ATOT Lushes, tell me about cider

[Matthiasa]

As a Chef, it makes me totally crazy that the entire North American continent seems to think there's a law that says, thou shallt only eat turkey in November and December. Ham, other than on sandwiches, seems to have a similar law. 🙁

Turkey and ham tend to be way to much meat if only serving for a few people.
Unless one is okay with eating the leftovers for a week or more... then go ahead.

Small cuts of turkey are typically to close to chicken to matter taste wise.

That is all besides the fact that most people destroy the ham and turkey they cook.

Now what I could do with more of is the stuffing... the real homemade stuff not the garbage from a box, or stuff that uses way to much bread.

 

[preslove]

Strongbow is bottom of the barrel. They sell it by the two liter bottle in English grocery stores

I like pear ciders a lot.

 

[jagec]

See, that's just sad. There's a world of great foodstuffs out there and America only eats a handful. Goat, mutton, rabbit, pheasant, goose, bison, antelope and many others tasty critters are all but, unknown in the U.S. I think if we educated people to care about what they eat a little more, there'd be a much wider variety of foods available and less corporate control.

Like it, like it, way too gamey when I had it, haven't had it, been a long time, like it, haven't had it. I'll add a vote for agouti and a vote against guinea pig.

 

[Exterous]

Magner's is a classic, that's Bulmer's you lads across the way. I'm not a big fan of Woodchuck. I usually prefer the British or Irish ciders as they tend to be drier and crisper.

:thumbsup: The wife got hooked on Bulmer's when we were in Ireland. Very good cider and we find we can drink more than one or two should we want to (A lot of the others tend to be too sweet for us to do that)

 

[Lonyo]

Get some real cider.
Requirements include: Not sweet, has bits of apple still in it, not carbonated.

If you can see much light through the liquid, don't get it.

 

[alkemyst]

Why don't you geeks stick to Zima and your Boones?

 

[MrColin]

Why don't you geeks stick to Zima and your Boones?

No kidding^

Real cider is when you get fresh squeezed from the orchard and ferment it at home. All the commercial stuff is basically Kool-Aid + everclear.

 

[alkemyst]

No kidding^

Real cider is when you get fresh squeezed from the orchard and ferment it at home. All the commercial stuff is basically Kool-Aid + everclear.

men making this kind of stuff is only because basket weaving would be too obvious.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

3 weeks is just enough time. You'll need a 6 gallon glass carboy or food grade plastic bucket with lid, an airlock, 5 gallons of unfiltered cider like Trader Joes Gravenstein cider, some sweet mead yeast and, unfermentable sugar if you like it sweeter.

Sanitize carboy or bucket. Add cider and yeast. Stir vigorously. Put lid and airlock on. Keep from getting too hot or too cold and wait 2 weeks. Bottle or keg. You can filter if you want (I don't) and if you like it carbonated, add a cup of honey before you bottle or keg it. Wait one week more and enjoy!

 

[mmntech]

I think there's an old carboy in my parent's basement.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I think there's an old carboy in my parent's basement.

There you go! Not only will you have good cider, you'll be able to tell people, I made this.

 

[brianmanahan]

lol thanksgiving is not 3 weeks away

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

lol thanksgiving is not 3 weeks away

You're late to the party we already did this. OP is from Canuckistan so, yes, Thanksgiving is 3 weeks away.

 

[Fritzo]

Dunno how it compares to the rest, but I like Woodchuck ok. Cider is kind of like a wine cooler. The occasional one is ok, but too much is too much. It's just too sweet for me to drink a lot of.

You need to find yourself a local orchard that makes it under the table. We have a guy near us, and it tastes like a fresh apple with a beer chaser---really good.

 

[brianmanahan]

You're late to the party we already did this. OP is from Canuckistan so, yes, Thanksgiving is 3 weeks away.

how is that even legal? steal a holiday and change the date?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

how is that even legal? steal a holiday and change the date?

I know it seems odd but, apparently Americans didn't invent everything. 😉

 

[mmntech]

There you go! Not only will you have good cider, you'll be able to tell people, I made this.

Argh, they must have thrown it out. Surely there must be some local place that sells it as Fritzo suggested. :hmm:

Yep, there is. Not too far from me. Good excuse for a road trip next weekend.
http://www.spirittreecider.com/

how is that even legal? steal a holiday and change the date?

ACTUALLY, we came up with it first. American Thanksgiving is too close to Christmas anyway. I need two months to recover before me crappy family visits again. 😛

The origin of the first Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to the explorer Martin Frobisher who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher's Thanksgiving celebration was not for harvest but was in thanks for surviving the long journey from England through the perils of storms and icebergs. In 1578, on his third and final voyage to these regions, Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Frobisher Bay in Baffin Island (present-day Nunavut) to give thanks to God and in a service ministered by the preacher Robert Wolfall they celebrated Communion — the first-ever service in these regions.[4] Years later, the tradition of a feast would continue as more settlers began to arrive in the Canadian colonies.

The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving can also be traced to the French settlers who came to New France with explorer Samuel de Champlain in the early 17th century, who also took to celebrating their successful harvests. The French settlers in the area typically had feasts at the end of the harvest season and continued throughout the winter season, even sharing their food with the indigenous peoples of the area.[6] Champlain had also proposed for the creation of the Order of Good Cheer in 1606.

