Firstly, I have a copy of the book “Calvados”, and apart from some of the basic info, it was, IMO, a complete waste of money.

Yes, it’s beautifully produced/printed etc, but I found either a printers error or it hadn’t been proof read completely i.e. the descriptions of the differences between a straight alembic and a column still, seem to have exactly the same text!

It came across like a tourist guide aimed at Americans who are visiting the Normandy region for the first time and have discovered Calvados by accident.

I digress………

So, I have been basically taking cider kits (40 pint ones) and making them up according to the instructions, then modifying the mix.

The initial mix will give you a gravity of about the 1045 mark, and a pH measurement of about 4 or so.

I’ve been adding a couple of teaspoons of an acid mix I found referenced in an “out of print” book about mead making (2 thirds Malic and 1 third tartaric is the mix), to bring the ph down to about 3.5, and then I’ve been adding sugar, 1 kg at a time, so bring the gravity up to about 1080 or so i.e. that will convert to 10% abv.

Now the idea being that I’m trying to make sure that it still has a good level of sugar but high enough malic to be more like a batch of pressed juice that’s from a cider apple of a good year.

I then put some of the must/wash into the liquidiser and give it a whizz for a minute – it aerates brilliantly.

I then put that back into the bucket and add the packet of yeast/nutrient that came with the kit, plus I add a packet of “youngs” cider yeast (I’ve seen yeast data sheets, that, while not mentioning youngs yeasts, mention that some other manufacturers “cider yeasts” would go to 14% if they could).

Thus far, it’s worked a treat – I’ve managed to get 3 or 4 cider kits cheap from Wilko’s (they’re nearly out of date).

This is then distilled, and the result is filtered (the still has been both a SS “water purifyer” and a SS super reflux still for “essential oils” – if I use the former, then it’s filtered by the “carbon teabag”, if I used the later it’s filtered with a “Z” filter).

The results are then smelled and tasted, and the rest is placed into a 34 litre jar (from Brouwland). It’s got mainly distilled cider kits, but also the results of other wine and mead making efforts that i didn’t like the taste of as their original product.

I’ve also put 2 packs of “oak chips” to simulate barrel contact (one pack was “normal”, the other one was toasted).

I’m guessing I might have to rack it in and out of a large bucket to simulate oxidation – I might actually not fill it all the way up, as the air space might help (according to the calvados book anyway).

Next time I put some more in, I’ll try to take a picture and post it on flickr so you can see what I’m on about.

Kisses,
Xander