#7 - Fresh Juice - And still learning

Recently I had a cider making friend share a post on Facebook that the new cidery at Lake Anna, Coyote Hole, was selling fresh pressed unpasteurized apple cider. (Keep in mind that fresh cider is juiced pressed from apples and hard cider is the juice post fermentation.) I was so pumped and that weekend my wife and I drove the hour drive to have lunch on the water and to purchase 2 gallons of fresh juice. Why is this such a big deal you may ask? Why can't you just go purchase juice from the store? Store bought pasteurized juice has either been stripped of certain elements to produce other products and/or the pasteurization strips flavors and aromas. This in turns does not ferment as well as unpasteurized fresh juice straight from the press. Store bought juice after fermentation will lack tastes and tends to be watery tasting.

A couple days later, I made a stop at our local home brew store and picked up 4 packs of yeast and campden tablets. My goal was to split the 2 gallons into 4 half gallon experiments, each with a different type of yeast. I've heard a lot good things from cider makers who have worked with champagne and white wine yeast. I also heard ale yeast can add a certain level of spice to your end product. I picked up one of each and rounded out my selection with the cider yeast that I have been utilizing in my first several batches.

I got home and in my excited I started cleaning and sterilizing all my fermenters, bungs, and airlocks immediately. I popped open the ale yeast and hydrated it in a little water and poured it into one of the fermenters with the juice. The moment I finished pouring the yeast, it hit me, this juice is unpasteurized and unpasteurized juice may contain wild yeast and bacteria from the apples and this could destroy my cider during fermentation. When dealing with unpasteurized juice, you have to crush and drop a campden tablet into the juice to kill all the wild yeast and most of the bacteria. Campden tablets take about 24 hours to work and then the cider maker can pitch the strain of yeast they desire. I had to take a step back and take care of that. I went ahead and pour the juice into their fermenters and crushed campden tablets and dropped the dust into each jug. I sealed each fermenter up and allowed them to sit for 24 hours. The next day, I picked up where I had left off and pitched the yeast.

The next issue I ran into was sealing the fermenters with the bungs and airlocks. The bungs kept sliding up the opening and wouldn't stay sealed. I tried taking a clean paper towel and wiped the bung and the inside of fermenter. Replacing the airlock, it seamed to seal, but when I checked it a few hours later, it had slid up again. I tried to get smart. I separated the bung and airlock and tried pressing the bung into the fermenter first. My hope was that in adding the airlock second, the airlock would push the bung outward press against the inside of the fermenter to seal. As soon as I applied any force the thin plastic airlock broke. A quick snap! And it left a small hole in the bottom of the airlock. It was late at night and I didn't have an extra airlock. The only thing I could think of was wrapping and trying to seal the hole with plastic wrap until I could purchase a new airlock.

The first thing I did the next morning was head back to my local brew store to purchase a replacement airlock. I told the owner what had happened. He just chuckled and shook his head at me. He then mentioned that some wine makers will plug their fermenter with a clean paper towel when they are in a pinch. He didn't recommend doing it, but it was just something he had heard when people are in a similiar situation.

It's been two days since I pitched the yeast now. Two of the four have started bubbling. The other two have been a struggle to keep sealed, but after wiping them down with a dry wash cloth, I finally got them to stick! I am hoping to see their airlocks bubble soon. I plan is to allow these ciders to sit in primary and secondary for longer amount of time than when I ferment the store bought juice. I am so excited for the finished product!

#6 - My First Review - Estate Reserve Semi-Dry Cider by Black Bird Cider Works

This will be my first full cider review, or at least my first full attempt. I will be enlisting resources from two books to help me describe notes. The first is "Cider Hard and Sweet" by Ben Watson and the second is "Tasting Cider" by Erin James and Cider Craft Magazine. I barely used Watson's book but largely relied on the flavor wheel found in "Tasting Cider."

