The Three Counties
Cider and Perry Association

Making Cider the French Way

French cidermakers use a technique called Keeving to produce a naturally sparkling, naturally sweet, bottled cider. This is also thought to be the technique used by British cidermakers in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

This document is based upon the notes I took at a Welsh Perry & Cider Society meeting on the 2^nd March 2006, when Adam Bland was the guest speaker.

Supplementary notes, in italics, are based upon a talk given by Dr Andrew Lea to the Three Counties Cider & Perry Association, on the 19^th April 2006.

Adam Bland is an Englishman who makes cider in Normandy. As well as cider sales, he and his wife Anne offer B&B, evening meals, and have a caravan campsite.

Adam Bland, Lisores, 14140 Livarot, Calvados, Normandy. Tel from UK: 0033 2 31 63 42 16.

Apples

Not all apples will do, you must try them out. They must be rich in pectin.

Works better with bitter-sweets. If the pH is too acidic, the pectinase enzymes (see later) don't work as well. (This is possibly the reason why the French perry makers don't use keeving, and instead use filtration to give a naturally sweet perry - DM)

The apples must be ripe. They aren't necessarily ripe when they've fallen off the tree, they can ripen on the floor. To test for ripeness either use the starch test, or check for a strong apple aroma, or the apples should give when squeezed.

Pick and press within a week, throw out any rotten apples.

Pressing

Only press when the temperature is between 8 and 12ºC, or possibly a little colder. If any warmer, the yeast starts to ferment too quickly before the enzymes can do their business.

Maceration of the pulp for 12-24 hours before pressing will help to increase pectin levels.

Keeving & Fermentation

Add the pectin esterase enzyme as soon as possible after pressing, at the rate of 100ml of enzyme to 1000 litres of juice, stir well. Leave for 24 hours.

Before adding the Calcium Chloride, you must test to see if the enzyme has worked. Add 1ml of Calcium Chloride to 1 litre of juice, stir. Within two minutes, you should see particles floculating. If so, add the CaCl2. If not, try again in 6 to 12 hours. The colder it is, the longer it takes.

(The enzyme and the chloride come together, ready mixed in a liquid form, in a kit called 'Kler Cidre', available from Standa Industrie, Caen, France.)

Add 1 litre CaCl2 to 5 litres of juice, then to the 1000 litres juice, stir. You now have to wait until the 'Chapeau Brune / Brown Hat' appears, which takes 7-8 days at 4/5ºC. Generally starts to form after 5 to 10 days. The fermentation vessel should be between 1 and 3m high, and if translucent will allow you to see big blobs forming, falling and rising with the bubbles.

When the dark brown, jelly-like 'Brown Hat' is a 1-2cm thick layer on the surface, scoop it off with a stainless steel kitchen sieve. Repeat this removal every day for 4-5 days until no more forms. Now rack the clear juice off the sediment. This process takes out the acetobacteria, other bacteria (eg. Lactic bacteria), and reduces the nitrogen (yeast nutrient) content by 40%.

Pectin methyl esterase removes methanol from the pectin chains. Calcium cross-links the chains to form a gel. Various molecules are attracted to / trapped within the gel, and therefore removed with it: asparagine (amino acid / yeast nutrient), vitamin B1 (yeast nutrient) and yeast cells.

Rack off into another fermentation vessel, the juice will start fermenting, but more slowly. Eg. if it's 1055 in December, it might be 1044 at the start of March. (If the 'Brown Hat' doesn't work, you can filter taking out most of the yeast, which regenerates using up the nitrogen. Do this a few times until the nitrogen is low, ready for bottling).

Bottling

You must now choose the final bottled gravity. For example, if you want to bottle at 1020, rack the juice off the sediment at 1030. You now want a fermentation of no more than 3 degrees every 10 days, ideally 1 or 2 degrees. If at 10-15ºC, it drops no more than 2 degrees in 10 days, you can bottle, and there'll be just enough fermentation to give some fizz. If it's too fast, rack again at 1022 and hope for a slower fermentation. You can also filter half the juice at 1022 to reduce the yeast population.

Adam says to use crown cork bottles or champagne bottles. (To be on the safe side I would use the strongest (900g) champagne bottles - DM)

Corking machines cost £50, and the cork should be put in dry. Corking machines can be ordered from Vigo, or more cheaply from France. Different corks and cages are available, Adam Bland uses 25mm by 38mm 'Cidre Bouché' corks, which he pushes half-way in, and holds fast with a 38mm-high wire cage.

First signs of fizz should appear in 4 weeks, and optimal fizz after 6-8 weeks.

Testing for safety (Pollard & Beech 1957). Put a test amount of (SG 1.010) bulk cider in a champagne bottle and wire down top. Lay down in a closed box at 25ºC for 21 days. Uncork carefully (goggles?) and assess carbonation level. If acceptable - proceed with bulk bottling. If cork strains against the wire and carbonation is excessive - repeat test every two weeks.

Safety Issues (if all sugar ferments out)

SG	Sugar /g per litre	Pressure / atm or psi	Safe Bottle
1.005	10	3 or 45	Beer (crown cap)
1.010	20	6 or 90	Champagne
1.015	30	9 or 135	None!

Dave Matthews, Cidermaking Consultant WPCS, October 2006