Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
Many of us struggle to find true Bitters, which are apples that are high in tannins. Some call these cider apples because making cider is often the only good use for them. However, we should really be thinking of apples as Bitters, Sharps, and Sweets or a combination of these like Bittersweets and Bittersharps. The … Continue reading Cider Fundamentals: Blending Common Apples to Make Cider
Oxygen, it’s the dreaded enemy of hard cider makers around the world. Or, is it? I’ve written about how you should avoid oxygen in your cider making process. I am also prone to say that the answer to many cider related questions is simply: it depends. Ultimately, oxygen is no different. Oxygen exposure during your … Continue reading Cider and Oxygen
I have been harvesting and including apple peels in my hard cider for several years. As I have noted in other articles (see the tips page), peels are an excellent way to enhance the organoleptic properties of your hard cider. Want a darker hue to your cider, include peels from red apples in your fermenter. … Continue reading Apple Peel Preparation
Maceration and it’s impacts on cider making. The definition of maceration is to soften or separate. With regards to apples and pears, this process occurs after the apples have been milled or crushed but before the pomace is pressed. One of its key goals is to break down the pectin found in the fruit. This … Continue reading Cider and Maceration
Using a microwave to extract fruit juice - Modified extraction graph for grapes from A. Cendres(1) How should you process your apples to make juice? Do you mill and then press them? Do you even need to press them? A. Censures and associates researched an interesting alternative for juice extraction: microwaves(1). Their research focused on … Continue reading Microwave Extraction
How do you know the apples you are using for hard cider are ripe? Maybe, you would ask me to define ripe. Is ripe defined by the ideal time to harvest an apple, to eat an apple, or to press an apple. We could even consider the question of ripeness for cooking apples. In my … Continue reading When are apples ripe?
As I’ve noted in an earlier article on pressing apples, there are a lot of methods and equipment you can purchase or make to press apples into juice. If you have quite a few full-sized trees in the backyard producing thousands of pounds (500+ kg) of fruit, a larger grinder and press system is probably … Continue reading Making Cider with a Juicer
Maybe you realized those apple trees you planted a few years ago can actually produce quite a bit of fruit. Or, maybe your neighbor has a tree. Maybe you joined a social media group and have listened to enough people talking about pressing apples that you want to have a go at it yourself. If … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #30: Pressing apples into cider
When you pick apples in Southern Arizona, whether you sweat or not isn’t often a choice. Even at cooler elevations over 5000 feet, the sun can be brutal and I often work up a good sweat gathering apples for my hard ciders. Believe it or not, apples can also sweat or at least they lose … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #25: To Sweat or Not to Sweat
I have used a refractometer since I started making hard cider. To me, it seemed like it would be much easier to use than a standard hydrometer. I have since started using a Tilt Hydrometer, but it is completely different from how you use a standard hydrometer. I will spend a little time at the … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #21: Refractometers
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