On July 19, the day after my birthday, it was Ciderfest - a day when we tasted the 2013 cider for the first time, along with folk who had helped by donating apples or with the pressing. There were also some friends and family.
I'd tasted quite a lot of cider already, of course, and this year (my first attempt at making craft cider) I'd also kept the juice from different apples separate where possible to try to see what differences there were in the finished product.
It's fair to say that all the cider was rather too acidic, which is what you get when you use cooking apples. I didn't have any eaters, except a small number from the windmill (and they were a rather tart eater, it has to be said).
I tried two things to reduce the acidity. One was adding a culture of bacteria to prompt a malolactic fermentation in the cider. This converts malic acid into lactic acid and because lactic acid has a smoother taste, the cider should taste more mellow. I don't think mine achieved mellowness, but the malolactic culture certainly improved the taste. I think some of the bottles had a natural malolactic fermentation as well because some cider which previously tasted really sharp, actually seemed rather pleasant.
Anyway, I have learned a lot for 2014 (which doesn't mean the cider will be any better, just because I know what's wrong, doesn't mean I can fix it).
We polished off around 60 bottles of cider on the night and ate pork and apple casserole, followed by apple cake. There was also quorn curry for the veggies.
My cider was described as tasting like Champagne and also like Chablis. I don't know what type of champagne my friends have been drinking ...
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