Cider
This page is being actively written, please forgive incomplete information or errors
This page is about funky, sour, and spontaneously fermented ciders.
MTF threads that might be relevant to writing this article:
Contents
Introduction to Funky/Sour/Spontaneous Cider
(To do)
Talk about the introduction to fermenting cider with alternative microbes.
Malolactic Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a process through which malic acid is converted, by bacteria (expand on this), to lactic acid. This conversion is generally considered favorable as malic acid is a stronger acid than lactic acid (source needed).
Besides smoothing the acidity by chemically changing the acid molecular, MLF will create other compounds, notably it can produce diacetyl well above the taste threshold, as well as acetic acid and some esters.
Major Regions of Commercial Cider
(To do)
All regions produce cider both made spontaneously and with brewer's yeast only (as per Gareth Young). We are mainly interested in spontaneous fermentation producers and their procedures.
Southern England
Normandy
Asturias
Basque
Methods
Using Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces Cofermentation
(To do)
Talk about using Sacch and Brett co-pitched, and Sacch pitched in primary and Brett pitched in secondary.
100% Brettanomyces
(To do)
Talk about using only Brettanomyces to ferment cider.
- http://www.funkfactorygeuzeria.com/2013/05/cider-fermentation-panel-tasting.html?m=1
- http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=390117
Mixed Cultures with Lactic Acid Bacteria
(To do)
Talk about using mixed cultures with Sacch, Brett, and lactic acid bacteria.
Oenococcus oeni
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-89132013000500016
Spontaneous Fermentation
Spontaneous fermentation of apple juice to cider is very easy and can be done without any more effort than buying fresh pressed, unpasteurized, and untreated (raw) apple juice and then forgetting about it for a few weeks or even months. While not available everywhere, if you live in a region with apple orchards it is very easy to find in the fall. Usually sold directly by the orchards, or available at a cider mill, the fresh pressed juice will already contain all the microorganisms needed to ferment out the sugars.
In the US your fresh pressed juice will most likely come in a plastic milk jug style container. You have two options to ferment this juice:
- In the fridge - this will typically take longer than room temperature fermentation, and often results in a sweeter end product with a more pronounced apple flavor.
- At room temperature - this would proceed much like any normal fermentation, and due to the unknown nature of the microbes contained within, is likely to really dry out.
The cold fermentation option has some pitfalls, however, so your results may vary. Much like a lager, it is possible that you might need a diacetyl rest, requiring you to warm the cider up for a short period of time. This can kick off fermentation by microorganisms that were previously dormant, which is likely desired to reduce the diacetyl content anyway. The other major issue faced by cold fermented ciders is sulfur production. Due to the colder temperatures, the sulfur will off gas less, again requiring warming of the cider to encourage off gassing. If the cider tastes good otherwise, further fermentation can be halted with the use of sulfites. Adding more sulfur containing compounds to already sulfurous cider may not be the best decision, however, so you would have to balance the potential flavour contribution with stability of the cider.
Keeving
(To do)
http://www.cider.org.uk/keeving.html
Graff
(To do)
Should we discuss blending funky/sour beer and cider?