Cider Free or Die

It looks like finally getting around to joining the BrewFree or Die homebrew club came at the right time. Group buying is one facet to homebrew and winemaking clubs, and when it works, it works really well.

Not long after joining the club I got a note through the club listerv about a group purchase of cider from Sunnycrest Farms in Londonderry. At the price we were quoted for the expected volume we would buy as a group, which ended up being 175 gallons, I calculated that I could buy four buckets for the price of three based on the price I paid in 2009. More liquid gold for the same money? Sign me up!

The day to pickup the cider came and club members from all over the southern tier of NH converged on Londonderry and stood around a raised tote filling buckets for several hours. There was much talk about people’s fermentation plans, what yeast, types of added sugar, do you sulfite or not, etc, etc, and there was plenty of laughter.

There was a healthy mix of experienced cider makers as well as folks trying their hand at it for the first time.With plenty of knowledge to be shared amongst those assembled, there clearly will be much anticipation built up as we all wait to share our creations with fellow club members.

The cider was pouring at about 46 degrees, which is too cold to start with so at a minimum letting it come up to room temperature before pitching any yeast would be expected. The gravity of the raw cider was 1.046 at 46 degrees and the pH was 3.5. 

I also sulfite my sweet cider before using it to ensure nothing unwanted gets a chance to grow. A little pectic enzyme will also go a long way to help foster clearing later in the process. A good stir ensured decent aeration and with that my four buckets of cider would sit for 36 hours before any more attention was required.

As many of the followers of my wine, beer and cider projects have become accustomed, the story always gets more interesting from here. Fermenting four buckets of cider as is would produce a pleasant result, but it isn’t interesting enough for me at this point. So what did I do?

I always add more sugar, acid blend and grape tannin to my ciders. The outcome is much more like an apple wine, but don’t tell my guy friends who love the stuff. They might stop drinking it!

One bucket saw an addition of a gallon of B grade maple syrup and is fermenting with Trappist Ale yeast. Sounds crazy, but in reality I stole the idea from Crispin Cider after sampling a cider of theirs made using similar ingredients.

Another bucket had eight pounds of honey and four cinnamon sticks added to it. It is being fermented with a Sweet Mead yeast. My first cyser.

The two remaining buckets had their gravity increased with white sugar and are fermenting with traditional cider yeast. One will be made still and the other will be sparkling.

Fermentation is winding down for all four batches, but there is much more waiting ahead. Clarification of cider is a notoriously lengthy process, but I still have some from 2009 to drink so I can be patient!

Reports from other club members run the gamut from similar applications of maple syrup, honey, white sugar to brown sugar, amber brewing candy and all sorts of yeast types. The party we are going to have when everyone shows up with cider is going to be epic!

Cheers!

Jason

Spring Comes Alive at Dutton’s

Luck smiled on us last weekend while we were at the house in VT. Early spring weather can be iffy up there, but not on this visit! Saturday brought a warm sunny day, good enough for a leisurely walk and a visit to the local farmstand.

We’ve written about Dutton’s several times before. It is the go to place for fresh produce and fresh baked snacks on the way up or way home from VT. Once you get hooked on stopping at Dutton’s you find yourself planning to be there every time you are in the area.

This time of year is sugaring (maple syrup) season in northern New England. They were between batches at the Dutton’s sugar house, and with the cleaning going on I tried to stay out of the way. I did snap a few pictures that get you thinking in the right direction.

( Grade examples. I am a dark amber guy. )

( Read and waiting! )

( This is the tail end of the last batch, it gets filtered to remove the crystals before bottling. )

All the animals were showing the humans how smart they are by getting out and enjoying the sun. The geese were doing quite a bit of posturing since they had recently hatched goslings. They weren’t too jazzed about the tall guy with the camera. The goats on the other hand couldn’t have cared less that we were lurking about. They were sitting in the sun, cleaning and chewing their cuds. Nice life! The donkey was the star of the show for us though. She was reported to be very shy and didn’t typically let people pet her. I guess she sensed we were good, loving, animal people. She came right up the fence and loved it when Margot scratched her neck. She was so cute!

( Geese can be nasty so I didn't push it. There is a fence in front of me that was cropped out! )

( We all want this life! )

( I wish she could talk. I'm sure the conversation would have been fun! )

Inside we found legions of maple syrup jugs filled and ready to take home. We are almost out of real syrup so we picked up a quart. We also noticed something that we thought for sure was new, but we found out we just hadn’t ever paid close enough attention for. Imported olive oil and 12 year aged balsamic vinegar! The bottles available are refillable and after a taste of the vinegar we were sure we were going to take some of that home. It reminded me of the balsamic vinegars I tasted at Salumeria Italiana in Boston. So rich and thick! They were out of oil but told us to call ahead when we were in the area next and if they have some they will set it aside for us. Will do.

( Ariston's Refill & Save Program for small retailers. Pretty cool! )

One of the things I was on the hunt for was honey. I made mead one time back in 2008 and have been itching to try it again. Using a local honey makes sense for me for a couple of reasons. Generally the local small producers make a pure natural honey with minimal processing and filtering. That purity comes through in the artisanal products I make. Secondly the price is based on limited transportation and that limited transport lowers the environmental footprint. I was in luck to come across three 3 lb containers of pure honey from Young’s Bee Farm in Wardsboro, VT, only about 10-15 minutes from our house. That will be enough honey for me to make a 3 gallon batch of mead, which will be flavored with Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla beans and orange extract, a creamsicle of sorts.

( You will soon be mead for later summer drinking! )

Margot picked a blueberry muffin for a snack and we were on our way. I left with such happiness about spring having finally arrived. When we arrived back at the house we went for a walk and then sat out on the deck in the sun for a couple of hours!

Cheers!
 
Jason

Harvest Apple Pancakes

Ahhhh, Sunday morning pancakes. I have become known for this occasion over time. Whether they are at home for just the two of us, served to overnight guests or with family and friends up in VT you can usually expect me to make pancakes on Sunday morning. And they are never just plain old pancakes!

A few weeks back a posted the recipe for Candied Bacon Mancakes and got a lot of humorous and curious feedback. This morning as I kicked around recipe ideas I went back to using beer in the pancakes, but what kind, and what other flavors should I add to them? I came up with Harvest Apple pancakes.

Harvest Apple Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick Lite
2 eggs
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp dark maple syrup
1 bottle Sam Adams Oktoberfest
1 large apple

Mix all ingredients except the apple, and only as much of the beer to get the right texture, together and set aside for 10 minutes. Peel and chop the apple into small bites. Incorporate into the batter.

Portion the pancakes on to a hot greased griddle in 1/3 cup-fulls. Cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

( Look at the piece of apple snugly nestled in there! )

The hints of spice and maple flavors with the slightly crunchy apple reminded me of pie in the autumn in New England. The malty, harvest essences to the beer provided just enough of a foundation, but didn’t make them taste of beer.

Cheers!

Jason