Apple Cider

The drinking of Apple Cider has likely been part of our culture for as long as there has been apples, but around the ninth century is when European history begins to show cider as a popular drink among the masses. Its appeal as a drink has risen and fallen throughout the years, but in the past decade the rise of microbreweries and homemaking kits have pushed apple cider making, especially hard cider, to a new level of popularity.

A popular question regarding apple beverages is, "what are the differences?" Here is a quick synopsis:

Apple Cider vs. Apple Juice
Apple cider is essentially apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process that removes coarse pulp or sediment. Cider may or may not be heat pasteurized. Apple juice has been filtrated, pasteurized, and vacuum sealed to give a longer lasting, clearer looking product. Most juices add additional water and other ingredients to maintain flavor and clarity. Outside the U.S., the term "Apple Cider" typically means "Hard Cider" while "Apple Juice" usually will get you a sweet cider.

Hard Cider vs. Sweet Cider
When you press apples into a liquid form for immediate bottling and consumption you get Sweet Cider. This cider may or may not be pasteurized. Allowing the liquid to ferment, either naturally or with controlled active ingredients like yeasts, one gets Hard Cider.

The styles of sweet cider vary based on the types of apples used: neutral, aromatic, astringent and acid-tart and the procedures used to develop these into hard cider vary even more. In the near future we plan to have cider blending styles and hard cider recipes on-line. For some ways to turn your everyday cider into hard cider, check out the cider forum board from our friends at HomeBrew.com.

What is Applejack and is it different than Apple Brandy?
Applejack, also called "cider oil", is hard cider that goes through a process of freezing and draining of liquid until all that remains is a drink containing a high concentration of alcohol. As hard cider freezes, the water in the mixture separates and turns to ice while the alcohol remains in liquid form. The liquid is siphoned off and allowed to freeze again. This process continues until the liquid no longer freezes.

Apple Brandy, the most popular brand being Calvados®, can take two forms -- a "pure" apple form and less expensive techiniques that contain additional grain spirits. In either case, the resulting mix is distilled to vaporize the water and other cider contents and pull out the Ethyl alcohol used in the brandy. This liquid is then aged in wooden casks for varying lengths of time. Some brandys may add artificial sweeteners or caramel coloring to the mix, while other brands like Calvados® leave it more in its pure form and let the aging process give it its distinct flavoring.