Drink of the Month - October 2012 - CIDER

[Walter Sobchak]

Welcome to The B&B Speakeasy Drink of the Month for October 2012!


CIDER



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Cider, or Hard Cider as many of us Yanks call it, was once the most popular "adult beverage" in North America, far exceeding beer and wine in popularity. It has been making a resurgence in the United States over the last decade or so, and remains popular the world over. Countless small, independent orchards are producing their own brands of hard cider all around the country. Since it's a fairly simple procedure, many home "brewers" concoct their own personal ciders.

Here is the place to report on your preferences and favorites when it comes to cider. Do you make a batch every year in your basement? Do you head down to the local liquor store for a six pack of Magners? How about the local orchard? Do they make a regional favorite?

Let's share our cider stories!

 

[Kazeryu]

I'll put in a vote for Magners!

One which might be flying under the radar is the most recent offering from the syrup-seller known as Grower's. Many people would describe their beverages as "panty-peeler", and with good cause. However, their latest cider, labelled as "1927" is a far more traditional dry cider.

 

[Haggises]

I used to drink Cider because I didn't like beer, then moved to Scrumpy whenever I could find it.
Living in Bristol helped.
If it didn't come in a container like this right from the farm, it wasn't worth drinking.....

 

[Edcculus]

I began brewing cider shortly after I started home brewing. It started with a German cider called Apflewein, which is a very dry cider that has had some sugar added to slightly bump up the ABV. I then really started experimenting with ciders.


I always assumed I hated cider because of what is commercially available in the US. Woodchuck, Strongbow and all of the overly sweet iterations aimed solely at middle aged "wine cooler" type women, or underage girls who don't like beer. It wasn't until after my first batch of really good stuff that I was hooked. To me, a good cider is fairly dry, with just a little residual sweetness. This can be a huge problem for home brewers who bottle since all of the sugars are fermentable. I found a way around that by bottle pasteurizing the yeast once it reaches the level of carbonation in the bottle I want.


Of the stuff that is available in the store, Samuel Smith's is probably the most consistent and widely carried brand I like. Its a little sweeter than I normally like, but not too bad. Over the past few years, a lot of smaller cider makers have been popping up. I'm always looking for new ones to try in the store.


Cider has a fairly neutral flavor, so it pairs really well with a lot of food.

 

[Leon]

Ah, cider, lovely drink.

Reminds of a trip to Northern Spain, where the locals brew some of the finest cider there is.

Here's how they serve you a glass of cider:

 

[Haggises]

The best stuff I ever had was from a small rural shop in Brittany. While the other students grabbed as many cheap heineken as they could find, I went back to the dusty shelves and found ridiculously cheap bottles of very strong, very dry, slightly sparling cider. Heaven.

 

[galopede]

I used to drink Cider because I didn't like beer, then moved to Scrumpy whenever I could find it.
Living in Bristol helped.
If it didn't come in a container like this right from the farm, it wasn't worth drinking.....
View attachment 276333

Have to agree with you there. If you don't have to strain it through clenched teeth, it's not proper cider!

I live in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, not far from Bristle and we have plenty of places making the real thing.

Gareth

As an afterthought, I remember being at a folk festival on Dartmoor in Devon and a friend had his very tarnished silver tuba with him. He also had a pint of the roughest local cider I've seen and I dipped a hanky in it and wiped it on the tuba and it took the tarnish off like silver polish! Wonder what it did to his gut?

 

[OldAF]

Of the stuff that is available in the store, Samuel Smith's is probably the most consistent and widely carried brand I like. Its a little sweeter than I normally like, but not too bad.

I've tried a handful of ciders lately and Samuel Smith's is easily the best. The bottle says it is "medium dry" and I suspect this is about as dry as anything easily available in an American store. Some locals might surprise me though... Anyway, I thought this was quite dry and you saying it was too sweet made me chuckle. Even among brands there is quite a range of flavors. Anyone looking for something on the dry side should look for "traditional dry" anything described as "crisp" will likely be sweeter. I've tried Angry Orchard (Samuel Adams) "ginger" and "traditional dry" and liked both.

 

[Perrito-Incognito]

Picked up a six-pack of Angry Orchard. ... meh. Perhaps they have other varieties, but this was too sweet for my taste. 5% ABV. The hunt continues.
May try making a batch this fall or winter.

 

[Mink]

I home brew, and hard cider is easy to make. Not my favorite though because it really gave me a headache - which is a common complaint. Of course, that may also have something to do with the alcohol percentage and amount consumed.

