much effort. Still, if that is all you have to add a bit of tannin, it might be worth it. It is also worth giving the cider some time to age because the tannins will soften a bit with time.
How are you preparing and pressing them? I have been picking these as well this year and yes, my refractometer puts them at 1075. However it's a LOT OF WORK
I can't begin to imagine how long it took to get 15 gallons. (3 Home Depot buckets I assume) worth of fruit and then even longer to prepare them
I have been washing them in cold water with a little star San and then going through and pulling off all the stems. Laborious
Then freezing
Then I thaw and put them into an Omega masticating juicer which works great but to get 4 gallons I'd have to spend 8 hours. How are you pressing them?
I can't begin to imagine how long it took to get 15 gallons. (3 Home Depot buckets I assume) worth of fruit and then even longer to prepare them
I have been washing them in cold water with a little star San and then going through and pulling off all the stems. Laborious
Then freezing
Then I thaw and put them into an Omega masticating juicer which works great but to get 4 gallons I'd have to spend 8 hours. How are you pressing them?
A few years ago there was a bumper crop in Fargo. I went around and picked a 6-gallon bucket full. I figured I would try it and only be out some yeast and sugar if it went south. It actually turned out very similar to the cider I make from juice. It had a lot of lees and I had to rack it several times, but not bad. I didn't bother juicing, I just froze them all, then thawed them and put them in a grain bag. Then I added water and sugar. I have no idea the OG or the FG, but it wine-level alcohol content. It was much better after 2 years.
