Good cider will improve with keeping but poor cider wont.
Unlike good wine, that will continue to improve with age, cider will reach a point where it starts to taste off. The longest that I've kept cider is two years and I wouldn't want to keep it much longer than that.
When you see cider advertised as being 'vintage' then it must be a minimum of twelve months old to qualify for the title.
The cider that I'm making now will go on sale to the public next summer. It will be perfectly drinkable before then, its just a matter of taste it and see. I'll be selling mine next summer to coincide with the abundance of holiday makers.
My cider is matured in oak barrels. Some cider connoisseurs reckon they can detect an undesirable taste in cider that has been stored in plastic. My cider is fermented in the 220 litre blue plastic barrels but as soon as fermentation is over, its pumped directly into oak.
Lorrainelovesplants
Joined: 13 Oct 2006 Posts: 6521 Location: Dordogne
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 15 5:07 pm Post subject:
WhoopS It was 2-3 months! Forgot to sepll check for the dash!
Lorrainelovesplants
Joined: 13 Oct 2006 Posts: 6521 Location: Dordogne
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 15 5:09 pm Post subject:
Ive just done 2 1000L IBC's - its a big risk, but Im running out of room for small barrels and the pub want their cider to be consistent, so giving it a go. Cant be that different - the process is the same...
Doing small bespoke batches for special occassions - champagne cider for weddings, a batch for the rugby colts etc.
The risks with an IBC is just the same as in smaller barrels but a heck of a lot more to pour down the grid if things go square shaped . Its a big loss for the small producer if it does. Fingers crossed.
Thought it might of been a typo, given the very precise number of months, and from what I've read (here and elsewhere) cider making is far from precise
Quote:
2 1000L IBC's
Blimey that's a lot. How many tonnes of apples does that take to make?
A ton of apples will make round about 750 litres of juice.
perlogalism
Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 440 Location: Near Welshpool
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 15 3:39 pm Post subject:
I had a go at my first lot last year and did use SO2 along with pectolase and yeast nutrient. There's a lot of overly scientific (IMHO) stuff out there - I just went with what felt right.
The only thing I did which is different to what's been suggested is that once I'd siphoned the brew off the lees after the initial fermentation, I left it for ~ 4 more months before bottling it. There was something about a late malo-lactic fermentation (??) that I read.... Anyway, it turned out far better than I ever imagined: smooth as silk, goes down like milk but a pint of it and I'm slurring my words!
Currently have 10 gallons bubbling but there's plenty more apples on the trees and not much else on this week-end.....
the first rack avoids the cellulose in the pulp being fermented as the soluble sugars are finished off as well as the taint taste from dead yeasts etc
imho a good apple mix is drinkable at that stage but a further time and a second drop of the solids until the cider is clear is rather nice
re the oak barrel maturing which is ok if you have the volume,space and barrels on a small scale one can add a bit of strong tea to the juice to provide tannins which chelate some of the malic acid .
i have been playing with tea in fruit wines recently and it is rather effective .
ps re pectinase ,nowt wrong with cloudy but many folk think cloudy is wrong
Westons do OK with their Cloudy Rosy but they changed the recipe about five or six years ago and now its far too sweet for my taste. Its like drinking thin syrup.
perlogalism
Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 440 Location: Near Welshpool
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 15 5:56 pm Post subject:
I agree, there's nothing wrong with cloudy but all other things being equal, I prefer a clearer drink. Each to their own eh
Lorrainelovesplants
Joined: 13 Oct 2006 Posts: 6521 Location: Dordogne
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 15 7:29 am Post subject:
Thats the joy of it - I think - we all like something different.
Even in my house - I like med dry still, Kie likes med dry sparkling and John likes anything, but a bit sweeter.
The thing I like is that every barrel will come out slightly different - either because of the mix of apples or just because some apples are sweeter than others.
For example I have a batch that is predominantly bittersweets (Dabinett & Ashton bittersweets) - so will be nicely tanninned , another has a lot of soft tannins with Sweet Alford, but spicy, nutty notes with russets, and yet another has the aromatic Queenie alongside some Cornish cider apples - fruity but complex (a bit like wine).
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