Goldrush is often hailed for it's good cider making attributes. In fact, Albemarle Cider Works makes a commercial single varietal cider with Goldrush. In fact, it's called Goldrush.

Macs are pretty early. I'm certainly no expert, but I think most of the good cider varieties are later apples. I just recently read about Liberty being a good cider variety also, but not having ever tasted one I cannot attest to that.

At least these two varieties disease resistant and reliable heavy croppers. That should be a nice bonus.

I've seen Winesap renowned for it's cider qualities too and has the sweet/tart balance leaning towards tart. But again, not an early variety.
I thought cider activities traditionally took place in late fall?

I hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: WSU Apple Uses

Appleseed70, Goldrush is late season apple. I'm not looking for an ideal cider apple. I'm looking for an acceptable apple for cider during the summer months. As it is now, I press about 5-10 gallons per week for family/friends from early September to mid November. I would like to extend that into early August if I can.

Greendumb, that is a nice chart. For convenience, it would have been better if they included ripening times relative to a common apple.

Yeah...I think I mentioned it was late season. I see now what your shooting for...sorry.

I wonder if Yellow Transparent or Lodi would make decent cider. I'm not familiar with either. Based on all the descriptions, it seems like Lodi might be more tart than the Yellow Transparent.

I agree nyRockFarmer.
Just out of curiosity I'm going to start looking at ripening times.

Ginger Gold?
GINGERGOLD
Ginger Goldî exhibits all the qualities of a fall variety and ripens three weeks before McIntosh. The highest quality early season yellow eating apple available. It is sweet and crisp. Maturity: August 15, Fruit Color: Golden

If you search "ginger gold apple cider" you'll see there are numerous cideries using it, in fact one calls it it's flagship cider. 3 weeks ahead of Mac...is that early enough? I guess it may not have enough of the acid you are looking for though.

I've ate Ginger Gold many times fresh and I think it's a fabulous apple. It has a flavor I'd guess would bode well for cider, although having never made it, I really dunno.

William's Pride? 4 weeks before Mac

Williams Pride Apple Summer. Co-op 23 [PRI 2845-1=(PRI 1018-101 x NJ50)] PRI Co-op, 1988. Probably the most popular summer apple among the newly developed disease-resistant introductions. ItâÂÂs actually crisp, which is rare for a summer apple. Deep purple roundish-conic irregularly shaped fruit, highlighted with areas of glowing rosy red and covered with a thin bloom. Light cream-colored flesh, with red staining just under the skin, is firm, crisp and very juicy. Has a nice acidic blend of tart and sweet, reminiscent of Fameuse. Long ripening period means you donâÂÂt have to eat them all at once. Vigorous annually bearing tree with some biennial tendency. Well-shaped with strong right-angled branches that do not require careful training. Highly resistant to fireblight, cedar apple rust and sooty blotch; resistant to powdery mildew. Scab immune. Blooms early-midseason. Z4-7. Both are ME Grown.

This post was edited by Appleseed70 on Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 22:09

ZESTAR: Sweet/Tart 3 weeks ahead of Mac

This is the only sweet/tart early summer apple I see that has a sweet/tart flavor profile. Still it sounds like William's pride would maybe be a better choice because of it's juciness.

Beyond this I guess you would be delving into old heirlooms or apples that come with baggage.

Appleseed70, those August varieties sound good. I just found the website of a nearby orchard that grows Zestar and Ginger Gold, so I should be able to get some of those to try. I'm not sure I will be able to do the same for Williams' Pride. There is another August variety, Redfree, that sounds interesting. I could ask around at the orchard. Maybe someone working there can give me more information, like why they don't grow those varieties.

Found this link on homebrew forum. I know Centennial is August here in Virginia. Not sure about Dolgo but this may be a good option.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/cider-apple-juice-dolgo-crabapples-269143/

Can't speak for the others, but here Williams Pride is a July apple. Curtis Orchard also shows it as beginning in July going into August.
It has a lot going for it for being so early. Heavy reliable cropper with flavor balance and juicy.
I have no idea about it's cider attributes though. Most of what I read about cider is always using very late apples. I've always wanted to know more about the subject though because I like cider and I have no issues with alcohol consumption...lol

MonArk - just picked the last two yesterday; 70 mi NW of Nashville TN. Can't attest to its potential for cider, but it's a terrific early season apple - big, firm, crisp, good for fresh eating & cooking. Holds well under refrigeration, 6+ weeks, without going mealy. Requires repeated picking - I've been gathering ripe fruits for 3 weeks or so, maybe longer.

