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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
 Posted - 17/01/2006 : 12:29:06
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I'm not sure yet, Gents. I'll have to consult the Little Book of Cider (you know what I mean - cidermaking on a small scale or whatever it's called) and see. I think there's a table in there that shows you what you get from different OGs. Basically, I'm so chuffed we remembered to test the OG (we forgot altogether last year) that I'm just showing off
I hope you lads are still up for a taste-off. We'll be at the Big Apple again this year (as long as they let us!) Why not join us? It's possibly the most cidertastic weekend around......
(the Big Apple website has all the details) |
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Jungle Jim
HMZ God
Falkland Islands
1872 Posts |
Posted - 27/02/2006 : 21:07:06
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| Our's must be nearly ready now isn't it, or has the cold weather hampered the fermentation? |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 03/03/2006 : 20:02:12
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Taste it.  TASTE IT!! You know you want to. |
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Jungle Jim
HMZ God
Falkland Islands
1872 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2006 : 13:05:06
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| Al? Gents? How's it doing? |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2006 : 18:31:47
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One of the demi-johns has gone bad, the rest is tasting pretty good (we tried a very small bit when we racked off the other week). It needs to be bottled up soon, so we'll have to see when is a good time with Al for us to do that. Think it could be tricky drinking it all outdoors at a bar-b-que like we were planning in this weather, so we may have to see if we can get an indoor location if we all want to drink the juice together.
ZIDER |
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Al Caholic
Cider Bus Convert
Vatican City
145 Posts |
Posted - 14/03/2006 : 08:52:39
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The stuff outside is ok as far as I can see. One (or possibly two) of the demijohns indoors have developed a nasty looking white crust and a slight vinegary smell although the 5.5 gallon fermenter seems to be ok.
We ought to divvy the stuff up asap really as I can't see the weather being good enough for a BBQ any time soon
Al 
Zider I up barkeep! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 21/03/2006 : 15:13:51
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| Wouldn't worry too much about a bit of white stuff floating on the top. Just don't drink that bit. (That's what we do, and it hasn't killed us yet!) |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2006 : 12:13:43
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We are aiming to bottle up the stuff that was fermented in demi-johns and containers tomorrow, 12pm at Al's house. If any of you cider-makers wants to join us give me a call for details, although I expect most of you have football commitments so if you cant make it i'll take all the bottles to my house and you can come round and pick some up sometime. Sorry its short notice, it was just a good time when Al, myself and Lord Lucan could all make it, and we've left it quite a long time already.
We'll probably do a bit of a cider/ale crawl tomorrow afternoon too, and finish at the Louisiana to watch Treehouse if anyone wants to join us.
ZIDER |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2006 : 13:25:33
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| Not thinking of entering the Big Apple? (It's the May Bank Holiday weekend. Google "Marcher Apple Network Big Apple" for details). |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2006 : 14:11:12
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I would have liked to, I vowed that I'd at least go to it this year, but I don't think thats likely to happen now even. We haven't got much cider to spare either.
Will you be entering?
ZIDER |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2006 : 13:19:34
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| Mrs I and me sent our entries off this weekend. They were obviously scared of all the SE1 entries last year as they've started a "Novice" class for the first time this year:0) Looking forward to another weekend of cider antics in Ledbury. |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 20:20:48
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How did it go? Any success for the SE1 cider?
Im not convinced our cider is that strong, I had quite a bit the other day but it had no effect. Definitely not as lethal as the old HMZ. Tastes lovely tho.
ZIDER |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 17/05/2006 : 17:07:59
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We didn't get on too badly Gents. A mid-table position again, which was more than I thought we could expect.
It was (again) a fantastic weekend. We met quite a few cidermakers, and got plenty of helpful advice and some offers of the "if you want to come and help in the Autumn and you can take payment in juice" variety (which would be excellent imho)
We did a good orchard walk on the Sunday, and came home with 20 litres of Gregg's Pit perry (which was fantastic, and which won the overall perry prize.
Also met Peter Mitchell, who runs a variety of cider making courses in your neck of the woods (Dobinney Farm I think - you can google Mitchell Food & Drink for more details). He's the new chairman of the 3 Counties Cider and Perry Assoc'n. I was trying to tempt him into running a tasting/making course for us (me and Mrs Ivanhoe can't make any of the dates that he's running the courses this year, and would prefer to do one on a weekend, or in the Summer school holidays). We might end up getting him to do a date just for us, and would be interested in finding anyone else who wants to join in as it would keep costs down. Don't know if it interests any of you guys..... |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 18/05/2006 : 15:54:14
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Congratulations, very respectable position, although im amazed there are that many ciders that managed to get in ahead of you if your cider is as good as the stuff i tasted last year (and if they are that much better i'd very much like to taste them!).
I think this is Peter Mitchell's website: http://www.cider-academy.co.uk the courses look really good (Im gutted I missed the one called "Let's Taste Some Cider" yesterday, sounds like a good idea to me)... I would be interested in taking part in one, but im a bit concerned about the price as they all seem quite expensive, also most of them seem to be during the week and I don't have much holiday left. Any idea when you'll be doing the course if it goes ahead?
ZIDER |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 26/05/2006 : 12:39:32
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We've agreed to do Monday 14 August. It will be pricey, and I've asked Peter about whether we could split the costs if we get any more interest, and I should get a reply to that question soon. As it is, total cost for a day is £250 (including some EU grant that reduces the cost if we do it at Dobunni Farm, which is in your neck of the woods). We're splitting that between me and Mrs I at the moment, so we could split it between more of us (assuming Peter's OK with that), but it's still not cheap.
We're doing it as a sort of birthday present to ourselves, and we've been working so hard recently and spending no money that I'm justifying it that way.
I did also get hold of an interesting book by Peter called "From the orchard to the glass". It is used as a tuition book on some of his courses, and is really quite good on all sorts of cider info (including a lot on tasting and faults in cider). It was around £16 from Amazon, but takes ages to come so it might be quicker to try and get it direct from Peter.
Thanks for the compliments on our last year's cider. We'd better not give you any of this year's in case it's not as good (only joking. You're always welcome to drop by if you're passing through London. I have now started to work at a well-known London brewery, so you can always come down and do a tour if your tastes stretch to real ale.) |
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When are you making your cider this yr?
