My 2017 Cider Thread

[Taff]

Thanks for sharing mate, I've enjoyed following your process.

 

[Deltabrew]

I bottled a DJ of 'au naturel' (nothing added or taken away - just let it ferment using the naturel yeasts) tonight and let myself have the last bottle which didn't quite make 500ml. Really nice. Very appley. Not tart. Something about the smell and taste which reminds me of 'Cider Barrel' iced lollies I used to have as a kid. I'm beginning to wonder if the 'au naturel' method is the way to go more so next autumn.

Anyway Happy Christmas and an excellent Cider making 2018 to anyone who's bothered to follow this thread!

What was the ABV % of your Naturel?

All the best to you too, i've enjoyed reading your thread :

 

[freester]

What was the ABV % of your Naturel?

Not rocket fuel. Somewhere around 5.5%. Had a good tasting session over Xmas and decided it was very good :whistle:

All the best to you too, i've enjoyed reading your thread :

Thank you! Starting to think about next year's plan!

 

[MattH1973]

merry christmas freester, and I am glad you are enjoying the fruits of your labours. We have used our weakest batch as a nice sparkling early evening drink and our various guests have said it is way nicer than any commercial cider they have tasted - thank you for all the stimulating discussion that has greatly helped my own production.

I will definitely do 5 litres of au naturel next year....

 

[freester]

Happy New Year MattH I know it goes quiet now but please pop back now and again and let us know how it all tastes in the spring!

 

[freester]

Just after Christmas I racked off my final fermentation bin. This was around 25 litres of Au Naturel. Disappointingly there is a distinct vinegary taint to this batch. It's drinkable but maybe it will taste better after a glass of the better stuff first!!! Disappointing but I guess that's the gamble you take when going a bit more natural in the cider making process.

I've managed to not touch any of the cider since Xmas. Looking forward to some warmer weather, outdoors barbecue and sharing the fruits of my labours with my friends and people who donated apples.

And start planning for this Autumn's campaign!!

 

[MattH1973]

hey Freester. So the au naturel that wasn't good was left in a bin for longer ? and the batch already bottled earlier was the one you enjoyed ? If yes I will do 5l of au naturel next year and, as is the case with all my cider, I will bottle it early due to oxidation and carbonation concerns. Maybe, just maybe, I will leave one or two demijohns in secondary until after Christmas as an experiment - let's wait and see how much juice we get next year.

I am going to feed my trees over the next couple of weeks - organic fish blood and bone is the one I have settled on. Let's hope this speeds up the new trees and helps the yield of the old ones.

The trees will be in blossom before we know it, and at that point I will be hoping we avoid any hard frosts. I suspect this is what reduced my yield in 2016.

On the point about leaving your cider alone, I unashamedly have not been. We've been enjoying a few bottles as an early evening drink most weekends. FWIW I haven't felt it has improved since December - but maybe I am just trying to justify my lack of patience.

 

[Deltabrew]

Oh that's a bit of a bugger, what do you think to the cause?

 

[freester]

So the au naturel that wasn't good was left in a bin for longer ? and the batch already bottled earlier was the one you enjoyed ?

Yes that's correct.

Oh that's a bit of a bugger, what do you think to the cause?

I have a few suspicions. This batch was in a fermenting bin and I left it quite a long time. I think most likely it got exposed to air at the top of the bin - quite a big surface area - with the garage warming / cooling a few times and fermenting bin lids not being the most airtight (even though airlocks were installed plenty of scope for air to escape around the lid).

This hasn't put me off. Although I think next year any au naturel attempts will be done in demi-johns or carboys - where the neck is narrower and surface area exposed to CO2 or the air will be minimised.

 

[MattH1973]

+1 on fermenting bins. One of mine didn't bubble at all last year - as so much was escaping via the lid seal.

regardless of whether cider is au naturel or not, my strategy is only to use fermenting bins for the primary fermentation over the first couple of weeks. SO much CO2 is being produced that I think the cider is protected. After that, I think it is safer to use a narrow neck DJ, brimmed to the top.

