Book Review: Real Cidermaking on a Small Scale

I have recently been flipping though my cider making books, and so I thought I would be more in depth about them.

Real Cidermaking On a Small Scale by Michael Pooley and John Lomax was published in 1999, and it is a book about how to make cider and is very comparable to Andrew Lea’s Craft Cidermaking. Probably the one thing that makes me love this book is the flow diagram to making either still or sparkling cider. Most of the time, cider making is reduced to eight steps, but the flow diagrams include hang ups that can occur. Call me a visual learner, but looking at something like this is when the process clicks in my head.

This book also contains instructions and drawings to create an apple press, though getting them ground up ahead of time is better left to renting a machine.

Andrew Lea does have a few comments on his website about this book, saying, "REAL CIDERMAKING - On a small scale" by Michael Pooley and John Lomax - ISBN 1-85486-195-6 - Nexus Special Interests, Kent. This was published in 1999, and is a good description of how to make cider in a 'naturalistic' manner on a small scale at home (but it does contain a serious typographical error [about keeving]!). This book, like the Proulx and Nichols one, also includes plans for a small scale cider press, in this case of the 'slatted basket' type. See the Shropshire Apple Network website for more details about the book, the press and associated training courses.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cidermaking-Small-Scale-Michael-Pooley/dp/1854861956

Cider Review: J.K.’s Scrumpy Farmhouse Organic Hard Cider

J.K’s Scrumpy Farmhouse Organic Hard Cider ended up being my personal favorite at my recent small cider tasting.

J.K’s Scrumpy is a hazy, dark gold, carbonated cider with a pleasant nose on it is sweet. My husband was the one controlling the order in which the ciders were served, but since I had bought them, I knew which ciders we were going to be tasting. Also, each cider has a unique feature, and in this case, it was the haze, so I knew that this is what he was pouring first. This cider is unfiltered, so there is haze, but it is not cloudy.

When I went back and tasted it again later, I realized that this cider actually does taste like apples, which is one of the first things the cider officials tell you not to expect when you drink cider. If wine doesn’t taste like grapes, then don’t expect cider to taste like apples, yet this one does. Their website says that their product contains just juice and yeast and nothing else, but they do describe letting the bottles age for several weeks to properly condition. On a Home Brew Talk Forum, a poster said that they measured the gravity at 1.024. My theory is that they take regular apple juice and let it ferment all the way dry with an alcohol content of about 8%. They then would add more apple juice to make it sweet as evidence of the SG, which would also dilute the alcohol content to 6.0% and give it an apple flavor again. The new added juice could help create a natural carbonation, which they then could have pasteurized to stop the yeast from eating all the sugars and give some stability. I don’t know if I am right, as it is just a working theory of mine.

J.K.’s Scrumpy Organic Hard Cider is produced in Michigan and is at 6.0% ABV and contains no added sulfites. It appears to retail for $6-$8 for a 22 oz bottle.

Cider Tasting Vocabulary

Cider tasting uses a similar vocabulary as wine tasting does. In Cider: Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions & Making Your Own, 2^nd Edition, Ben Watson remarked on this, adding, “though [cider vocabulary] tends to be much more basic… than that used by wine fanciers. The taste or smell may be acidic (sharp), acetic (vinegary), astringent (high in tannin), or any one of numerous other adjectives: chemical, fruity, musty, sulfuric, sweet, wood, yeasty” (page 103).

In fact, in 1975, Long Aston Research Station in the United Kingdom performed a study to try and determine what a vocabulary for cider drinking might be. Annie Proulx and Lew Nichol’s Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider reported that the final list from this study contained 163 words, which Andrew Lea posted as being later expanded on to contain twelve major flavor classifications, each split into first-tier terms and re-split into second-tier terms. You can find a list of these terms on Lea’s website.

