Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
This is the third article in my series on non-Saccharomyces yeast. Initially, I reviewed the concept that the yeast commonly used for wine and beer, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is not ideal for cider and could be considered a spoilage yeast. I proposed that most Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast lack the properties critical for creating the essence of … Continue reading Non-Saccharomyces Yeast: Inoculating for Control
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)?
Many cider recipes call for the addition of yeast nutrient when adding yeast. Do you really need to add yeast nutrient to make cider? The short answer is no but, as you might expect, there are always details and nuances involved when answering most questions about cider. The need for yeast nutrient is usually a … Continue reading Cider Question: Do I need to use yeast nutrient?
Things happen and you aren’t always able to process all the apples you need to fill your fermenter. For example, not all apples ripen at the same time. In fact, a single tree may take weeks to ripen all the apples on it. Maybe your grinder or press broke or you picked more apples than … Continue reading Cider Question: How can I delay processing my apples?
If you are like me, you are interested in trying different apples but more importantly, you’re interested in cheap apples. Those may come from a backyard or roadside tree or even from an orchard. Often, they are damaged either from insects or weather, like hail. This inevitably leads to this week’s Cider Question about whether … Continue reading Cider Question: Can I use apples with worm holes?
Generalization of how tolerant various microorganisms are to free SO2. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) has the ability to weaken the cell walls of organisms resulting in their death or inability to function. It can also react and bind with phenolic and other compounds impacting color, sweetness, bitterness, and astringency. SO2 tolerance is the ability of an … Continue reading Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Tolerance
If you read some of my other articles on sulfites and sorbates, you will know that I am not an advocate of using Campden, potassium metabisulfite, sulphite, SO2, or whatever other term you use for this preservative and sanitizing compound. The biggest reason I am not an advocate is because I think it’s overused, especially … Continue reading Potassium Metabisulfite: The Overview
There is often a debate about the need, use, and benefit of sulfites (or sulphites if you live in many other English speaking countries) when making hard cider or even wine. Using or not using them along with sorbates can be a cause for much debate. Therefore, I wanted to explore the reasons why you … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #22: Sulfite and Sorbate
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