Hard Cider?

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

A buddy of mine and I are planning to make a batch or two of cider in a week or two ... although I've made my share of beer, I've never made a cider before. Any cider-makers in the group? Words of wisdom?

A few questions I have ... what's the best type of yeast? Is the primary fermentation time comparable to beer, assuming we use beer yeast? Do you "pasteurize" the sweet cider to kill bacteria or let it go wild?

Any tips are appreciated!

[Rob DeNunzio]

Now here's a topic that's near and dear to my heart, one that I could seriously ramble on about to no end, but I'll try no contain myself...

Before you make any cider, though, the big question is the same one you'd ask a new homebrewer - what ciders do you like, and what do you want it to taste like? How you answer that will determine the decisions you're asking about up above.

Do you have any commercial favorites? Or a vision of what it'll be like? Where are you sourcing your apples?

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Oh, do tell ...

I have very little to reference from, to be honest, Rob. I don't have favorites, but I suppose I'd say we'd ideally like to create something moderately dry and not too high in alcohol content. Sessionable cider?

As far as apples are concerned, my friend reserved 25lbs. of black Arkansas apples from a local marker's market. I don't have a clue if these are good apples for cider or not, but I do know we need to figure out how to press them, I suppose.

I feel like I'm starting all over again! It's a tad disconcerting not knowing what I'm doing here at all.

[Rob DeNunzio]

So you guys pressing the must yourselves? Bravo! Pick up the book "Cider" by Anne Proulx (yes, that Annie Proulx) and then read on...

With your own apples to start with, you've got a few options. First, though, you won't want to heat it up at all, as there are better ways to sanitize the must (if that's your goal) without encouraging a pectin haze. I know folks who swear the best cider is made by doing nothing but crushing the fruit and letting nature take its course, but if you want more control, maybe treat it with a Camden tablet and pitch a known, healthy yeast to ensure a clean fermentation. As far as the *best* yeast, it totally depends on what you're after, but for simple, straightforward ciders, we just use a Montrachet wine yeast.

If you're only using Arkansas Blacks, you might consider also getting a few pounds of crabapples or another sour, high tannin apple to contribute character and aroma to the finished cider. The worst cider we ever made came from the best Fuji apples you could get your hands on, but as they were nothing but sugar, the post-fermentation result was a very bland drink. Barring that, you can always use acid blend or citric acid to allow for some contrast to the central fruit flavor.

25lbs of apples will probably yield no more than 3 gallons of cider, I'm guessing. If you want a moderately dry, sessionable cider (a "doux"), you might want to have some juice on hand in reserve to blend back into the cider once fermentation is done in order to bring up the body and sweetness a little. Some of the "cider yeast" that you can buy is purposefully low attenuating, which can also help.

I'd also suggest, of course, that you find some commercial examples and get to tasting! My personal favorites are the Eric Bordelet and Wandering Aengus labels, but there are tons of varieties to choose from that'll help you hone in on the flavor you'd like to replicate at home.

I'm curious to hear how it goes for you. And if you're in the neighborhood around Easter time, you're welcome to give ours a try, too! Let me know if there's anything else I can add to the discussion.

[Corrie Martin]

Hi there -- thought you might appreciate these tips from various cider people, including Steve Wood, our cidermaker at Farnum Hill.

http://www.byo.com/stories/issue/article/issues/265-september-2009/...

Nope the link works -- you may have already seen this article in September's "Brew Your Own" magazine.

Also, in the shameless self promotion category, our ciders from Poverty Lane Orchards/Farnum Hill Ciders are pretty yummy.

Best,
Corrie

[Rob DeNunzio]

Nice tips! Thanks for posting the link.

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

So here's a question ... any clever and cheap ways to press apples sans apple/cider press? We're thinking blender and/or food processor at this point.

Also, carbonate or no? Is there a general preference? I'm leaning toward yes, but don't know how it will differ from the beer-making process for bottle conditioning (kegging not an option in this case). I assume if my final gravity is low enough ... 1.010 or lower ... I just add priming sugar to the batch just like beer?

Just as soon avoid bottle bombs!

[Rob DeNunzio]

Using a food processor will only yield brown mush, which will still leave you stuck needing some way to extract the liquid from the solid in order for the yeast to get busy. Your local homebrew shop ought to have gear to rent, though, so I'd check into that before giving up hope.

And as for carbonation, it's totally your call, but I personally like it sparkling. Tricky thing about bottling sparkling cider is that if you want to safely use a white wine yeast, you'll need to let it ferment out fully, ending up way lower than 1.010, and probably drier and stronger than you said you'd wanted it to be. Use WLP775 and take note of your OG. If you plan on just waiting it out (rather than cold crashing, filering, and repitching a conditioning yeast), let it go longer than a typical ale to ensure you've fermented it out enough that you won't have blown bottles. (At which point you just add priming sugar just like bottling beer, and at the same rate.)

If you could keg it, you have much more control. If it's too dry, you can just blend apple juice back into it until it's got the body and sweetness you want, and if you decide to simply cold crash it when it tastes good, you can force carbonate.

Good luck! Can't wait to hear how it turns out.

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

If only such a local homebrew shop existed! I think we'll likely have to punt on this one. We might try to extract what juice we can since my friend has already purchased the 25lbs of Arkansas Blacks, but we'll most likely go with organic juice from the local co-op. We'll see how it goes.

Any issues with a lot of extra head space in the carboy if we end up with well under 5 gallons of fermentable juice?

Oh, also ... pasteurize or no pasteurize?

Thanks for all your help, Rob!

[Rob DeNunzio]

Consider headspace the same way you would in homebrewing: fine during aggressive fermentation thanks to all the CO2 output, but something you want to minimize during the slower phase. Maybe put the batch into a regular carboy at first and then gather some smaller containers for the conditioning phase to reduce the amount of surface-air contact.

Are you talking about pasteurizing before or after it's done? You can try to pasteurize the cider to reduce potential contamination at the onset, but you quickly run the risk of creating a pectin haze. You're better off using Camden tablets to prep the juice for your preferred fermentation agent. I'm not sure why you'd want to do it once it was completed, unless you were hoping to stop the yeast activity before it dries out too much. Of course, you can't bottle condition cider you've made that way, so I'm guessing that's not what you meant.

You could certainly do worse than by supplementing the juice you've pressed with bottled juice to make your intended volume. What we've actually done in the past few years is the exact opposite: we get really good juice from a local farmer, and then blend in smaller proportions of sour and aromatic apples for depth of flavor. I actually know someone who made serviceable, if not memorably good, cider from generic cans of frozen apple juice concentrate... So you're already working in the gourmet realm!

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Thanks again, Rob.

Right, I was referring to heating the juice to 180 degrees prior to cooling and pitching yeast to minimize contaminants, but I'll just utilize campden tabs per your suggestion. I like the idea of transferring into smaller containers for conditioning too ... we'll likely do that.

Really appreciate all your help. I'll let you know how it all goes!

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Okay, one last item. Are we staring problems in the face if we're using a locally produced, store-bought cider that contains a small amount of preservatives? I'm planning to make a sizable yeast starter, so I'm wondering if we're okay or if we're destined to kill our fermentation before it begins?

I don't have the label in front of me, so I'm not sure what's in there, but i know there's something.

I thought cider-making was easier than beer! Geeesh!

[Rob DeNunzio]

Nah, shouldn't cause any problems that I can think of.