Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
Tannin Polymerization Polymerization can be a key part of the aging process for cider. It is a chemical process in which the tannins found in the cider combine to form larger and more complex molecules. This process is enabled by oxygen through oxidative coupling. Tannins are found at higher concentrations in apples known as bitters, … Continue reading Cider Words: Polymerization
The simple answer is “no”. Campden, potassium metabisulfite, sulfite, sulphite, or whatever name or compound you use, it is not needed. This is especially true if you are unsure why you are adding it. As a general rule, if you don’t understand why you are adding something to your cider, don’t add it. This is … Continue reading Cider Question: Do I need to use Campden (sulfite)?
When people ask if their hard cider can go bad, they are often worried that it might spoil or turn into something that would make them ill. Usually, the cider in question is often sitting in a bucket and has a crust of white or even a moldy film or layer on top of it. … Continue reading Cider Question: Can hard cider go bad?
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
Headspace is the amount of air or open space you have in your container above the liquid. A common question when making cider is how much headspace should you have in your fermenter for primary fermentation? The next question is usually how much you should have when aging your hard cider. There are several considerations … Continue reading The Headspace Conundrum
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
What is respiration and how is it different from fermentation? Have you ever heard that oxygen is bad and to avoid oxygen exposure when fermenting hard cider? It is or at least it can be. Yes, this is another one of those questions where the answer is, it depends. Generally speaking, yeast have two main … Continue reading Respiration versus Fermentation
Cider Oxygenation: The amount of oxygen added to cider by processing It is often stated that you want to avoid oxygen exposure to your hard cider after fermentation begins. While this is a good practice, like most questions related to the production of hard cider, the answer often is it depends. With wine, micro-oxygenation can … Continue reading Cider Oxygenation – The Impact by Process
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