Aroma apples add complexity to a cider blend. Cider apples are often referenced as Sweets, Bittersweets, Sharps, and Bittersharps. However, this doesn’t highlight a key element that contributes to great hard cider: Aroma. Aroma in hard cider come mostly from esters and alcohols but aldehydes, ketones, and ethers can also contribute. These compounds are created … Continue reading Aroma Apples
Category: Hard Cider
Making Tupelo Cyser
Tupelo Cyser Label One of my favorite adjuncts for cider is honey. It’s amazing how just a little honey can add unique aromas and flavors to a cider. It also turns it into a cyser, which is a cider made with honey. If you make mead, you might start calling it other names. For me, … Continue reading Making Tupelo Cyser
The Source of Rotten Egg Smells (H2S) in Cider
That rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide and there are 3 common ways it’s created. Have you ever made a hard cider and noticed a rotten egg smell? That is hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the most common yeast used to ferment hard cider, wine, and beer, can create hydrogen sulfide through 3 main pathways(1). … Continue reading The Source of Rotten Egg Smells (H2S) in Cider
Scotch Eggs and Cider
When we traveled through the West Country in England, we had a list places that we wanted to visit. Of course, those places included numerous cideries along with numerous historical sites like Stonehenge, Highclere Castle, and Glastonbury Tor. However, one of our other goals was to sample various foods. We had high tea at Highclere … Continue reading Scotch Eggs and Cider
Exploring Alternative Hard Cider Yeasts
Alternative Cider Yeast: Exploring High Aroma Non-Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Yeast While Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is the dominant yeast use for beer and wine, is it the best yeast for making hard cider? Many Saccharomyces Cerevisiae strains used for beer have mutated through yeast harvesting, cropping, and selective pressure placed on them over many years. These have created … Continue reading Exploring Alternative Hard Cider Yeasts
Apple Peels: The Missing Ingredient of Hard Cider
Apple peels can be yellow, green, red, blushed, streaked, sunburnt, and russeted. However, after noting the wonderful colors and even texture, we often ignore them once we start the cider making process. Did you realize that those peels are potentially the single most powerful ingredient in your cider making process? Most cider makers ignore and … Continue reading Apple Peels: The Missing Ingredient of Hard Cider
ATP: Adenosine Triphosphate
ATP: The energy used to power fermentation You might be asking what ATP is and why you should care. Besides being the energy source for many cell activities, even those in our own bodies, it is what allows yeast to ferment sugar into alcohol. Without ATP, we wouldn’t have hard cider. I have discussed yeast … Continue reading ATP: Adenosine Triphosphate
Bacteria and Hard Cider – It’s not all bad.
When someone says bacteria, we generally have a negative reaction. Bacteria is a bad thing, right? We want to kill it to keep us from getting sick. However, not all bacteria is bad and especially when you are fermenting hard cider. Lactic Acid Bacteria, commonly called LAB, is the under-appreciated and often abused element in … Continue reading Bacteria and Hard Cider – It’s not all bad.
Polyphenol Concentration in Apples
Polyphenols: The peel and the core Polyphenols are also often called tannins. These compounds are most associated with the bitterness and astringency of hard cider but can also impact color and mouthfeel. There are several types of polyphenols including flavonoids and phenolic acids. Apples, like most fruit, concentrate polyphenols in the peel and the core … Continue reading Polyphenol Concentration in Apples
Nachos & Hard Cider: Spicy Hot!
WARNING - HOT FOOD AHEAD! If you don’t like spicy, read my Feast at Home post instead. My wife and I love spicy food and almost everything we make gets a spicy adaptation. She even made a spicy green chili ice cream. This post fits that spicy food theme as we create a new American … Continue reading Nachos & Hard Cider: Spicy Hot!