10 Tips for Better

Homemade Cider
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One of my most popular posts ever has been my tutorial
on Making Hard Cider From Whole Apples (without a
press). I love that so many people are giving it a try– it’s
so much fun! Now that it’s apple season again, I thought
it would be great to provide some more information on
making your homemade cider even more awesome than
last year’s. I’ve moved away from apple country, but I
have a fantastic resource for you– my brother Nathan is
a terrific cider maker, and has a lot of great information
to share. I asked if he would be willing to do a guest post
for us, and he agreed! So here he is, with a lot of cool
ideas for kicking things up a notch.
Craft cider is gaining popularity around the world just as
craft beer exploded in the late 90s. However, one thing
that is different is that cider is an agricultural product that
is made seasonally like wine. It’s great to take advantage of
the surplus of apples that are available in the Fall and
make some cider to sip throughout the year. Every year
many apples fall on the ground and are wasted. Cider is a
perfect way to make something useful out of someone
else’s “mess”.
I have been making cider for about 15 years, but in the past
4 years the scale and depth of the annual project has
gotten much greater. This year I’m taking care of a small
orchard and have access to as much fruit as I can press. I
have experimented with many different aspects of cider
making and have begun to settle into a few things that will
“stick” in my process. I’m sharing them here.
10 Tips for Better Homemade
Cider
1. Just Call it “Cider”. This may not affect your actual
brew, but I still think it’s important. At one time
North Americans (prohibition) almost forgot about
fermented cider and started calling unfiltered apple
juice “cider”. Then, the fermented stuff had to be
 called “hard cider”. The rest of the world still calls the
boozy stuff cider (or cidre, sidra, etc), so we (North
Americans) need to get back to that. Pretty soon, that
sweet juice will have to be qualified with “sweet”
cider… and all will be right with the world.
2. Get to Know Dry Cider*. Try to get to know and
love “dry” cider. Yes, perhaps it’s hard to get used to
something tart… but, it’s what the fruit really gives
you after fermentation. It shouldn’t taste like apples,
it should taste like cider. Just as wine doesn’t taste
like grapes, it receives it’s own unique set of flavors
from fermentation. The sweet draft ciders at the
grocery store are poor examples of natural fermented
products. They reflect the same industrial process
used to make soda pop (carbonated water, sugar,
apple flavor, preservatives). Try to look at making
cider as making wine. It can have all the interesting
and complex flavors of the place and fruit that it came
from. Dry ciders can also taste rather sweet if the
fruity aromas are still present. My bone-dry ciders are
never regarded as very dry because there are enough
fruity aromas present to communicate sweetness via
aroma department. I shoot for something akin to
champagne. Good dry cider has some fruity
character… and shouldn’t taste harsh. (Ariana here:
the tutorial I did is for a dry, English-style cider, by
the way.)*dry ciders are also the easiest to make,
which also makes them loveable.
3. Don’t Be Afraid of Ugly Fruit. To make cider, the
fruit doesn’t have to be pretty… in fact, it can even be
 damaged and deformed by insects and disease. Much
of my cider fruit is deformed and has a few blemishes.
The neighbors think their apples are ugly and
inedible. They are perfect for cider. The guy at our
local cider mill has told me that as long as the fruit is
firm and solid, it is good for cider. It is recommended
that you not use fruit that has spent time on the
ground. If you shake fruit out of the tree, it is fine if
you pick it up quickly. However, some of the spoilage
bacteria on the ground can impact the cider if it has
spent extended time on the ground. Large soft brown
areas of rot are something you want to avoid. The
sulfites that are discussed later are even more
necessary if your fruit has a questionable history.
Many commercial cideries use ample sulfites because
they have no way of knowing where the fruit has been.