In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is commonly traced to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. In later years, the tradition was continued by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford who planned a thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623.[8][9][10] While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving#In_Canada

 

[DrPizza]

Why don't you geeks stick to Zima and your Boones?

men making this kind of stuff is only because basket weaving would be too obvious.

Mich Ultra or another light beer exclusively.

My beer of choice is Mich Ultra.

Considering the latter two quotes, I don't think your first two quotes carry any weight whatsoever.

 

[mmntech]

^^ And the resident apple expert has entered the thread. 🙂

 

[DrPizza]

mmntech - nope, not an expert; I just have a near unlimited supply of free apples.

Magnus, what makes a better alcoholic cider, sweeter raw cider, or less sweet raw cider? I was considering making some this year (and it appears, only have less sweet apples available (for free) - I would have to buy a couple bushels of sweet apples to make 6 gallons of sweeter cider. Very warm spring led to early blooms on most of the apple trees, which with a couple consecutive nights of frost at the end of the normal frost season, wiped out most of the apple crop. I just went for a walk yesterday; I found only 1 tree loaded with sweet apples (tasted like 2/3 pear, 1/3 apple; awesome flavor), and maybe 15-20 trees with far less sweet apples on them (in the closer orchard; they might get sweeter once we get a frost.) Last year, I had hundreds of available apple trees that were loaded with apples.

 

[preslove]

mmntech - nope, not an expert; I just have a near unlimited supply of free apples.

Magnus, what makes a better alcoholic cider, sweeter raw cider, or less sweet raw cider? I was considering making some this year (and it appears, only have less sweet apples available (for free) - I would have to buy a couple bushels of sweet apples to make 6 gallons of sweeter cider. Very warm spring led to early blooms on most of the apple trees, which with a couple consecutive nights of frost at the end of the normal frost season, wiped out most of the apple crop. I just went for a walk yesterday; I found only 1 tree loaded with sweet apples (tasted like 2/3 pear, 1/3 apple; awesome flavor), and maybe 15-20 trees with far less sweet apples on them (in the closer orchard; they might get sweeter once we get a frost.) Last year, I had hundreds of available apple trees that were loaded with apples.

Make it with the unsweet apples. I'm sure you're aware that early American apples a la Johny Appleseed were almost all unsweet and were intended for cider. Hard apple cider was a sort of national drink in 19th century America. I believe it was the most popular fermented beverage in the US before beer took over.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

mmntech - nope, not an expert; I just have a near unlimited supply of free apples.

Magnus, what makes a better alcoholic cider, sweeter raw cider, or less sweet raw cider? I was considering making some this year (and it appears, only have less sweet apples available (for free) - I would have to buy a couple bushels of sweet apples to make 6 gallons of sweeter cider. Very warm spring led to early blooms on most of the apple trees, which with a couple consecutive nights of frost at the end of the normal frost season, wiped out most of the apple crop. I just went for a walk yesterday; I found only 1 tree loaded with sweet apples (tasted like 2/3 pear, 1/3 apple; awesome flavor), and maybe 15-20 trees with far less sweet apples on them (in the closer orchard; they might get sweeter once we get a frost.) Last year, I had hundreds of available apple trees that were loaded with apples.

Most any apples work well although I like pipins and macintosh. The yeast you use is the main thing that determines the sweetness. The first batch I ever made used champagne yeast and it was so dry as to be all but undrinkable. You need a yeast that goes dormant quickly like the sweet mead yeast I mentioned before. You can also use lactose or any of the artificial sweeteners to adjust. Hard Cider isn't meant to be aged and you don't have to wait until the primary fermentation is complete either. I like mine straight and don't filter it. I think that helps the sweetness a little too.

 

[alkemyst]

Considering the latter two quotes, I don't think your first two quotes carry any weight whatsoever.

says the goat herder.

 

[CallMeJoe]

...I've often wondered why poor city people don't invest in an airgun. Pigeon would be tasty, free, and plentiful. A good way of supplementing the store bought groceries.

Would you want to eat something that had been living off street scraps in New York or Chicago?

 

[xSauronx]

There you go! Not only will you have good cider, you'll be able to tell people, I made this.

i am making my own honey meade now...its stupid easy, and almost nobody has ever had meade. im seeing more of it in specialty shops now, but the selections and distribution is still pretty limited

i was making beer but...it can be a fair bit of work to really get into it, and i can get hundreds of great beers without much trouble. its hard to find honey meade, and meade is easy to make

See, that's just sad. There's a world of great foodstuffs out there and America only eats a handful. Goat, mutton, rabbit, pheasant, goose, bison, antelope and many others tasty critters are all but, unknown in the U.S. I think if we educated people to care about what they eat a little more, there'd be a much wider variety of foods available and less corporate control.

some friends and i are trying to get some antelope for our new years vacation, we're told its good. i keep trying to get them to find some rabbit somewhere. we do lamb now and again, but never mutton, which i would gladly try, as well as rabbit. my sis got a pet bunny for her kids and every time i visit them i tell them it looks delicious