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?

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

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.

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. It’s 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 don’t 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 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.

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.

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

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.

Mostly heirloom apples though.

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

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.

Scott

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.

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.

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

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.

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