I have been contemplating on which cider to pick for my first review. I thought maybe it would be easier trying to write about a cider that I have enjoyed many times through. I've never fully tried breaking down a cider before, nor do I consider myself a very good writer. Or, do I go down the spontaneous route and pick out something new?

I went spontaneous. While at Wegmans I reached for a cider that I have had my eye on for a while. Estate Reserve Semi-Dry Hard Cider by Black Bird Cider Works. Black Bird is located in western New York state near Lake Ontario. The cider comes in a 4 pack of 12 oz aluminum cans. I believe they were listed for $8.99 (don't quote me on that). The alcohol content is listed at 6.9% ABV.

Black Bird describes this cider as a "medium dry hard apple cider with a fruity apple aroma, crisp refreshing taste and a light finish. This classic American session cider pairs well with a wide range of artisan fare." Their website was a little more vague with its description: "A dry, lightly carbonated English style draft cider with an apple bouquet and honey notes."

On pouring the cider, a head immediately appeared and dissipated quickly. It had a strong carbonation with a lot of little bubbles appearing in the glass. I am still a little weak in color descriptors but I would classify the cider with a brilliant pale straw color. You be the judge.

On the nose I first felt like I was about to drink Mott's apple juice. And as I took sips and continue to sniff, I began to find aromas of uncooked apples.and vague notes of honey. 

On the palate, I got a soft acidic crisp taste with light amounts of citrus. It feels a little astringent as I swish the cider around my mouth. It has good carbonation with tiny bubbles. I know Black Bird describes it with a light finish, but I don't quite get that. It finishes thick with an after taste of maple syrup or honey. I am not quite fond of this component and it reminds me of Crispins "The Saint" in which they add apple juice concentrate to get this finish. 

As an overall view, I do like it. This won't be a go to cider for me. It's something that I have enjoyed and definitely appreciate. I don't care for the price of almost $10 for 4 cans, especially since it comes across more like a commercial cider than a craft. I'd rather spend the same amount to get a 6 pack of Bold Rock. It most resembles a Crispin. It starts refreshing and ends a bit syrupy. It does smells wonderful and looks great. 

#5 - Homemade Scratter and New Press

I am so excited for apple picking season! Last week I just put together my apple scratter and received my new apple press.

Apple scratters online are outrageously priced. So I googled DIY apple scratters and presses to build my own. I discovered many different varieties of machines people have put together. One guy bolted together a scratter with pieces of old wood he had lying around. He created a frame, crank handle and attached a wooden wheel to it. In the wheel he drilled screws in halfway that would dig into the apples and slowly pull them apart as he cranked the wheel. It was a simple contraption but would take some time and I didn't have the tools as well. Soon after I came across a YouTube video of a guy who had bolted a new garbage disposal to an old table and attached a large bowl with the bottom cut out to the top to it. He would feed the apples into the bowl, which would fall into the disposal and it would mash them up and spit them out of the side pipe into a bucket. It was simple and quite inexpensive compared to buying a new scratter online. I purchased my new disposal at lowes for $90 and a 2 gallon food grade bucket (also from lowes). I cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket and bolted the disposal to the bucket. It was pretty awesome.

As for the press I had managed to find a small fruit press online for around $65. It came with a small base, wood cage, and a handful of small wooden blocks to help press the fruit.

Once I got everyone together, I decided to test everything out! I grabbed some store bought granny smith apples chopped them up to remove the core and seeds. As I tossed the slices into the disposal, it quickly diced the apples up and spit out the pulp.


After I grounded up all my apples, I placed my mesh bag into my pressed and began pouring the apple pulp into the press. I wrapped the bag up to close it, placed the wooden pieces over top of it, and began cranking on the press. My first issue I discovered, at least with using so few number of apples, is that the crank screws down into the wood cage and you cant use the handle to get any leverage on the crank. I had to hand screw the press down. It still worked, however, I knew I would be leaving a little bit of juice behind in the pulp. I will have to get some bigger wooden blocks to help press every little bit of juice out of the apples.

