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Cider Digest #0811
Subject: Cider Digest #811, 23 May 1999
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #811 23 May 1999
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
applejack (kathy/jim)
Don't want to reinvent the wheel ("Richard Weiss")
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Subject: applejack
From: kathy/jim <kbooth@scnc.waverly.k12.mi.us>
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 10:26:59 -0400
A question was raised about the difference hetween Apple cider and
Applejack. I quote from Cider; Sweet and Hard by Annie Proulx and Lew
Nichols, Garden way Publishing, originally pub. Storey Pub. 1980.
p. 141 Applejack
Applejack, or "cider oil," as it was once known, of varying strength
was made in the colder regions of Europe--the Isle of Jersey's product
being particularly noteworthy--but it really came into its own in
northern New England where severe and fluctuating winter temperatures
produced a stronger drink. The usual practice was to ferment a barrel
of cider to which sugar, maple syrup, raisins, or other
alcohol-strengthing sweeteners were added. This barrel was then placed
outside or in abarn during January andder's water content to freeze, or
fractionally crystallize. The ice, produced in increaseingly smaller
quantites, was then scooped off and discarded, or the liquid beneath
siphoned off into another container. As the weather got colder, the
separation between ice and alcoholic "oil" became greater, and cold
snaps, hitting lows of -30 F to -40 F , over a period of time, delivered
the strongest drink,. A temperature of 0 F to a 5 F will render
applejack of 7 to 10 % alcohol by volume, similar to strong hard cider,
while a period of -30F weather will transform normal fermented cider
into a 30 - 33% alcoholic "oil", somewhat like a dry cordial liqeur with
a 60 - 66 proof.
In the far north, little attention was paid to removing ice or
siphoning increasingly stronger oil into other containers. The barrel
was simply allowed to freeze, thaw, and refreeze until a core of
unfreezable liquor formed in the center. Known as the "frozen heart,,"
this core was tapped either by augar or a hot poker, and the alcohol
transferred to stone jugs or bottles.
The "kick" and subsequent hangovers from imbibing applejack in
somewhat less than judicious quantities is legendaryy, but given its
alcoholic strength-- less than the commonly abused 40%, or 80 proof,
rums vodkas and whiskeys-- it is now believed that aldehydes, esters,
and fusel oils contained in the liquor were the culprits responsible for
the tremulous "apply palsy" For unlike distillation by heat, in which
the rich deposits of aldehydes and esters found in the "heads," and
fusel oils found in the "tails," are removed by fractionization or
rectification, they are concentrated in fractionally crystallized cider
oil. The stronger the oil, the greater ohe mass of imperities by
volume. In this technique it's the discarded water and not the alcohol
that is purest.
and more.....wassail, jim booth, lansing, mi
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Subject: Don't want to reinvent the wheel
From: "Richard Weiss" <morgan@clis.com>
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 21:45:56 -0400
Hi,
I have gotten the urge to make a cherry cider....I have 8 gallons of
Louisburg cider and a can of Vinter's Harvest Cherry Fruit wine base (96
oz)....I want to make a sweet cider so I thought I'd use Cote De Blanc as
the yeast but after that I'm lost....Has anyone done this before?
I had planned to use the 96 oz can of cherry base and top up with 5 gallons
of cider, pitch the yeast and "let er rip" so to speak.... Then I thought it
would be better to get input from more knowledgeable people than me....any
suggestions would be greatly appreciated
These are some of the questions I had, but probably need to ask alot more
What ratio of base to cider should I use?
What is the best temp to ferment at?
Do I need to make acid adjustments?
Should I be looking for a certain pH?
Must I or should I sulfite?
What would be a typical Starting Gravity for something like this?
Is there a better yeast than Cote De Blanc that would give me a sweet
cider?
Should this ferment out in 30-45 days?
What would I expect to see as a Final Gravity?
I've brewed beer for several years but this is new to me and that's the
reason for all the questions.
Thanks in advance,
Dick Weiss
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End of Cider Digest #811
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