Crab Apples...Cider?

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Oggy' Bar
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Crab Apples...Cider?

Post by Oggy' Bar » Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:48 pm

My crab apple tree always has more fruit than any of my apple trees and every year they just rot into the ground..Can they be used for making cider? and if so what proportion would you recommend. I like my Cider relatively dry...But not dry enough to make me look like the runner up in a gurning contest.

GTOrichie

Post by GTOrichie » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:08 pm

If I recall correctly the sweeter the juice the dryer the cider, I have read about crab apples being used to make up some of the juice if desert apples are used to compensate for the lack of cider apples. After a quick goggle search for "Crabapple Cider" I found a few links from people who have made it with pure crabapple juice and had no problems with not a bad finish, at the end of the day give it a go and if it tastes great do it again if it tastes crap don't lol that's how I make cider and have never had any true disasters just a few harsh brews when we made TC for a laugh.

charlie
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Post by charlie » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:50 pm

If you can't get proper cider apples you can add a few crabs to up the tannin and make it taste more like proper cider.
That's what I read anyway.
I don't have access to crabs and the local apples have always been too tart making drinking my cider a bit of a chore.

As far as I know all the sugar in apples is converted so any fully fermented cider is dry unless fiddled about with.
Brewing in the badlands between Arnside and Milnthorpe.
Cumbria

charlie
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Post by charlie » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:56 pm

Forgot to mention.
I made my own press if you want to borrow it, you'll have to come and get it but you live close enough.
Brewing in the badlands between Arnside and Milnthorpe.
Cumbria

Duffbeer

Post by Duffbeer » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:51 pm

You could try making wine, a blend of crab, cookers and eating apples make a terrific wine :wink:

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Stonechat
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Post by Stonechat » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:58 am

FWIW I came across this in an article about home-made cider. The ideal proportion is 4 parts cooking apples, 2 parts eating apples and 1 part hard pears or crab apples.

Apparently you'll need 20lbs of fruit for each gallon of cider.

From what I've read and heard and from a small trial I did myself of a couple of gallons it's hard work. The easiest bet is to find a local home-made cider buff and swop his/her cider with some of your excellent beer and crab apples.

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