[Ansteorra] question for brewers

[Dr. C. M. Helm-Clark Ph.D.]

Apples for cider:

Having grown up surrounded by apple orchards (including
the one on my Godparents' farm), this is something I 
actually know something about.  First you need to know
your North American climate zone.  Easy to find: go to
the USDA Nation Arboretum site and use the clickable 
climate zone map 
(http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html)

Next, you want juicers or dessert apples to make the
best cider, so this should guide your picking what sort
of trees to plant. People who make cider for a living
will tell you that you the best ciders are blends, 
whether you are making hard cider (aka cider in Europe)
or "traditional" American soft cider (aka murky apple
juice with unfiltered pulp, complete with pectin cloud,
usually sold unpasturized at the orchard or cider press).

Given that you are trying to recreate a period European
fermented cider, consider planting some crab apple
trees to get the acidic and somewhat bitter verjus
type flavors that the cider producers go for, a taste
that is somewhat sharper and tarter than the norm
for the Great American Sweet Tooth.  Plant some Italian
varieties of white grapes, and with the grapes and
crab apples, you could have a nice sideline of verjus too,
which will make your SCA medieval foodies and fellow
cooking fiends very happy campers (there are three,
count them, THREE sellers of commercial verjus in the
USA last time I looked, since as a determined SCA
foodie, I chase down verjus for those neglected 15th
century dishes that call for it in the sauces...and no,
vinegar is NOT an acceptable substitute for the real
thing).  

Anyway, back on topic here: you're going to have a real
chore on your hands finding antique varieties that were
grown in period that will be good cider apples and will
withstand the reduced chill factors in Ansteorra. In
your shoes, I think I might try a Gravenstein.  It's a
very old apple from the Lowlands and Germany. It's also a
major production apple in California which shares many of
the same climate zones and chill factors as most or Texas.
Oklahoma will be even more hospitable (but check those
chill factors as you go more west since there are very few
suitable apples for juice that can stand chill factors of
500 hours or less). 

Though not period, an Arkansas Black may be about perfect
for you: a good southern US variety that is good for juice.
Make sure that whatever varieties you decide upon have over-
lapping blooming seasons and nonsterile pollens (a big issue 
for apple orchards). Consult your local farm bureau or USDA
or county extension office for details on the chill factor
map of your local area (get a map on a local scale since 
lake and river effects and terrane effects affect micro-
climates which can cause large local variations in the chill 
factor).

There are come non-profits and specialties orchards that
specialize in antique varieties that will be happy to help
you out.  One place I have found to be very helpful is
"Trees of Antiquity" in Paso Robles, Calfiornia (to whom I
have no connection other than drolling over their catalog
and sometimes picking their brains via email).  Willis
Orchard in Georgia has a good rep, so say my friends at 
Bolton Orchard, one of my two favorite orchards in the 
foothills apple belt in CA - and they know about apples
varieties more suited to southern climes (rather than all 
New England apples I grew up with). As weird as this sounds,
you might want to look into the new apple varieties that have
been invented in the last half century in Israel. There are
now two or three Israeli apples available in the USA that
are specifically adapted to short chill factors and warm
climate zones, which are still really decent apples, like
the Ein Shemer, which I ran into last year at an orchard in
southern Utah on my way home from Estrella.  I don't know if
any of the Israeli varieties are specifically juicers, but 
you may want to look into it.

Also check out the Slow Food International webpages for
lists of heritage apple varieties in different countries. 
(You'll have to dig - it's not the easier site to find
stuff on unfortunately, but they have a great comprehensive
list of heritage apples for the USA and lists of heritage
veggies by state too - a good but often frustrating site).
Most of the English varieties aren't going to do well in
southern Ansteorran climes, those several would probably 
survive in the nothern and western locales.  But heritage
varieties from southern Europe may be a possibility, 
assuming, of course, you could actually get then here (if
you don't already know, importing agricultural flora to this
country is slightly more difficult than getting a tourist
visa for an ayatollah from Iran...getting simple, easy to
use, quick to fill out and meaningful income tax reform out 
of Congress would be easier... ;-)  I suspect it will be 
more practical and easier to identify good juicer varieties
suited to the local climate (zone 8 +/- zones, chill factor
tolerance of 300 to 500 hours) regardless of origin than 
to be able to find antique varieties with known legacies
back to the Middle Ages that are available here and will
survive in Ansteorra.  Last, you probably want to check out
the bookstore at permaculture.org.uk (NOT permaculture.org
which is a different bunch in New Mexico). The permaculture
folks in England are all about apples - worth a visit for
any ciderphile.

I hope this is helpful to you. Apples are one of my few
real passions in life.  (Now that I've been reminded of
apples, it must be time to go indulge myself on my very 
last Connecticut macintosh of the year...***sigh***)

and now I will go back to lurking...
yis,
Therasia
(who grew up stealing spys and tolmans and macs out of the
neighbors' apple trees...)