As I cranked, the juice began to seep out from the wood cage and drain into my bucket. The juice was clear and tan as it dripped. When I was done, I poured into a wine glass and enjoyed a fresh glass of fresh cider. The clearness had dissapated to cloudy and the color had darkened.

#4 Lessons learned

Tuesday was an extremely productive day in my cider making journey. I started by bottling my 3rd batch. I had high hopes for this batch. It had sat in primary fermentation with Trader Joe's cider, extra sugar for alcohol boost, and a half of can of frozen apple juice concentrate for flavor boost. I allowed it to ferment for about two weeks. During this time I also set aside a container of oak chips soaking in bourbon. I racked this batch into secondary a couple weeks ago and added the soaked chips to a mesh bag and added that into the jug. It was quite difficult to squeeze the bag through the little whole of the jug with all of the oak chips and I had to slowly feed it through. I allowed the cider to sit in secondary for another 2 weeks.

On Tuesday, I bottled this batch. Each bottle I added a varying degree of splenda to experiment with back sweetening. I also bottled two bottles with zero sugar or splenda. I wanted to try it with out any carbonation or sweetener. The carbonation process should take about 2-3 weeks before I can pop those open.

I chilled the still cider and tried it that night. When poured it into a glass the aromas were awesome. I could definitely pull the bourbon with a hint of apple and butter from the oak. However, I quickly learned that oak chips, if left in the cider for too long, can create a very overpowering taste. The bourbon flavor was a tad extreme as well. Being that the juice was store bought, the cider itself didn't carry a lot of flavor to it and all you could really taste was a watery oak and bourbon. It was disappointing. I am hoping once the bottles are fully carbonated that it will have a better taste. Allowing the cider to age a little longer may help smooth the flavors out as well.

I also racked batch number 4. This batch has been in primary fermentation for about two weeks and was made from McCutcheons unfilter apple cider (unfiltered as in it still had its pulp from the apples and was cloudy). I added a half of can of frozen cherry apple juice concentrate for flavor boost and sugar for alcohol boost. I siphoned the cider into a fresh jug and added two cinnamon sticks. From what I have learned from the oak chips, I may rack the cider for a third fermentation to pull the cider off the cinnamon sticks. I don't want it to have an overpowering cinnamon flavor. I will taste test it in about a weeks time and make a decision on my next move.

#3 Trader Joe's Apple Cider

With the excitement of starting my first batch of cider, I quickly I wanted to start a second batch. I believe at this point, I had found out that my first batch, made with juice from a Fuji apple, may not turn out very well. If you read my second post, I found out that Fuji apples are considered a dessert apple and dessert apples don't always handle fermentation well. So I went out in search of another apple juice. I first looked in Whole Foods and all I could find was the same Fuji juice I had used on batch #1. My next store I went into was Trader Joe's. They had their own pressed apple cider. I quickly grabbed a gallon off the shelf and took home to start my second batch.

As with my first batch, I added nothing to the juice with the exception of the yeast. The yeast I was using was Premium House Select Cider Yeast. My understanding was that this yeast's optimum temperature for brewing hovered around 65-70 degrees F. It was the perfect selection being that I didn't have a room colder than 70 degrees. In fact the coldest room in the house is the half bath we have downstairs. It is easily cooler than any room in the house. We keep our house around 72-74 degrees. I estimate that the downstairs bath hovers around 68-72 depending on the weather outside. So yes, my half bath is also my fermentation room.

My Trader Joe's batch sat in it's primary fermentation for about two weeks before I racked it into secondary. I was able to get my first test taste and my specific gravity reading at this point. It's taste was sub-par. It was a bit tart, bitter, and watery.

