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
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
I don’t have classic cider apples growing around me. I have found some wonderful American heirloom varieties but, even those aren’t considered true cider apples. Most people have access to a wonderful range of cooking apples like Granny Smith and Bramley or eating apples like Red Delicious, Fuji, and Gala. Unless you live in certain … Continue reading Cider Question: Can I use culinary and eating apples to make cider?
Phenolic Compounds of Fuji Apples Fuji is such a common apple that unless you live in the historical cider regions of France, England, or Spain, you will probably be wondering if it makes a good cider. It was developed in Japan in the 1930s and is the offspring of the American Red Delicious and Virginia … Continue reading Apple Phenolics: Fuji
Winesap Phenolic Compounds Winesap is an heirloom apple variety in America and it was the parent of numerous other apples including various Winesap seedlings. Stayman Winesap is an example of a Winesap seedling that is commonly found in the United States. Arkansas Black apples are also thought to be a seedling of Winesap. While originally … Continue reading Apple Phenolics: Winesap
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
I’ve talked about the color of hard cider and how the process for making wine can be used as a reference. This is because like wine, cider color can be influenced by the fruit as well as the process. In another post on hard cider color, I explored how to make what I call silver … Continue reading Exploring the Colors of Hard Cider
Apple peels can be yellow, green, red, blushed, streaked, sunburnt, and russeted. However, after noting the wonderful colors and even texture, we often ignore them once we start the cider making process. Did you realize that those peels are potentially the single most powerful ingredient in your cider making process? Most cider makers ignore and … Continue reading Apple Peels: The Missing Ingredient of Hard Cider
Polyphenols: The peel and the core Polyphenols are also often called tannins. These compounds are most associated with the bitterness and astringency of hard cider but can also impact color and mouthfeel. There are several types of polyphenols including flavonoids and phenolic acids. Apples, like most fruit, concentrate polyphenols in the peel and the core … Continue reading Polyphenol Concentration in Apples
Pippin Magic has been one of my favorite hard ciders of the 2019 harvest. I used Newtown Pippin apples, which are also known as Albemarle Pippin apples. The apple was a chance seedling, grown from an apple seed or pip, found in Newtown, New York in the late 1600s or early 1700s. It was taken … Continue reading Making Pippin Magic Hard Cider
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