Turns out the address they post is not where the store is exactly, and we actually parked outside the new place while walking around to find the old one. But eventually we got there and I grabbed up some more yeast, some more cleansing powder and a small bag of sugar. OH and a hydrometer. I needed a bit of a reference to see if I could safely ignore the lack of visible fermentation in TOB. Doyle thought it was a neat place and a primary fermentation bucket caught his fancy. I think the fact that it was labeled “the Ale Pail” might have had something to do with it.
We had a brief interlude to take JJ to her Reiki session and then went up to the Lehman Orchards in Niles. Turns out they are just up Portage …waaaay up Portage road but we found it. This time the car’s GPS was about 2 blocks off, but we drove up to the corner and back and found it on the other side of the hill. But then we saw a sign that said “closed except by appointment.” So we started to turn around but before I could complete my 3 corner turn a young farm hand came up and asked what we wanted. He went to get the boss and in a few minutes a lovely dear lady came out and took us to a small cooler where they had some cider and wine chilling. Between Doyle and I we got 6 bottles. They have apple crisp cider (Doyle’s favorite apple), and cherry cider (hmmn interesting) and blueberry cider (no thank you!) I ended up with 1 cherry and three apple crisps. I’m not sure of the combination Doyle ended up with its possible we got them mixed up upon delivery. The dear old lady who looked lost in the closet sized refrigerator asked if we wanted anything else, fudge or almond bark? Doyle took her up on the offer and we headed to the building next door. I put the cider in the trunk and the owner who I think said his name was Scott came over and she handed us off to him. We went inside what looked like a dairy barn from the outside and there we saw a dozen 55gallon drums with cider or wine perculating away in them. That made a heady scent I can tell you! Then he opens a door in the back wall and leads us thru a plastic curtain into a purpose built refrigerator big enough to fit 4 semi trailers in. there were crates and crates of apples stacked all around and a huge cooling unit in one wall. Amazing! I thought the first fridge was large, now I know what a porkchop feels like when you put it in the fridge. After some more chatting about apples and cider, and a peck of fuji apples for Doyle we stepped out. I noticed the owner put a few spare apples in for tasting :). We went out once more and he returned with almond bark with cranberries in it. We all shook hands and Scott invited me to check out the Grand Rapids international Cider fest this coming March. I’d already seen it on the website but I didn’t have any details from someone who had already been there. As we left he recommended going to the Wheatberry restaurant in Buchannon as they carry his cider on tap there. OOOooooo yeah!
Later that evening I had some of the apple crisp cider with a pizza and watched “A bit of fry and laurie” with JJ. It was good stuff, very smooth, low carbonation (not a bad thing in cider by the way) and at 6.5% alcohol I had to stop myself from drinking it and then immediately falling asleep.
But back to my cider. I had Doyle over to try the current batches and see if he thought they were worth saving or not. I prefaced that with letting him know I had already tried them with no ill effects, just in case.
“The cheap stuff” or TCS, had continued to ferment a bit in the bottle, it was not as sweet or as crisp as I found it just two days before. I think its on the verge of becoming vinegar. No big loss there, I have barely a quart and a half of the cheap stuff. It could benefit from more sugar and I think I’ll put some in that just to see if it will come around.
The cider designated “The October Batch” or TOB had some definite taste of alcohol, and still reminded me of pears. I used my newly purchased hydrometer on a sample and was sad to discover it was only 1% alchol. I’ve done everything I can think of, or everything people on the net have done to start that batch on its way to ciderdom. It just won’t take off. I put in half a cup of the sugar dissolved in water in hopes that it would perk up the next day but here it is Sunday and there’s only the tiniest amount of new yeasty foam on the surface. Most descriptions of the process indicate there should be a vigorous response in the first two days. I’m thinking I will call this one dead on arrival and maybe only keep a quart of this lot just in case a miracle happens in the jar.
My best guess is that the pastuerized cider from Martins is just not viable for yeast to grow in. Even after adding apple juice, and two strains of cider, and half a cup of sugar, there’s not much going on in that bottle. But if that’s the reason its not fermenting, then what’s the dealio with “The November Batch?”
Cause pasteurization isn’t the issue there. I personally poured that cider from the big vat of freshly pressed apples at the Country Mill in Charlotte. It wasn’t pasteurized at all. It is purely the juice from pressed apples. SO why is it acting exactly like the first batch? I thought it might be temperature, but according to the yeast packet, its comfort range is much wider than the temperature in this house. If anything its closer to the upper end. But here it is a week into the process and I’m seeing the same sort of sluggish activity that the first batch gave me. In fact I added a half cup of sugar to it yesterday while I was adding some to TOB, and this morning there’s no sign of life in that dark reddish container.
I think I need to go back to the web and do some more research, see if I should bottle it with a touch of sugar now, try more sugar, or pour the lot down the drain and start again with apple juice. If TCS hadn’t worked as advertised I would suspect it was something in this environment, and it just might be. The only concern I have in that area at the moment is I don’t really have someplace I can put the bottles that won’t reach freezing temps, or stay too warm and continue to ferment and possibly explode all over my closet.
Research continues….