Damson cider

[Roy Bailey]

I have a good supply of damsons from this year's crop residing in the freezer, and am intending to use some of them to make a small batch of fruit-flavoured cider (for personal consumption only.) Can anyone advise as to the best proportion of fruit to juice, please?

We call them damsons, but they are probably purple bullaces - being round and about 1.5 to 2 cms in diameter - so there is a lower proportion of pulp to stone and skin than in a conventional damson.

Nevertheless, they make excellent jam and damson vodka!

Roy.

[James Benoit]

Roy,

I add 1 gallon of sugar-free cranberry juice to 5 gallons of cider (also for personal consumption), which provides a nice salmon color and a mild note of cranberry. I use sugar-free cranberry juice to avoid restarting fermentation.

Take care,

James

⚓

Sent from my iPhone

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[J.B.Worcester UK]

James - where can we buy sugar free/unsweetened cranberry juice at the right price?   Wassail   JB

[James Benoit]

JB,

Since I only add cranberry juice to a few of my batches, I just buy Ocean Spray 5 calorie Cranberry Juice from the local grocer.

Here's a link to what I use:  http://www.oceanspray.com/Products/Juices/By-Type/Diet/Diet-Cranberry-Juice-Drink.aspx

Of course, now that I realize it's called "Diet Cranberry Juice DRINK," it makes me wonder what else is in the ingredients.  I'll have to take a look next time I'm in the grocery store.

Take care,

James
jasbe...@aol.com

[Dirk Taal]

Coming back to the original subject: Damson Cider, most years I try to make  a mixture of Damson(crittenden’s mostly) juice,

pulp/mash and a high brix applejuice, following the procedure for cider.

The incomparable taste of damson , a mixture of tartiness not to be found in any other fruit  whereas sloe, like quince, has it’s own uniqueness in the taste spectrum, is certainly a drink of high esteem for me. 

And as with the making of cider, for me, patience is the most important ingredient.

For the damson cider in most cases is consumed long before it got to it’s optimum.

In the case of bullace(white), of which even now there are still  some mega tart ones hanging in a north side shrub, I found that the micro climate is of  such importance, as of the same variety I had orange, ripe berries with enough sugars to balance the tart  freshly consumed of the tree, on a south side spot in september.

 

Dirk

[Handmade Cider]

Roy,

several years ago I made a small batch of Sloe cider which went down a storm. For this I used about 200g of sloes per litre of apple juice, pulp fermented the sloes in the juice for 3 or 4 days after having added pectic enzyme at the start as well as 71B yeast. Due to the acidity in the sloes I used pure sweet apple juice but as damson are generally lower acidity that sloes this and the use of 71B, which reduces acidity, may not be necessary. The volume of sloes was adequate to impart the flavour I wanted. Given that Damsons are lower tannin than the sloe, but there is a greater proportion of flesh than stone, I would hazard that the same volume would do it.

Denis

Denis France   www.handmadecider.co.uk   07590 264804  Company. No. 07241330

White Label – Champion Farmhouse Cider, Bath & West Show 2015.

Spring Surprise - Cider of the Festival Chippenham Camra Beer Festival 2015 & 2014

[Shepton History]

I have pressed cider apples with both Damsons and Sloes - as well as other hedgerow fruits. We in corporate them into the Pommace pre pressing. Usually find an inclusion level of 5% is enough to give both colour and flavour to the juice - though we are only looking to influence the flavour, not dominate it. Elderberry has been a consistent success - but when we went to 10% inclusion it was too strong a taste. - for our own consumption of course.

Sent from my iPhone

[Roy Bailey]

Thanks to Denis for a specific reccomendation. I will try it and see how I get on.
Thanks also to Shepton History.