Watson has an excellent list of descriptors on pages 107 and 108 which he says were once used on a cider score card sheet for the judges at National Homebrew Competition, which was sponsored by the American Homebrewers Association. I borrowed it and modified it for my own cider tasting:

• Acetic – A smell and sharp taste like vinegar, solvent, or acetone/nail polish remover; a distinct fault in cider, caused by acetic or lactic acid bacteria.
• Acidity – The presence of malic acid, which balances sweetness and is responsible for the briskness or zing in cider.
• Alcoholic – The general effect of ethanol and higher alcohols. The taste is warming.
• Astringent – A drying sensation in the mouth, similar to sucking on a tea bag. Due to excess tannin and acceptable only in a young cider.
• Aftertaste – The lingering taste in the back of the throat. Ideally long and pleasant.
• Balanced – No component of the cider overpowers another. An alcoholic cider is balanced by tannin, a sweet cider by crisp acidity.
• Body – the “middle” of a mouthful of cider. Good body will feel heavy in the mouth.
• Bouquet – Also known as the aroma, smell, or nose.
• Carbonation – Naturally carbonated cider has small, beading bubbles. An artificially, forced-carbonated cider has large, uniform bubbles.
• Clarity – The visual aspect of cider, described as brilliant, clear, slightly hazy, hazy, or cloudy.
• Clean – Free from apparent “off” odors or flavors
• Diacetyl – Aroma and flavor described at butter, butterscotch, or toffee; in moderation, and in certain regional styles, can contribute to flavor; in large concentrations, it’s a fault.
• Dry – A sensation on the tongue that indicates a lack of residual sugar. Dryness varies from bone-dry to dry, off-dry, and semidry.
• Estery – Sweet-solvent, chemical, banana or tropical fruit flavors; artificial fruity-floral aroma.
• Fruity – May indicate fruitiness in flavor and/or aroma.
• Hot – An unpleasant taste sensation due to excess alcohol content.
• Light – Refers to the body and is descriptive, not negative, as opposed to “thin.”
• Metallic – A tinny or coppery taste caused by exposure to certain metals; not a good thing.
• Moldy or musty – An unpleasant smell sometimes compared to damp cardboard or sherry. Due to oxidation or over filtration of cider.
• Mousy – A cider disorder caused by lactic acid bacteria. The cider smells and tastes like the bottom of a rodent’s den.
• Oxidized – The chemical oxidation of stored cider in contact with air or containing high levels of dissolved oxygen; color can be dark golden brown; aroma and taste described as stale, leathery, caramelized, or sherry-like.
• Phenolic – A plastic taste and smell caused by some wild yeasts and bacteria. Also described as smoky, pitchy, medicinal, barny, or leathery.
• Sparkling – Having carbonation.
• Still – Lacking carbonation.
• Sulfuric – A smell or taste like burnt matches. Due to fermentation at high temperatures or excessive use of sulfites.
• Sweet – The basic taste associated with sugar; appropriate to certain styles of cider. Sweetness varies from semidry, semisweet, or sweet.
• Thin – Lacking body.
• Woody – A taste or aroma usually caused by cider aging for an extended length of time in oak casts or in contact with wood chips.
• Yeasty – A breadlike aroma caused by a cider sitting on its lees (spent yeast) for an extended period.
• Young – A cider with components that have not yet matured into a balanced whole.

Other Useful Words
Pleasant
Unpleasant
Bland
Harsh
Clean
Spoiled, off
Acidic
Chemical
Bitter

Proulx and Nichol remarked, “But unlike quaffers of fermented grape juice, most fanciers of the apple do not strive for the quintessential statement by using comparative phraseology to endow their glasses with human anatomy, action, and emotion… Cider goes down very easily, and the most meaningful comment you’re likely to get is a silently extended glass. There’s a story about a Maine lumberjack who was treating his friends to some superior hard cider. Because he prized it so highly, he poured each of them a scant glassful and put the jug back in the cupboard. His friends tossed off their drinks, smacking their lips, and the lumberjack waited expectantly for them to start the conversation. A long silence – a heavy silence – followed until the woodsman took the hint and went to the cupboard again, remarked sheepishly, ‘Well fellers, I guess a bird can’t fly with only one wing’” (page 180-181).

