Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
I have the pleasure of interacting with people from all over the world and at all levels of cider making experience. But, no matter how many books and research papers papers I read, apples I assess, yeasts I trial, or experiments I conduct, I am fundamentally just a home craft cider maker. When I write … Continue reading Cider Equipment: Fermentation
Scientifically, yeast are identified by a classification methodology. They are part of the fungi kingdom and they will have different families and orders(1). For alcoholic beverages makers, like hard cider makers, we usually focus and talk about three classifications for yeast. The first and highest level is the genus. Saccharomyces is a genus of yeast. … Continue reading Cider Yeast: Classifications
Yeast Regulation: Upregulating and Downregulating Yeast are single cell organisms that are seeking to survive and thrive in whatever environment they find themselves. As a single cell organism, we might be inclined to think of them as simple but, that would be a mistake. Yeast have a vast amount of processes they perform to live … Continue reading Cider Words: Yeast Regulation
Cider Aroma Faults: Butter Sometimes too much of a compound is the cause of a fault. Other times, the definition of whether its a fault depends on the beverage. Diacetyl (C4H6O2) is an example of such a compound. In most beers, it’s considered a fault but, in most California chardonnays, it’s desired. Butter is the … Continue reading Aroma Faults: Diacetyl
Sugar is a fundamental element of making hard cider. Without sugar, yeast couldn’t ferment juice and produce ethanol so we wouldn’t have cider. We also wouldn’t have vinegar because vinegar is formed from the ethanol produced by the sugar. Isn’t it interesting how a single simple compound can have such a dramatic impact on human … Continue reading Cider Fundamentals: Sugar
Cider Aroma Faults - Solvent or Vinegar Some compounds contribute positively, initially. But, if there is too much, they quickly become faults. Ethyl acetate (C5H8O2) is an example of such a compound. In low quantities, it can contribute to the aroma of a cider but in large quantities, it becomes a fault. It will turn … Continue reading Aroma Faults: Solvent
Cider Aroma Faults: Rotten Eggs and Cooked Cabbage The smell of rotten eggs or cooked vegetables like cabbage or broccoli are two of the common sulfur (sulphur for my British friends) related odors faults that can be found in cider. The culprit is generally Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), though other sulfur compounds like diethyl sulfide can … Continue reading Aroma Faults: Rotten Eggs
In other articles, I’ve noted how nitrogen is one of the key compounds yeast need to turn apple juice into hard cider. It’s essential for protein synthesis and protein is needed to transport sugar into the yeast cell. Sugar creates the energy, ATP, needed for cell function and reproduction or what we prefer to call … Continue reading How Nitrogen Impacts Cider Fermentation
Yeast Survival Factors: The Impact to Cider Fermentation Yeast Survival Factors are also commonly referred to as oxygen substitutes(1) or anaerobic growth factors(2). These are compounds that ensure yeast viability under stress and ultimately, the survival of the yeast. The compounds include sterols, fatty acids, and peptides. You might be thinking that Yeast Survival Factors … Continue reading Cider Words: Yeast Survival Factors
As cider makers, we tend to think of yeast as our partner in producing wonderful hard ciders. We might inoculate with commercial strains or let the natural microflora go to work. Either option, if you are like me, you associate yeast with fermentation and the ethanol it produces. But, yeast don’t care about producing ethanol … Continue reading How Yeast Reproduce
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