Centennial is just past its peak here right now, starting to get a little mealy.
It's half-sib, Kerr, is just about ready - a smidgen smaller, but more tart, with a nice musky wine undertone. Really heavy crop on Kerr here this year.
Both Kerr & Centennial are larger than the Dolgo parent.

MONARK, from the University of Arkansas, is a great quality, early season dessert and culinary variety. Fruit is large, round-flat, near ful-red, with a superb texture and tart flavor. Ripens in July. One of the finest early pie apples. It requires multiple pickings or a stop-drop application. Tree is vigorous, very spreading and very hardy. Very precocious and productive.

Lucky...could you make a good cider using only a crab as feedstock?

Well, that was nice of them to name an apple Monark when there is already an antique apple from UK named Monarch. Anyhow, it does look like an interesting apple, but it doesn't seem to have a following in the north. I don't see any place to get it from.

While looking up info on Centennial I found another interesting apple. Beacon is listed as early August in Vermont and is described as having a good balance with tart.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beacon Apple Description

It appears that Maple Valley Orchards sells scionwood for many of the varieties listed above (not MonArk and Centennial) . That is an attractive option for me because I have a lot of junk apple trees growing in random places that I could hack up for grafting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Maple Valley Orchards Scionwood

See if this chart helps you.

Mostly heirloom apples though.

According to it, Summer Sweeting Apple can be picked by August 10 and then there is Winekist Apple.

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple chart

Trees of Antiquity shows Monark in their catalog Rockfarmer $36.95.

Everything I see on that apple lists it's flavor profile as just tart. I thought you were looking for sweet-tart?
Personally, I'd be a little dubious about an apple that almost nobody has chosen to sell.
Furthermore if it ripens as unevenly as both lucky and the description in my post, wouldn't that present an issue for cider making?
Redfree is listed as a dry apple rockfarmer...I looked at it too. I was thinking that wouldn't lend itself well to even an acceptable cider variety. I found no cideries using it, although undoubtedly there are some, somewhere.

Rockfarmer: if you have a bunch of junk trees why not do something like William's Pride on 1 (tart-spicey), and Early Crisp (sweet) on another. That combo ripens at the same time and is a full month ahead of Mac. Scionwood for WP is available everywhere (Fedco and others $3-$4), probably EC too.

OR, if you wanted to get a little later you could go Prima (tart) and Ginger Gold (sweet). Again, obtaining scionwood for these (particularly GG) should present no issues.
Ginger Gold I know is used by a number of cideries. This combo also ripens at the same time and would put you squarely at 1-2 weeks ahead of Mac.
Again, their cider qualities (aside from Ginger Gold) would have to be evaluated. Having a combo would give you the opportunity to adjust the sweet/tart ratio later if your tastes required it. I've also read that more varieties usually result in a better cider than the single varietal ones...more complexity etc.

Just an idea.

I am harvesting some early apples now. Ginger Gold is something like golden delicious but more mild/soft. Williams Pride is a nice flavorful apple worth considering; it is water coring for me. Jefferis is more tart than Williams Pride, it seems most like the classic American late cider apples, Winesap etc. Cherryville Black is a great early apple that should also be good for cider; its only problem is smallness which actually makes for better cider as the skin has more flavor in it. I have never made any early cider, I only make cider out of late varieties.

Scott

Man Scott, you really know your apples. I'd never even heard of a Cherryville Black until you mentioned it. I had to look it up. A Lee Calhoun find. Couldn't find a photo of it though.
I've ate a number of Ginger Golds, but I must be remembering them incorrectly. I thought they were harder and crispier than Golden Del.
I've considered getting a William's Pride and have read a lot of reviews on it. How would you rate it overall, and how would you rate it as a early apple?

Appleseed,
I don't know beans about cider-making. Some of the crabs have tremendous brix and great flavor, and, I presume would make a stout hard cider.
If I had a grinder & press, a mix of Centennial, Kerr, and Almata(red-fleshed) crabs might be worth a try...

The irregular ripening of Monark could be a problem - but they hold well under refrigeration, so you could potentially stockpile 'em til you had enough to press.
Got mine from Classical Fruits nearly 20 years ago; Vintage Virginia Apples offers it,as well - and as they also make cider, they might be able to give some opinions.