4. Create a Good Blend. One single type of apples
doesn’t usually have all the qualities that you want in
your final cider. Most cider is made from a blend of
apples that contribute various flavors and aromas to
the beverage. If you can use a few different apples in
your cider blend, the results are often better than
apples from one single tree. Try to choose a mix of
apples that are sweet, tart, aromatic, and
interesting.Even apples that are inedible on their own
can add something special to cider. In fact, most
apples that are “cider fruit” are not recommended for
eating. Adding some crab apples to your blend will
usually add some interesting tannins and round out
the flavors. I find that aromas are the thing I look for
 the most when I make a cider. Adding some Red
Delicious and Gala can add some aroma, if your main
apple source is lacking in that area.That being said,
sometimes it can be interesting to make a cider from
one apple to see exactly what that apple tastes like
alone. It’s like research, and can lead to some
interesting discoveries. This year I am doing some
pressings where I am trying to focus on specific apples
to see what they contribute.Try to avoid having all tart
fruit, as the acid level may be too high for the finished
cider.
5. Consider Your Sugars. Ideally, you want your
fruit to be pretty ripe, and to have a high sugar
content. Fruit from neglected trees often have more
intense flavor because the fruit are often small and
contain less water. This often means more
concentrated flavors, and sugars. The typical cider will
press at around 10 Brix (SG 1.044) which can produce
a dry cider of 5.5% ABV. Some cider makers will add
some sugar to bring the gravity up to 1.050-1.055
before fermentation. This is called chaptalization and
it helps increase the alcohol level and makes the cider
more stable for storage. I have practiced
chaptalization, but a professional cider maker has
challenged me to leave the juice as it is. He said even a
low-sugar juice can contribute to a good cider.
6. Balance Acidity. The level of acid in your starting
juice impacts how your finished cider tastes. When
you ferment away all that sugar/sweetness you end up
with some fruity aromas and acidity. If the acid levels
 are too high it can taste unpleasantly tart. If the acid
levels are too low, it can come across as watery and
insipid. You want to keep enough tartness to give it a
thirst quenching bite. So how do you know where you
are on the acid scale? pH Test strips that test from
3.0-4.0 are perfect for finding out how acidic your
juice is (available at a homebrew shop). You want
your starting juice to be 3.2-3.6 for best results. If
your juice is at 3.8 or above, it will be lacking in
tartness and will be less biologically stable. If your
juice is 3.0 or below it is likely taste too sour after it
ferments.
7. Maximize Aromas. Apple aromas are wonderful
and I think they are the focal point of a good cider. If
you can get those to stay in the cider till you drink it,
you will be happier with it. A couple tips for
maintaining aromas in your cider:
8. 1) Ferment at a cool temperature. If you can keep your
fermentation going at 55-65 F, it is more likely to
ferment slowly and keep the aromas in tact.
9. 2) Using a pectic enzyme helps the aromas to be
released by the pulp and absorbed by the juice. (More
on that below.)
10.3) Your yeast choice may help to retain some fruity
aromas. Most wine yeasts have been selected for this
trait.
11. 4) Storing your fruit for a bit before pressing can allow
it to develop aromas.
12. 5) Sometimes giving your cider some time to age will
help bring the aromas out, so don’t be afraid to sit on
 it for a while to see how it changes. I have liked my
cider more the longer I have kept it around. The
longest I have aged it is about a year.
8. Choose the Right Yeast. Yeast can contribute both
positive and negative attributes to the finished cider.
Most cider makers use wine or champagne yeast to
give the cider a fruity character. You can also depend
on the natural yeast found on the apples, but that
method requires that you also allow a multitude of
other microbes to be part of the fermentation, and the
outcome can be less predictable. When things turn out
well, though, it can be really interesting and
satisfying.
9. I can recommend the following yeasts available at
homebrewing and winemaking stores, or online:
10.– Lalvin EC-1118
11. – Lalvin D-47
12. – Fermentis S-05 (ale yeast)
9. Decide Whether or Not to Use Sulfites. You
have to decide whether or not to use sodium
metabisulfite to sanitize your juice. Wine makers and
cider makers often use campden tablets to kill off the
wild yeast and bacteria before using a commercial
yeast to ferment the juice. This method also helps
ensure that your cider won’t take a turn in the wrong
direction.If you choose to use sulfites, it is normal to
add your sulphites just after pressing the juice. It will
take about 24 hours for the sulfites to do their work
and then fade away. You will need to wait to add
commercial yeast till 24 hours after adding the
 sulfites. I have found that when you use sulfites, the
cider will have a cleaner flavor. But, it also might be
missing some of the interesting nuance that you get
from a more microbially diverse ferment.Personally, I
haven’t found sulfites to to be essential on the home-
scale. I made cider from unpasteurized and unsulfited
juice for a few years before I tried using sulfites. One
thing that I noticed, un-sulfited juice tends to
continue to evolve beyond 3 months, because it’s still
alive. The evolution is usually in a positive direction,
but sometimes along the way the cider is “in flux” and
will taste different/odd.Something I have started to do
is adding a minimal amount of sodium metabisulphite
(30-50ppm) at racking, after primary fermentation is
over. This stops any dramatic changes that may take
place and makes the cider more stable after that point.