 

[Walter Sobchak]

I've tried a handful of ciders lately and Samuel Smith's is easily the best. The bottle says it is "medium dry" and I suspect this is about as dry as anything easily available in an American store. Some locals might surprise me though... Anyway, I thought this was quite dry and you saying it was too sweet made me chuckle. Even among brands there is quite a range of flavors. Anyone looking for something on the dry side should look for "traditional dry" anything described as "crisp" will likely be sweeter. I've tried Angry Orchard (Samuel Adams) "ginger" and "traditional dry" and liked both.

Any Sam Smith product commands my respect. Some I like more than others, but I've never had any Sam Smith offering that I didn't think was pretty darn good. I haven't seen their cider around here, though.

Dry ciders, in general, appeal to me - and I've been lucky to have lived near some great local makers.

I have bought and like Magners. I think it's sweet on the nose, but not too sweet on the palate. Can't wait to find some Sam Smith, to try!

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

One of the things that makes the Mrs. and I all warm and fuzzy inside about the fall season is apples. Fall and apples just go together like baseball and apple pie and our memory is the apple trees in yards loaded with fresh fruit. Good cider is experiencing a kind of renaissance and is now being produced all over the United States, just as it was in c
olonial times.

Having said that, I found Hornsby's Crisp Cider to have a light golden color, pleasingly-sweet with fragrant aromas of fresh sliced apples with a pleasant effervescent and fruity medium body...I really like this American Hard Cider and goes great with a cigar.

"Everybody thinks I drink beer, but I actually like [hard] cider". Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge

 

[Edcculus]

I home brew, and hard cider is easy to make. Not my favorite though because it really gave me a headache - which is a common complaint. Of course, that may also have something to do with the alcohol percentage and amount consumed.

Control your fermentation temps and take care of your yeast. Higher fermentation temps lead to creation of more fusel alcohols (also described as "hot" or higher alcohols), which lead to killer headaches. I like to ferment ciders in the low 70s when at all possible. If I have a fermentation cabinet available, I'll drop it down to 65 degrees F.

Nice healthy yeast is important in ciders. I usually make a starter out of dry malt extract (not apple juice), and add a little yeast nutrient. It also doesn't hurt to add a little wyeast yeast nutrient, DAP or Fermaid per the products instructions. There is not much in the way of nutrients in apple juice (or grape juice or honey for that matter). Stressed yeast also create fusel alcohols.

My ciders gave me the worst hangovers with headaches that lasted all day until I started taking these steps.

 

[JoshuaNY]

I have a cidermill right near me, I never thought to look to see if they make hard cider. I will definitely have to ask them.

 

[BeeSeeDub]

I've homebrewed cider a couple of times. The last time I used a champagne yeast and the end result was a cider that turned out like (you guessed it) champagne. I didn't like it.

Seeking to make lemonade out of lemons - I un-bottled the lot and freeze distilled my my original 5gal-or-so down to about a liter of schnapps-like applejack...that was very good.

 

[Edcculus]

I've homebrewed cider a couple of times. The last time I used a champagne yeast and the end result was a cider that turned out like (you guessed it) champagne. I didn't like it.

Seeking to make lemonade out of lemons - I un-bottled the lot and freeze distilled my my original 5gal-or-so down to about a liter of schnapps-like applejack...that was very good.

yep, most common mistake by far. Most "recipes" on the net will say champagne yeast. It ferments too fast and dry to make a drinkable cider unless you ferment very cold or use the French keeving method, which ends up starving the yeast and causing them to die off before fermentation is finished.

I've never freeze concentrated, but I've been meaning to try. Before anyone asks, freeze concentration is perfectly legal since you are really only removing a portion of the water. Its very different than distillation.

 

[stobes21]

My local liquor store had a ton of different domestic and imported ciders. I picked up a six pack of magners, a pint can of Crispin Dry, and a 32?oz bottle of Samuel Smith's Organic. So far I've tried the Magners and Crispin. The Crispin was dryer in the mouth but more fruity and sweet on the nose. A bit more sophisticated. But both were excellent.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Guess what's up NY Cider drinkers? Coming to a area near you, there's a weeklong Cider revival celebration (Cider Week), of local ciders which begins 12 - 21 Oct. 12.

Read More: http://ciderweekny.com/

"Everybody thinks I drink beer, but I actually like [hard] cider". Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge

 

[Perrito-Incognito]

Just had some Crispin Extra Dry cider. 12 oz format in a four pack.
Was what I was looking for. VERY dry compared to others I've tried. Served over ice w/ a twist of lemon.
I liked it.

 

[Edcculus]

Hmm, I would have never thought to serve cider over ice. I always viewed it as beer or wine, which I would not ice eiher.