Report on the Results of Investigations Into Cidermaking; Carried Out on Behalf of the Bath and West and Southern Counties Society in the Years 1893-1902 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 Excerpt: ...carefully watched. If necessary the juice is again racked, and sometimes it may be necessary to rack it a third time. Thus the chief object of racking is to clear the juice, a subsidiary object is to check fermentation. Should there come a sudden spell of very cold weather Natural fermentation will be checked, and at such times the cider will clearing, often clear naturally. Old cider makers watched carefully for this event, and immediately racked the cider, irrespective of its gravity or composition, and they did right. For subsequent fermentation would be slower and better under control. Excellent cider can at times be so made, and neither filtration nor any other proceeding is necessary in such cases. But the cider maker of the future must not rely upon chance. He must be able to make good cider in spite of the weather, and to do this, racking alone does not always suffice. In such cases then racking is only a preparatory step to filtration, or some other method of checking fermentation. Some makers think it desirable to rack frequently, and to Sulphuring, prevent further fermentation so far as possible by sulphuring the casks into which the cider is racked. In this way not only is the cider clarified, but the sulphur fumes (sulphurous acid) present in the barrel are to a certain extent absorbed by the juice, and act both as a preventive of further fermentation and also as a preservative of the cider. Experiments have proved that sulphuring has two drawbacks. First, it gives the cider a peculiar flavour, at the same time destroying the fine bouquet, to retain which should be the primary object of the maker; secondly, should it fail to check fermentation it frequently causes the production in the cider of sulphuretted hydrogen, which gives the liquid a mo...