With this method I retain many of the interesting
characteristics that I get from a natural ferment. If
you want to use this approach and make a carbonated
cider, you should add yeast along with priming sugar
at bottling.If you are using pasteurized juice you do
not need to use sulfites.
10.Add Pectic Enzyme for a Clearer, More
Flavorful Cider. Adding pectic enzymes like
Pectinase will help to clarify the juice, and release
some of the aromas into the cider. Pectic enzymes
should be added before fermentation so that the
pectins can be broken down before there is alcohol in
the mix. If you do not use pectic enzymes, the cider
maybe be hazy, but it will still be tasty. You can find
pectic enzymes in your local winemaking or
homebrew shop. (Or online, here.)
Bonus! Here are some other additions you can
make to your homemade cider:
Pre-fermentation:
Pears- Fermented pear juice is called perry. However, you
can add some to your cider. Pears have some sorbitol in
them which is a sugar that doesn’t ferment. This makes for
a beverage that finishes a bit sweeter than cider. You can
add some pears into your apple mix and wind up with a
perception of sweetness that is more noticeable. Pears
typically get ripe at the same time as apples, so they are a
natural thing to include in your blend. Adding 10-20%
pears to your blend will make a difference.
Post-fermentation (during aging):
Oak chips can add a little bit of tannin and some vanilla
notes to the cider. I use DIY paper tea bags (made by
Melitta) to add some oak to my cider. I use less than an
ounce of oak chips for a 5 gallon batch. However, I have
seen much larger amounts recommended (4 oz.). I fold the
bags over and staple them shut before adding them to the
fermenter.
Hops. I am a purist and like to taste just the flavors
offered by the apples… However, if I have a boring cider
that is lacking in the fruity aromas I’m so fond of… I will
often dry-hop the cider with a hop that has some fruity
characteristics. The first “hopped cider” that I liked was
made with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. It had a
zingy gooseberry aroma that complimented the cider well.
I have also had good luck with the tropical aromas of Citra
hops. I use the same tea bags described above and add
about ½ oz. per 5 gallons. I let them soak in the cider for
about 7 days. It’s remarkable what a fruity aroma will do
for a lackluster cider.
Sweeteners… I did say we should try to like dry ciders…
but, you can also add non-fermentable sweeteners to
get some of the fruity character back and balance out
tartness. Xylitol, and stevia are a couple of options to get
your cider a bit sweeter without restarting fermentation.

Nathan Shackelford accidentally won a Best in Show prize

with the first cider he ever made (from grocery store juice).
Since then, things have only gotten more complicated. He
enjoys teaching homebrewing classes at the homebrew
shop where he lives. Nathan makes equal amounts of cider
and ale each year, but the terroir aspect of cider makes it
much more exciting. His day job is teaching art/
photography to high school students, but making
something to drink after work is his passion.
You can check out his home brewing projects on his
tumblr, What is Brewing. Nathan loves helping people out
with their home brew projects, so you can email his any
questions at nathan(at)shackelford(dot)org.
If you want to dig deeper into making homemade cider,
then Nathan has a couple of great books her recommends:
Craft Cider and Apples to Cider: How to Make Cider at
Home.
Nathan, thank you so much for this great, super-
informative post! I am sure a lot of people will enjoy
having some more elements to work with for this year’s
batch of ciders, and this was really helpful.  Happy
Foraging and Home Brewing, Everyone!
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