Racking is a term used quite often by cider makers. It simply means to siphon off the clearer juice or cider from the sediment or lees that accumulate on the bottom of the container. The origin may be related to the old French word arracar, which meant to drain. A racking cane or tube is … Continue reading Cider Question: What is racking and why is it performed?
Tag: racking
Cider Question: When should I rack my cider?
Racking your hard cider simply means to siphon off the cider leaving the bottom layer of sediment behind. To answer the question of when you should rack your cider, I first need to review the definition of sediment and lees. Apple juice contains a variety of organisms and compounds. Many of these precipitate or drop … Continue reading Cider Question: When should I rack my cider?
Experiments in Sweetness: Sweet Hard Cider
Being able to create a hard cider with some residual sweetness is often referred to as the holy grail of cider. The reason for this is because that sweetness can be used to balance the high acids often found in dessert apples and the tannins found in cider apples. This cider season I set about … Continue reading Experiments in Sweetness: Sweet Hard Cider
Cider Oxygenation – The Impact by Process
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



