Does anyone have any views concerning the suitability of Clochard apples for cider making? Now that we have purchased a crusher and a press, this year we have started making cider again. Most of our apple trees are Clochard and whilst this variety is held in high regard as an eater, we have been able to find nothing concerning its use for cider production. In the absence of other input, we'll find out next spring as we've already pressed four batches - there is about 300 litres of apple juice fermenting in the old bake house - and we reckon on making somewhere in excess of 500 litres when all the apples are down.
Clochard apples for cider making
(7 posts) (2 voices)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Hi Pomme man,
Thanks very much for taking the time to let us know about the cider you have made, that's hopefully fermenting in the farm house right now!
This is the first time I have heard about this type of apple. I did a quick Google for you, and found that the "Reinette Clochard" is actually a Culinary/Dessert/Cider apple. So good news!
However, ciders are usually made of a blend of apples to give the correct palatablility of sugars, acids and tannins.
Did you taste the juice when you pressed it? As this can give a good idea of how the cider will taste.
Look forward to hearing from you. We'd love to have any photos of the production process, or indeed the orchards.. If you have any, please add them to the Real Cider flickr photo group http://www.flickr.com/groups/realcider, and they will magically appear in our Cider gallery pages!
All the best,
Jim C
Founder of the Real Cider community web sitePosted 2 years ago # -
Sorry, I should have said that it is a French apple which is native to western France (it's also known as the Reinette de Parthenay). In this region, it is generally used as an eating apple - hardly surprising as all the production of the region is dessert apples. Vast hectarages of orchards and no commercial cider production!
I appreciate that in an ideal world cider would be produced from a judicious blend of apples (although I believe that in the UK there are a number of single varietal ciders commercially available) but, as we did in the UK, we make cider from the apples of the trees we have - which is probably 70% plus Clochard . The juice - like the apple - is nectar like with a dry finish. The last pressing produced a brix reading of 16.3, which suggests great potential for this year's cider.
I'll post some images of our equipment as soon as I have time - but it won't include the petrol engined garden mulcher that is serving as our scratter! However I have to say that it is far more efficient and effective than the manual broyeur we used before and it gives us a far higher yield of juice per kg of apples - between 70 and 90 litres from each pressing.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Oh well, I don't know what I've done wrong - although I admit to being a technodunce! I signed up for Yahoo and Flickr, uploaded a series of photos and transferred those to the real Cider Group there. The photos are visible if I sign into Flickr but not if I view the group gallery otherwise and they have not transferred themselves to this site. It's probably something basic and stupid - so if anyone can tell me what it is and, more importantly, what I need to do to rectify the problem, I shall be very grateful!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi Pomme Man, I see that your photos are now in the real cider flickr group. Thanks for sharing and all the best with the cider making.. Keep in touch on here - Jim C
Posted 2 years ago # -
This week we racked off the cider that has been fermenting over the winter months. Fortunately we had enough cubitainers (32 litre bag in boxes, left over from our French wine purchases when we lived in the UK) to take the 450 litres of cider. It's not the world's best cider. The acidity level is insufficient. We really ought to blend the Clochard with the juice of cooking apples or, better still, proper bitter cider apples. But we've got to make do with what we have until we can find a source of other apples to improve the blend. But having consumed three pints of our own cider this evening, I think it fair to say that I've drunk worse and what we've produced will keep me happy until this year's cider is ready for drinking!
Posted 1 year ago # -
The cider produced from the second pressing of apples is much better than the first. The acidity level is better, although still it would have been improved by the addition by blending in an amount of more bitter apple juice. But putting aside that counsel of perfection, I can say that Clochard makes a good and significantly strong cider.
Posted 1 year ago #
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