Cider update, late fall

We've some catching up to do.

I promised in my previous cider update that we'd next talk about what I'll call the "regular" cider; i.e. the juice from what are technically crab apples because they're growing rogue in the suburban wild but look and taste pretty much like regular apples, as opposed to the small, puckery, dark pink crab apples.

So, in early September, we gleaned 191 pounds of various apples from public parking lots and easements. Using our Breville juicer, we juiced 147 pounds of these into fresh cider and mixed in three quarts of the pink crab apple cider we'd saved plus 6 cups of honey dissolved into 6 cups of water, to nearly fill two 5-gallon buckets. The remaining 44 pounds of apples became a little more than 2 gallons of fresh cider for the fridge.

After 1 week, we siphoned the fermenting cider into second buckets, leaving their sediment behind. They continued fermenting for another week, at which time we bottled the cider -- about 34 liters of it. Even though all 9 or so gallons came from one batch, each of the two separate 5-gallon buckets resulted in a slightly different fermentation, one slightly sweeter and less alcoholic than the other, although both have a mild flavor with a hint of honey. The hydrometer results for alcohol by volume were 6.2% and 5.5%

Just like the crab apple bottles, we let these sit out for a couple of days to recarbonate naturally, and then we cold crashed them all in the new used fridge we bought from some guy online.

Now, in late fall, we think the regular cider tastes even better having conditioned in the bottles for several weeks, and several of our family members and friends have enjoyed how easy it goes down. The tart crab apple cider is not for everyone, but good for lovers of sour farmhouse ales.

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