My 7% batch was primary fermented in a DJ for 3 weeks and then simply bottled. I need to sample some more but I don't see a downside to that strategy as things stand. the sediment isn't too bad as pectolase has been added - I find this makes the eventual pouring much easier.

 

[freester]

Yeh cheers Matt. I think the we're on the same page - the point I was trying to make is the Au Naturel process is a lot longer & slower. It's not a 2-3 week blitz like when you sulphite then add yeast, ferment then done, so there's a good CO2 layer on the top of the bin... The first DJ bubbled away for a good 6-8 weeks which is why I left the bin a similar length of time. But the process is less vigorous so you can't rely on the CO2 layer so much. So my plan for au naturel from now on will be to always do primary in a narrow necked vessel.

 

[MattH1973]

Of course - I was missing the bit about a slower fermentation. Thanks freester - we are in agreement !

I am already putting word around my local area that I will be scrumping apples this year ! Can't wait to see the blossom.....

 

[freester]

Well I decided it was time for a taste last night. I took a bottle from my least promising batch from the first press. My notes on the original juice before fermenting were 'quite tart'. This had sugar added at bottling (measured 1/2 tsp in 660ml bottle). Poured out very slightly sparkling (as was intended). Lovely and clear until the dregs of the bottle were drained.

Nice whiff of 'cider barrel' iced lolly (remember those?) before tasting. Very dry and quite sharp but not too acidic. One for the cider aficionado perhaps but I'm happy with it! Somewhere around 5.7%.

 

[freester]

I've spent a bit more time over the last month bottling (and tasting!) last year's efforts. It's all coming along nicely. I bottled the 23ish litres of Au Naturel into plastic mineral water bottles. It's not as bad as first expected. It's a bit rougher than the other stuff but drinkable. Sterilising / rinsing / filling / capping glass bottles is time consuming but the product looks nice! Bottling in cheap sparkling water bottles is a lot quicker! The process (apart from the drinking) is nearly over for this year. About 40l left to bottle.

 

[freester]

So probably my last post on this thread. The drinking / tasting is now well underway! Despite my previous reservations the big batch of 'au naturel' is fine. It's been bottled now and I've had a good sample! It's probably the best to taste (nice and appley not too tart around 6.5%) and nice to look at (a lot more deeper colour than some of my batches).

For me my first year (2016/7) was about producing something I could drink. This year (2017/8) was more about selecting apples and different yeasts / fermenting processes with a view to improving the product. Way too many variables to come up with some completely conclusive views but IMO:

Cider apples gave the best and strongest cider.
Au naturel gave the best from the cider apples.
Cider yeasts don't seem to make too much difference.
Don't drink it all at Xmas it all gets better in the spring.
The perry was very good even though I had to add sugar to get it up to >5%.

I'm starting to think about this Autumn (whilst not forgetting to enjoy the 'fruits' of my labour this summer). I've identified some excellent gardens with good cider apples. I will concentrate on harvesting from these orchards this year and probably plan to produce more Au Naturel. Probably more 50/50 naturel and with added yeast.

I'm hoping my mate may let me loose on his perry pears again this year!

 

[Jakeyboi]

Great read! I'm going to have cider campaign this autumn, but probably only 100l ish . Please prepare for an onslaught of questions from me in a few months .

 

[Peter Walker]

Thanks for this thread Freester - just doing some invaluable back reading before launching myself at this year's crop! looking at around 35L of cider and about 8L of Cyser (took about 100lbs of honey last weekend).

 

[freester]

Definitely my last post. I bottled the last 18L of my 2017 cider today. Into 14p Tesco sparkling water bottles. 4tsp of caster sugar and a pinch of yeast. These bottles are in the front room for a week or two carbonate...

 

[MattH1973]

bulk ageing for 1 year ! - great stuff freester - I guess I shouldnt worry so much about oxidisation.....

Definitely my last post. I bottled the last 18L of my 2017 cider today. Into 14p Tesco sparkling water bottles. 4tsp of caster sugar and a pinch of yeast. These bottles are in the front room for a week or two carbonate...