Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
Some of our favorite memories are often centered around food. Most major events in our lives include food and when that food is exceptional, it elevates the entire experience. As a result, food Aromas and tastes can often be a trigger for great memories. My wife has a saying “Make a memory”, which is her … Continue reading Making Garden Cider
I talked about how old some apple varieties really are (How old is that apple tree?). But America wasn’t settled using grafted apple trees from Europe. It was settled with apple trees grown from seeds and those seeds were often of unknown origin. However, it’s from this time period where many of the heirloom varieties … Continue reading Apples of Unknown Origin
I previously wrote about a feast we had at a local restaurant, Feast, with seafood and French hard cider. However, with social distancing in full swing and no restaurants open, my wife and I decided we needed to create our own feast. We are known for putting together some awesome pizzas so for this “Feast … Continue reading A Feast at Home!
I love going to the orchard. Besides being the place I get wonderful fruit to craft hard cider, it’s located on a beautiful hill overlooking the valley. It’s an extremely peaceful place, and the flora and fauna in the area are always amazing. The owner and I have established a good relationship and he has … Continue reading A Day at the Orchard: Grafting
What is a stuck fermentation? When making hard cider, a stuck fermentation refers to a situation where the juice or partially fermented cider has sugar present but the yeast is unable to process it. Sometimes, this might have been your plan. Other times, this is your problem. This hard cider tip is intended to demystify … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #10: Stuck Fermentation
This post is not so much a hard cider recipe as it is a simple and low cost method to making hard cider. It’s focused on providing a basic foundation for making hard cider my way. My way means organic and no sulfites. However, if that’s not your way, it can easily be adapted to … Continue reading Making My First Hard Cider
In my last tip, I talked bout how critical cleaning and sanitizing were when you are making hard cider. However, I only covered the cleaning part. This tip covers the sanitizing step. Again, I’m focusing on bottles, but the process is the same whether you are cleaning and sanitizing bottles, fermenters, utensils, or any equipment. … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #9: Bottle Sanitizing
It seems like a simple question: How old is your apple tree? Maybe, you planted the tree a couple years ago. Maybe, your dad planted it when you were a kid. Maybe you wouldn’t know without cutting down the tree and counting the rings. Please don’t do that! I’m just speaking hypothetically. But, my question … Continue reading How old is that apple tree?
The orchard I pick has Mutsu and Shizuka apples. These along with Orin apples were all discovered in Japan in the early to mid-twentieth century. What I find interesting is all three apples have the same parentage: Golden Delicious and Indo. They are siblings and just like humans, you can see the likeness at times … Continue reading Making Japanese Sunrise Hard Cider
One of the most critical processes in making hard cider is cleaning and sanitizing. It’s the easiest way to make a bad batch of hard cider and ruin the best hard cider recipe. Officially, this is a two-step process. There are cleansers and there are sanitizers on the market. Why not one product to do … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #8: Bottle Cleaning
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