Specific gravity readings measure the bouyance of the fluid and can give you a estimated alcohol by volume reading (% ABV). The initial reading before primary was right at 1.052 which gave me a target of around 6.5% ABV. After primary, the reading was at .998 and gave me an estimated 6.7% ABV. This is a normal ABV for a juice bought out of store and with no added sugar.

After waiting for another 2 weeks while it sat in secondary fermentation, I bottled it. I added 1/2 teaspoon of dextrose (priming sugar/white powder sugar) to each bottle to naturally carbonate. In addition, I split my batch into nine 12oz bottles. The first 3 bottles received no Splenda, the next three received 1/8 teaspoon, and the last 3 received 2/8 teaspoon. Artificial sweetener is used to back sweeten the cider as the yeast will eat up any actual sugars.

I boxed the bottles up to store and wait another 2 weeks. During this phase the yeast is eating up the dextrose and producing carbon dioxide and alcohol. Since the bottles are bottle capped and no gas can leave the bottle, it gets infused into the liquid and carbonates the cider.

At the end of the 2 weeks, I cracked one open to test carbonation levels and to taste. I was disappointed when I popped the top and barely heard any fizz. Upon tasting, it was gross. It had a slight tart and was very watery tasting. I couldn't even drink it. I dumped it down the drain. I still have the other 8 bottles and I am hoping with a little more time carbonation will increase and taste will improve some, however, I don't have high hopes.

I currently have 2 other batches going with added ingredients. My hopes are these will turn out better. More about those future posts to come.

#2 - The first batch - Fuji

After my epiphany I quickly started doing my homework on how to make hard cider. I started where every other average person would start, google. I typed in "how to make hard cider"and clicked enter. The third link I looked up was a website dedicated to just that, how to make hard cider (howtomakehardcider.com). It had a lot information and I took my time going through it all, studying it, and taking notes. It told me the difference between cleaning and sanitizing, between fresh pressed juice and store bought, and even gave amazon links to all the equipment I needed. It took me a few days to comb through all I needed to know.

I dropped about $60 on my first bit of equipment. It wasn't all that I needed, but it was enough to get me started. My first order included 2 one gallon glass jugs, bungs, airlocks, sanatizer, and yeast. My next step was to find juice with out preservatives. I didn't want to go down the Mott's apple juice route. I wanted something alittle higher quality. My first find was pressed Fuji apple juice. I was excited. Fuji was one my favorite apples to eat. What I wished I had known was that Fuji is considered a dessert apple and juices from these apples don't always hold well. None the less, I cleaned and sanatized my equipment, filled my jug with the Fuji apple juice, and pitched my yeast (pitching the yeast refers to just pouring the yeast into the jug without shaking or stirring it into the juice).

It took it about 24 hours before it began to bubble. Granted it took me a day to discover my bung was not staying sealed into the jug. Which meant no carbon dioxide produced from the yeast eating the sugar was getting pushed through the air lock. It was escaping through the side. The problem was the sanitizer I was using. It is considered to be one of the best sanitizer for brewers, wine and cider makers. However, one of its draw backs is that it makes rubber bungs very slippery. The alternative sanitizer turned out to be vodka. I bought a small bottle of cheap vodka and soaked a new bung. After 5 minutes, I pulled it out of the vodka and dried it with a fresh paper towel. I then took the paper towel and dried the inner rim of my gallon jug. The bung now fit perfectly and firmly. No slippage.

My Fuji juice sat in primary for about 2 weeks. At this point I had bought some tubing, an auto siphon, and a bottle filler wand. After sanitizing all the equipment and my second gallon jug, I racked the juice. It had almost fermented to completely dry (very little carbonation and almost no sugar left for the yeast to eat). I was able to sample a bit. I was expecting something very bitter and dry. What I got was a little tart, a little bitter, and a little smooth. I was presently surprised that it wasn't that bad.