How to Taste Cider

How do you evaluate the cider you are drinking?

While reading Ben Watson’s Cider: Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions & Making Your Own, 2^nd Edition and Annie Proulx and Lew Nichol’s Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider on how to host a cider tasting, the books gave excellent advice on how to evaluate the ciders.

A cider evaluation can be broken down into three parts – appearance, aroma, and taste. Ben Watson remarked, “Each of these individual components contributes to the overall quality and drinkability of the cider, and each should be taken into account when you evaluate it.”

When looking at a cider in a glass, you want to take the following notes:

• Is it a still cider or is it carbonated?
• If it is carbonated, is it a natural carbonation or a forced carbonation? Ben Watson describes the difference between the two as, “Naturally sparkling cider will foam up as it hits the bottom of the glass, and the bubbles that swirl up to the surface are smaller and longer-lasting than those in an artificially carbonated cider.”
• What color is it? Example of color descriptions include pale straw, golden yellow, salmon, apricot, or amber. Ciders that have a green, gray, or orange-red tint may not be drinkable, as the color would be evidence to oxidation or cider sickness.
• Is it hazy or clear? Words to use include brilliant, clear, slightly hazy, hazy or cloudy.

For the evaluating the aroma, Ben Watson explained, “A hard cider’s aroma or bouquet usually comes from the percentage of fragrant apple varieties that were used in the original cider blend… Yeasts, both natural and cultured, plus other fruits, spices or adjuncts… can also contribute to the complex aroma of a good cider. To evaluate the aroma, put your nose near the top of the glass and take a good whiff; the cider’s bouquet should be a preview of the flavor. If it smells bad or is excessively sharp or vinegary, don’t even bother tasting the cider” (page 103).

Last comes tasting the cider, in which the evaluation can be broken into feel in the mouth and how it tastes on the tongue. Take some of the cider in your mouth and do or note the following:

• “Chew” on the cider a bit or roll it around in your mouth to get a feeling for the body. Full bodied ciders will feel heaver and richer, and thinner, watery ciders will have little sensation. There is no right or wrong to this, just an observation. However, watery ciders will not be as flavorful.
• Is it a sweet or dry cider?
• Is there a nice balance between sugar, acid, tannins, and alcohol? That is to say, are all the elements balanced in the tasting, or is there an element that over powers the other elements? For example, if you pucker, it may have too much tannin.
• Is the alcohol content strong or weak?
• After you swallow, does the aroma linger on?
• Please do not fault a cider because it does not taste like apples, as grape wines do not taste like grapes.
• Other descriptors?

Most importantly about tasting ciders is, “Do you like it?”Remember, it doesn’t matter how you scored a cider in relationship to others, but that you liked the cider, as your tastes will be different from the next person’s.

Cider Tasting Party

I have been reading up on having a cider tasting party with my friends this last weekend, but I unfortunately had to postpone it because it ended up being a busy weekend for people. However, we did have one couple come over and sample some of the easier to find ciders, including:

• Blue Mountain Farmstead Cider
• Crispin Honey Crisp Artisanal Reserve™
• JK’s Scrumpy Organic Hard Cider
• Wandering Aengus Heirloom Blend Cider

Mostly, I had been reading Ben Watson’s Cider: Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions & Making Your Own, 2nd Edition and Annie Proulx and Lew Nichol’s Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider. From it, I took away these lessons for hosting:

• The more guests you have, the more lively it will be.
• Limit cider tastings to 12 to 15 at the most, but try to mix up the varieties. Do some sweet, some dry, some sparkling, some still, some made from only one kind of apple, and some made from a blend of apples.Admittedly, I did one cider per person, with more available if people wanted some.
• Use clean transparent glasses or cups when tasting to allow people to evaluate the appearance of the cider. Glass is preferred since it will not affect the flavor of the cider. Wine glasses make for excellent cider tasting glasses, allowing the drinker to smell the cider better.
• Have food available, such as bread, vegetables, pâté, some other spread, and cheese. Spreads should not have garlic that will make everything you taste taste like garlic. The cheese should not be overly strong as to overpower the cider. Cheeses that will go well with cider would also go well with apples, such as a mild cheddar, Camembert, Brie, Gouda, or Gruyère.
• Blind tastings are the best and fairest way to taste cider so that one does not throw the tasting towards a cider they like, or chose one they like based on a label.
• While you can serve the ciders in any order, it is suggested that the lower alcohol ciders are served before the higher alcohol ciders, and the dry cider before sweet cider.
• The sweeter the cider, the colder it should be.
• Have the tasters rate the cider on a scale of 1 to 10. At the end of the tasting, add up the scores and reveal the winner before guests leave. Watson commented in his book, “In my experience, the ciders that tend to score the highest are well-balanced ones that appeal broadly to the entire group of tasters, but that do not necessarily have the most character or ‘personality’” (p 103).

Book Review: Craft Cider Making

I have recently been flipping though my cider making books, and I thought I would go more in depth about them. The first book I will address is Craft Cider Making by Andrew Lea.

I have to admit that I’m a little biased about Lea. He has an excellent website which I reference all the time called The Wittenham Hill Cider Portal, and he is an active participant in the Cider Workshop. Therefore, I have had conversations with Lea, and I find him highly knowledgeable and easy to approach. Obviously, I’m going to like his book.

As a retired food biochemist, Lea writes this book about how to take apples and turn them into cider. While he is technical, he steps though the process slowly with a lot of detail, so you aren’t left scratching your head over what he was talking about and includes a lot of tables to refer to. My copy is riddled with little flags over various information such as making sweet cider, malolatic fermentation, and even a section on apple tree suppliers and equipment suppliers both in the UK and US.

He briefly mentions trees and caring for them, but for the most part, he leaves the topic of growing apples to others and focuses on making cider.

The biggest drawback to this book, which even Lea is disappointed in, is that it contains no reference index. Luckily, his website contains a lot of the same information and is easy to navigate by the table of contents.

But between his clear, detailed, step though process and his website, this is my primary go to book when I have a question about cider.

Making Cider at a Winery

Yesterday I mentioned that Heather from The Rusty Grape Vineyard said what really got them going making wine is acquiring their alcohol license. On the Cider Workshop, a similar topic came up, where one member wondered if they could work with a brewery to make their cider.

The group responded that they thought a winery in the United States could make cider under their license, not a brewery. Dick Dunn from Colorado then shared with the group the arrangement he has with a winery to make his cider and offered suggestions about how an agreement could be reached. I encourage you to read the discussion.

This whole topic has me thinking. One of the problems about being licensed for a winery is that this is not something that can be done in your home. Other things like jams can be produced inside the home for sale, but wine cannot. A start up winery colleague of mine if he could make wine at his home, and the TTB responded with this:

“Winery in a residence - Segregation of Operations Required

A winery must be totally segregated from any living space. TTB must be able to directly access the winery without going through personal space and you must be able to directly access your personal living space without going through the winery. The winery premises should be business use only so you cannot be storing bikes, doing laundry etc. on winery premises nor can you cross winery premises to get to an area where you store bikes, do laundry etc. The winery premises must be secure which includes a lock on any door providing direct access from the residence to the winery.”

So when Heather said to get the license, my mind was whirling because I need a separate facility and I hadn’t quite solved that problem. However, Dick does offer a solution, though I see potential problems if I got ambitious and wanted my own label and/or wanted to leave the agreement set up with the winery. Even though I would be the creator, everything is under their name, so I would have very little legal possession of the cider. However, if I chose not to leave my current job, this would allow me to make cider and sell it without giving up my day job.

It gives me something to think about…