Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
Acrolein Pathway Piqûre Acroléique... If you are like me, you may still be wondering how that is pronounced. Then, you might be wondering what it is and what it has to do with apples or hard cider. Piqûre Acroléique is the creation of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) from glycerol, which is created by a lactic acid bacteria … Continue reading Piqûre Acroléique
Mold... Just the name can conjure up bad images and usually, it’s not something that is positive. There are a few positive occurrences, think cheeses like blue or Gorgonzola, where the mold makes that pungent flavor that many enjoy. However, for hard cider making, mold is usually associated with things not going the way they … Continue reading Mold: The What, Why, and How of It.
Types and average percentage of sugars found in an apple. While actual sugar levels vary by apple variety, weather, and orchard practices, the types of sugars as a percentage of total sugars are reasonably consistent. The majority is fructose followed by sucrose and glucose. The final amount is made up of other sweeteners like sorbitol. … Continue reading Apple Sugars
Killer Factor is not a measurement of the health risks associated with using a yeast in your fermentation. Instead, it is an assessment of how dominant a yeast can be in your fermentation. You may find commercial yeast strains labeled as one of four types. Killer (K)Sensitive (S)Neutral (N)Killer-Sensitive (KS) However, you may wonder what … Continue reading Yeast: Killer Factor
Volumes CO2: Amount of CO2 dissolved in your cider relative to your cider volume. You may find carbonation expressed as grams per liter (g/l). However, I have always preferred defining carbonation as Volumes CO2. It makes it easier to visualize as I’ve tried to demonstrate in the graphic because the volume units are universal. If … Continue reading Volumes CO2 Defined
Apple and pear juice contain a variety of organic acids. Even sweet apples with high pH like Red Delicious and Ambrosia are still acidic. They won’t contain the same quantity as a tart and sharp Granny Smith or bittersharp cider apple, but they contribute to the hard cider flavors. When I assess apples for hard … Continue reading Common Acids in Hard Cider
The phases of a wild/natural cider fermentation Apple juice fermented using its native microflora (yeast and bacteria) or what is sometimes called a wild fermentation, normally goes through three natural phases(1). Note that the length of each phase is impacted by temperature. The chart reflects a fermentation at temperatures of 14-22C (60-72F). The first phase … Continue reading The 3-Phases of Natural Fermentation
As 2020 comes to an end you may be celebrating one of many various holidays or you just may be celebrating that 2020 is actually almost over. Regardless of whether you are celebrating something, just finished pressing apples for the season, or are ramping up for the the coming harvest, I thought it would be … Continue reading The 2020 Home Cider Makers Wish List
Crabapples: The only types of apple native to North America and Europe. The only apples native to North America and Europe are crabapples. Modern apples, Malus domestica, are genetically linked to Malus sieversii of Central Asia. However, the European crabapple, Malus sylvestris is also prevalent in many modern apple varieties. You can find North American … Continue reading Crabapples: The Native Apple
Flamin’ Hops Cider Label This year, I embraced the organic Carolina Reaper pepper as part of my cider ingredients. I have used chipotle peppers before but when I saw the World’s Hottest Pepper was available as organic, I had to try it. My first plan was for my Ruby Reaper cider mistelle but since I … Continue reading Making Flamin’ Hops Cider
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