My cider sat in secondary for another two weeks before I bottled it. I have heard many people who have bottled and carbonated their cider naturally can sometime end up with cider bombs. Where people add too much priming sugar or leave the bottle at room temperature for too long and allows to much carbon dioxide to build up in the bottle. The bottle ends up exploding. I have never witnessed something like that so I wasn't sure how big the explosion would be, but I didn't want to chance turning my hard cider into a bomb. Instead of putting the recommended amount of priming sugar (1/2 teaspoon of priming sugar), I put 3/8 of a teaspoon. I filled the bottles and then scooped the sugar into the bottles using a 1/8 teaspoon. Immediately after the sugar touched the juice, it bubbled and overflowed. I am sure a lot of the sugar in the first scoop came fizzing over as well. I allowed the fizz to settle and placed another 2/8 teaspoon into the bottles and then sealed them with a bottlecap.

After another 2 weeks, I popped one open to check carbonation levels. It barely had any fizz. A little bummed, I capped the bottle and set it back into its container. A week later I checked another one. Same result. Very little carbonation. Bummed, again I placed a fresh cap back on the bottle. After yet another week, I popped another cap. This time is had a little bit more carbonation. I decided to cap it and place it the fridge so I could drink it later.

That evening, I popped my first bottle of cider for drinking. It was okay. It was tart and bitter with a little carbonation. It lacked flavor. One thing is did have going for it was it's aroma. As soon as you popped the cap, your nose was quickly filled with fruity aromas. It's color at this point had changed from it's pale cloudy color to darker and still cloudy apple juice color. Something you find in a bottle of mott's apple juice. I understood my first batch was probably going to turn out mediocre at best, but I was still disappointed.

My lesson learned here. Don't buy juice from a dessert apple unless you are planning to blend it with different types of apples.

#1 Pilot - Cider Making

Hello to any unfortunate soul who has stumbled upon this thing I am calling a blog. I apologize ahead of time that my proper English isn't very good. Please no grammar Nazis!  My name is Brandon and I love hard cider. It's really an addiction. I've been drinking cider for about 5-6 years now. My first experience with hard cider was actually with a fake cider. Redd's Apple Ale. Upon first sip, I absolutely fell in love with it. Not being a beer drinker this quickly became my go to when all my friends were drinking beer. I quickly progressed to Angry Orchards and Bold Rock. Soon after Richmond had it's first urban cidery open up. Blue Bee Cidery. They got their apples from Charlottesville and made their cider in Richmond. They created semi-dry cider and it was an eye opener. It was my first experience with craft cider and I couldn't believe cider could taste this way. It quickly became my drink of choice. I have had many ciders since and would drink them because I loved the way they tasted, however, I never paid much attention to the fine details of tasting notes and aromas. I just enjoyed a good tasting cider. I could drink with family and friends and enjoy what I was drinking.

A few months ago, my wife and I were on a cider/wine trip between Richmond and Charlottesville. Our last stop on our way home was Courthouse Creek Cider, a relatively new cider. It was our first time visiting them and we went in for a tasting. The woman that poured for us went into great details of each cider. She was very genuine and discussed each cider with a lot of passion. Come to find out the woman was the owners wife. She and her husband had moved to Virginia from California to open up their own cidery. As she is discussing their move and starting their business, it hit me like a ton of bricks ran my ass over. I should make my own cider! I could turn this into a business! I could open up my own cidery! It was a revelation. I was so excited, I started immediately. I did my homework, bought the necessary equipment, yeast, and juice. I am currently finishing my first batch of hard cider. I'll get into that more in later posts.

So where does this leave me now? I realized that if I was going to be a good cider maker, regardless if I was going to create my own business or not, that I needed to develop my palate. I felt like in order to describe what I had created, I needed to pull out flavor and aroma notes from my cider. My palate and sense of smell are severely underdeveloped. I know I need practice and time to develop them and I need a way to describe these flavors. With that said, this is the purpose of my blog. To share my experience as a cider maker and to review ciders in an effort to develop my palate. I feel that my blog will help me practice and document my cider experience.