Time to Decant

Step 1 in Clarifying

Two weeks have passed and rather than take daily photos of bubbling cider fermenting, I thought we would allow it a little privacy to mature and tell you about the next steps we took toward clarifying the cider.

Two days ago, Bernie & Elaine came over to decant the 5 gallon carboy into a different, freshly sterilized carboy.  This allowed us to throw away the sediment which could lend bitter notes and unpleasantness to the cider (left carboy). 

After decanting the original carboy, we added 1/2 teaspoon/gallon (2.5 teaspoons) of pectinase to help the sediment drop.  We also topped off the carboy with fresh pressed cider that had been treated with a campden tablet.

Step 2 in Clarifying

Today (October 4) we decanted the carboy for a second time.  This is the carboy before its second decanting.  While it is a lovely color, it is still very sediment-heavy.

 So, we siphoned the cider into a clean carboy.

And waited for the second carboy to fill.

After decanting the cider, we decided to sweeten it with honey from Bernie's own carefully tended beehives (Pete's Mountain Honey).  We're aiming for our cider to be 4% sweetened by natural honey.

As we were adding the honey, the fermentation process went wild and bubbling in the airlock resumed at an even faster pace.  You can see the process starting with white frothy bubbles in the carboy below.

In retrospect, I wish I had waited a couple of weeks to make the cider, because today's freshly picked apples had a sweeter, juicier quality than just two weeks ago.

Esopus Spitzenberg

I'm with Thomas Jefferson.  This is one of my favorite fresh off the tree eating apples.  It is deliciously sweet with a nice hard flesh that is beautiful golden yellow inside.  We harvested some from the tree top today and they were sun-warmed and very sweet.

In my orchard, the pollinators for this apple are the Winter Banana and the Calville Blanc.

 

 

 

 

Golden Russet

Even sweeter this week, the Golden Russet is probably the most flavorful apple in our orchard.

Cider Apples

The Golden Russet

I didn't intend to buy the Golden Russet when I planned my cider orchard.  I was looking for historically significant, really special apples and this one just seemed...well, a little ordinary.  But I was persuaded by an apple connoisseur who said that the Golden Russet was quite possibly the greatest American cider apple.

I would have to say that deferring to the expert really paid off.  Of all the apples we pressed, this was the juiciest, hardiest, most disease-resistant apple in the orchard.  It produced a lovely tart & sweet juice.

Here's a review by a very serious apple lover:  Golden Russet Review.

What's a Russet?

See how this apple's skin looks a little brown...like a Russet potato some might say.  Russets sometimes have a brown, splotchy or leathery skin.  In Shakespeare's time, this type of apple was referred to as a "Leatherskin."  When you bite into a Russet apple, you'll hear a loud crack and experience a burst of flavor.  While not as picturesque as apples cultivated for today's aesthetics, this heirloom variety typically produces the highest sugar content and varied flavor profile.

The Golden Russet dates back to the 1700s from New York.

So while I may originally have thought this one to be ordinary, I couldn't have been more wrong.