Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
As I noted in an earlier post on Rosé ciders, I was surprised to find so many during a visit to Normandy, France. I even saw some of the red-fleshed apples, which they use, growing in an orchard. Red or pink fleshed apples are a great option for making a rosé. However, if you are … Continue reading Making Rosé Cider
Which is more important when making great cider, the apple varieties you use in your juice blend or the yeast you use? It’s not an easy question to answer. If I asked whether the apples were more important than the shape of the fermenter, most of us would probably say the apple. I recognize that … Continue reading Cider Question: Apples or Yeast
Pommeau is traditionally a French drink made by blending apple juice with calvados (apple brandy) and aging it. But, why can’t we make pommeau with other spirits, especially spirits made from what is local. If you live in the Southwestern United States, specifically Arizona, that local spirit would be tequila. Arizona Pommeau is the result … Continue reading Making Arizona Pommeau
I was debating what type of ice cider to make from last season’s frozen juice. I usually like to have some type of dessert cider option that I can offer. As a note, I think of cider in three categories: Traditional, Adjunct, and Dessert. Traditional ciders are those made just from apples and pears (perry). … Continue reading Making Prickly Pommeau
I often provide information that I have learned from reading research papers or from my own personal experiments. But, I have met many experts on my cider journey and I wanted to find a way to share the collective knowledge we have about cider with the world. “Cider Poll” is my attempt to capture and … Continue reading Cider Poll – The Ideal Cider Base
Types of Cider Drinks Just like wine, you can distill cider into a spirit. Please recognize that this process is illegal in many countries without a specific license. This is because it can be dangerous. One reason is because of the method, heating a flammable liquid, often over an open flame, and the other is … Continue reading Cider Words: Pommeau
A Simple Recipe for Making Hard Cider I’m frequently asked for a simple hard cider recipe. I published “My First Cider” recipe several years ago, which was intended to help guide the first time cider maker. However, I recognize that it may not be considered the simplest or easiest recipe. In fact, it’s less recipe … Continue reading Making Simple Cider
Impact of Pectic Enzyme - Juice Application Pectolyase, pectozyme, and polygalacturonase are three types of pectic emzymes or what are often called pectinases. These are naturally occurring compounds found in plants that breakdown the polysaccharide known as pectin. Pectin gives structure and strength to the plant cells. This structure is what make jelly and jam become … Continue reading Pectic Enzyme: Juice Application
Autolysis: The decomposition of yeast cells. Why does the flavor of cider change when it ages? Part of those changes can come from bacteria or yeast. This micro flora can make malolactic fermentation (MLF) occur or a souring by Brettanomyces yeasts. However, one of the biggest impacts can come from the yeast that fermented your … Continue reading Cider Words: Autolysis
Suspended Solids: How juice clarity impacts hard cider V.K. Joshi and associates assessed the impacts of juice clarity on hard cider. They found that similarly to wine, clarifying juice by filtering and pectic enzyme treatment resulted in higher quality cider(1). Quality was defined by a panel of five trained judges assessing 14 flavor characteristics using … Continue reading Impact of Juice Clarity
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