Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
After six articles on pairing pizza and hard cider, you would think I’d run out of recipes and options. That’s what makes pizza and hard cider so wonderful, there seem to be infinite possibilities. For this group of four pizza recipes and hard cider pairings, we pushed the crust even further when we did a … Continue reading Pizza and Hard Cider – Part VII
Yeast Cell Wall - Mannoprotein Structure What are mannoproteins and why would they be important to hard cider? Mannoproteins are a combination of polysaccharides and proteins bound up in the yeast cell wall. They are connected to the cell membrane that surrounds the yeast. This membrane retains all the key parts of a yeast cell … Continue reading Mannoproteins in Cider
Black & Gold Cider Label Black & Gold Cider is made from two of my favorite apples: Arkansas Black and GoldRush. I enjoy eating them, though I recommend cutting up the Arkansas Blacks as they can be a little hard. However, they both have a fair amount of tannins and acid as well as aroma. … Continue reading Making Black & Gold Cider
Glycerol & Non-Saccharomyces Yeast Much of my recent research and reading has been on yeast, especially non-Saccharomyces genera. Wine, beer, bread, and most commercial food fermentation is performed by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genus. But, there is a new push to explore and use non-Saccharomyces strains, especially in wine making. The biggest reasons are 1) aroma … Continue reading Glycerol: The Benefit of Non-Saccharomyces Yeast
Yes, hard cider goes with seafood. In fact, it goes with anything. This is because hard cider, like wine, reflects the fruit you used to make it. You can have dry, tart cider with some effervescence or a still astringent cider that’s slightly bitter and has a heavy mouthfeel. You can also have sweet hard … Continue reading Lobster Rolls and Hard Cider
Key numbers to remember regarding carbonation While some people enjoy their hard ciders still or without much noticeable carbonation, others enjoy some bubbles or even sparkling. The fermentation process under open atmospheric conditions at 21C (70F) will naturally have around 0.85 volumes CO2. You may remember from my Mālus Trivium on Volumes CO2 that the … Continue reading Key Carbonation Numbers
Originally isolated from grapes in California in 2002 and classified as Candida zemplinina in 2003. It was later changed to Starmerella bacillaris. The two samples I obtained from the USDA were logged under Candida zemplinina. Like many yeast, the advent of DNA sequencing has helped better classify many different yeast strains. However, recognize that you … Continue reading Alternative Cider Yeast: Starmerella bacillaris (Candida zemplinina) Overview
What is respiration and how is it different from fermentation? Have you ever heard that oxygen is bad and to avoid oxygen exposure when fermenting hard cider? It is or at least it can be. Yes, this is another one of those questions where the answer is, it depends. Generally speaking, yeast have two main … Continue reading Respiration versus Fermentation
Winter: Lager yeast fermented hot and aged on hickory. One day I woke up with a crazy idea for a hard cider recipe. Okay, it’s more than one day but, sometimes they actually work. I had been reading about fermentation temperatures and whether hotter or colder fermentations are better. I noted that much of the … Continue reading Making Winter Cider
The Source of Aroma Compounds In Hard Cider The aroma of hard cider is vital to its flavor and ultimately, it’s quality. If a cider has unpleasant or off-flavors, it can turn off potential drinkers or for home cider makers, the loss of bragging rights at your next get-together or family reunion. That aroma is … Continue reading Hard Cider Aroma Sources
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