![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
choco_froshSo this past weekend we went out to Bishop's Orchards, the Pick-Your-Own commercial empire that owns most of Guildford (CT, not surrey). We brought along neighbors Stephen and Miti, that latter of whom, being from Finland, has never done the pick-your-own apples thing. She's also afflicted with an odd allergy to raw fruit--but only after a few minutes after it's been picked. So she had her first ever fresh peach, and was literally in tears of joy at the experience. And watching her being like a little kid was highly entertaining to the rest of us.
Our primary purpose, however, was not merely to provide her with this important cultural experience, nor even to acquire vast quantities of Fresh Fruit, but to purchase four gallons of cider from the source.
You see, the great Adam Franklin-Lyons, he of the biking in sandles and shorts in november fame, left me his brewing equipment to babysit for the year. And now I am making hard cider.
Yesterday I went over to Bar, and obtained a mason jar full of still-fermenting yeast slurry from the bottom of the beer fermenter, courtesy of Big Geoff, the owner. It sat quietly (and fortunately without exploding) in the History Dept. fridge all day. Then I sterilized the fermenter (I think i still have iodine stains on my fingers), and Stephen came over to assist in the process of putting it all together.
"Does cider foam?" asked Stephen, all innocently. Most of his experience has been with mash for whiskey and rum (apparently home distilling is legal in BC); I've only done wine and beer from kits.
But I can now say with certainty that fermenting cider does foam. Especially when you add that much innoculant. Indeed, when Ii got up this morning the foam had forced its way through the bubble trap. I hastily removed, cleaned, and replaced said trap (and I only hope that I'm right in thinking that none of the explosively projected yeast foam got on the clothes in the closet...) As of press, it's bubling happily away, but I'm thinking that I'll have to replace it again this PM, and perhaps also start secondary fermentation sooner than I'd planned.
But mostly I'm grateful to Stephen for suggesting putting a rag under the fermenter. I would NOT want to have to clean leakage off the floor.
Our primary purpose, however, was not merely to provide her with this important cultural experience, nor even to acquire vast quantities of Fresh Fruit, but to purchase four gallons of cider from the source.
You see, the great Adam Franklin-Lyons, he of the biking in sandles and shorts in november fame, left me his brewing equipment to babysit for the year. And now I am making hard cider.
Yesterday I went over to Bar, and obtained a mason jar full of still-fermenting yeast slurry from the bottom of the beer fermenter, courtesy of Big Geoff, the owner. It sat quietly (and fortunately without exploding) in the History Dept. fridge all day. Then I sterilized the fermenter (I think i still have iodine stains on my fingers), and Stephen came over to assist in the process of putting it all together.
"Does cider foam?" asked Stephen, all innocently. Most of his experience has been with mash for whiskey and rum (apparently home distilling is legal in BC); I've only done wine and beer from kits.
But I can now say with certainty that fermenting cider does foam. Especially when you add that much innoculant. Indeed, when Ii got up this morning the foam had forced its way through the bubble trap. I hastily removed, cleaned, and replaced said trap (and I only hope that I'm right in thinking that none of the explosively projected yeast foam got on the clothes in the closet...) As of press, it's bubling happily away, but I'm thinking that I'll have to replace it again this PM, and perhaps also start secondary fermentation sooner than I'd planned.
But mostly I'm grateful to Stephen for suggesting putting a rag under the fermenter. I would NOT want to have to clean leakage off the floor.