Here is a link that might be useful: MonArk @ VVA/Albemarle Ciderworks

This post was edited by lucky_p on Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 22:46

Scott, when you say you got your's from Vintage Va. apples are you referring to the Monark or William's Pride? Surprised you mention the WP water coring. Is it prone to that? You and I being fairly close and knowing our weather I'm surprised a bit that you would have it this year. I thought that happened a lot in droughts or following one? Is WP the only apple with the problem?

Scott, thanks for the recommendations.

I never thought about watercore. It seems like it could be a potential issue for any summer apple in places that are prone to long periods without ran during the summer. This is especial true in soils that drain well and don't retain moisture. I suppose it is smart to plant trees were they can be watered if you live in a place known to be prone to drought and watercore. Although, it shouldn't be much on an issue if the apples are used for cider only.

Appleseed, I think you mixed me up with Lucky, he is the one that mentioned VVA. I also had Monark but the deer kept munching it so I never got any fruit.

Williams pride is a very good apple, it has lots of flavor and a good sweet/sour balance. The only problem is water coring.

One other early apple that is ripening now is Worcester Pearmain. I think this is a greatly under appreciated apple, its something like a Mac but with a more rounded flavor.

Most edible crabs are excellent early cider apples.

Scott

you're right Scott, I did get you mixed up.

Does it water core often? You and I being in the same zone with probably similar weather I'm thinking maybe I should look at something else if it's a annual problem.

I squeezed some Geneva crab last month and was pleased with the flavor. Geneva is a very big, say two inches, crab that is dark red and has red tinged flesh. It is mentioned as a good cider apple by the Vintage Virginia folks, and while it might not be a good single variety cider for some folks taste, it would be a good addition to a blend. I have two gallons in the freezer and plan to add it to the Gala cider I'll be squeezing this week. Gala is rather bland to my taste, so I am hoping the Geneva and perhaps some Whitney crab cider added to the blend will kick it up.

BTW, where would it be good to post questions about press designs? I just put together a rack-and-cloth press using a Harbor Freight hydraulic press, and even before using it I have been thinking about making a stailess steel cylinder to use with it, and if perforated stainless steel could be used without press cloth.

Chuck

Got my first tastes of William's Pride way out West in Spokane. Brix 12, no flavor or acid. Here it has nothing to offer cider.

My baby Winekist bore its first two apples this season: early ( first of August,) tart, good flavor, color and also 12 Brix. This cries to be tried in a summer cider. Mix the pressing with Gravenstein, I'm thinking.

The best apple cider I've tasted was made out of a blend of Jonathan, McIntosh, and Winesap apples. Harrison is an excellent cider apple. A popular combination is to mix Granniwinkle with Harrison. Mixing in some 'Cole's Quince' into the cider would probably also add some distinctive aroma.

I would recommend possibly looking into perry pears. The best perry (i.e. "pear cider") has more flavor than the best apple cider. Unfortunately, it's extremely rare to be able to find pear cider in America that is actually made from perry pears, and as a result it often tends to be rather tasteless. So many people do not know what a good perry tastes like.

Don't know if this helps

http://www.cjoliprsf.ca/Documents/AppleBlendingCider.pdf

Category: Useless apples
 very low sugar (SG < 1.045), high or very
high acid (TA > 0.8%), high N, no tannin
 Preferable not to use those for cider - may be
useful for fresh juice, or fermented for vinegar
or cooking uses.
 Varieties:
– most early season apples: Yellow Transparent,
William's Pride, Redfree, Duchesse, Melba
– most mass production eating apples: McIntosh

Here in Canada cider is usually used for when you ferment your apple juice. Sounds like you mean you simply press them for juice so this may not apply for you.

I had my first Redfree ever last weekend and it was delicious, 12 brix and a bit tart but I think it was not fully ripe and my recollection was that while it was wonderfully crisp it was not juicy.

More years ago than I want to count, I worked at a commercial orchard. We made 250 gallons of cider each week. I recall using Paula Red (ripens in August) along with whatever else we had ready in august to toss into the mix (duchess of Oldenburg,Wealthy, Beacon, Early McIntosh, Quinte, ect).

The problem we had was being too tart! Some of these early batches of cider were quite tart. It was always a joy when the first McIntosh were ready as the cider came out a lot sweeter.

I agree that a mix of sweet and tart make the best cider.

Just a thought but if you are looking for tart, why not throw some crabapples into your summer mix? Many crabs ripen early and would give a tart taste. Chestnut, Centennial, Whitney and Dolgo to name a few.