Sound Homebrew Supply often does a yearly sale of fresh-pressed cider for fermenting, but it’s typically a blend of eating or baking apples (e.g. Jonagold, Gravenstein, etc). Nothing wrong with that, but I’ve long wanted to try my hand at fermenting with true cider apples. This year, they (unfortunately, due to a cidery closure), got access to a couple of blends made true cider apples, and put them up for sale. Impossible to resist, I decided to grab a few gallons and see what came of it.
Of the two blends, I opted for the Sophia blend, which is:
| Apple | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Frequin Rouge (bittersweet) | 25% |
| Reine des Pommes (bittersweet) | 25% |
| Wickson (sharp/crab) | 25% |
| Geevenston Fanny (heirloom sharp) | 25% |
Here are descriptions of the individual apples, provided by SHS:
Frequin Rouge Complex aromas of cloves and nutmeg, mixed with smokiness and musky leather. A bittersweet cider apple from Normandy, favored for making a high quality cider
Reine des Pommes Very fragrant, somewhat tannic, astringent and very sweet. A full bittersweet cider apple. Probably originated in northern Brittany, before 1900. Still known in Mayenne and surrounding areas. Also called Doux Geslin.
Wickson Crisp, juicy, tart, tangy and spicy. Extremely high in both sugar and acid. Sugar level of the juice is around 25%. One of the most intensely flavorful apples available. Becoming one of the most sought-after American cider apples, both for blending and as a single varietal. Small roundish bright red fruit, in September the tree looks like a mass of cherries. Bred and introduced by the generally unknown Albert Etter, one of America’s most innovative and important fruit breeders of the 20th century.
Geeveston Fanny Mild sweet flavor, widely used for blending, lending aromas of pure apple. Australian heirloom dating back to 1870 & originally discovered in the small town of Geeveston, Tasmania.
I tasted a sample of the unfermented juice and it was very apple-y. Sweeter than I expected, very juicy, and a little vegetal/earthy. More like standard cider than I would have expected, but I imagine that fermentation will bring out a lot of the cider apple flavors as it dries out and the sweetness becomes less overwhelming.
I opted for Imperial Yeast A40 Bubbles, which is supposed to be clean and not obliterate the fruit flavors, an issue that seems to be common with a lot of the standard beer strains. I did not bother with a starter, just directly pitched the pouch into the 5 gallons of cider, and fermented at 64F. The first 2-3 days were somewhat sulfurous, but that seems to have gone away now (7 days later). Still actively bubbling. I expect we’ll probably be ready to keg in a week or two. My plan is to keg, force carbonate, and bottle a gallon of dry cider and backsweeten the remaining 4 gallons a bit in a seperate keg.
I will update this post with tasting notes when it’s ready!