The Ugly Apple Cider Company (part 2)

All right, I’m finally back to finish up The Ugly Apple Cider Company post. I know, you’ve all been on the edge of your seat for weeks, just waiting for this moment.

Hah.

As promised, I’ve gotten the hard apple cider recipe (WAH! I know, it’s a PDF! get over it and download). The recipe was provided to him by Reed Antis of Saratoga Zymurgist, and I’m not sure where he got it or if he created it himself. Regardless, Reed was very helpful to my family throughout this process- so props to Reed and a sincere “thank you” from my family.

In the end, my dad made two batches of hard cider. One was a true “ugly apple” version, which used the wild apples from my parents house. The other was still a home-made cider, but the cider used in the fermentation process was purchased (from Borden’s Farm in Schaghticoke, NY). After the fermentation process produced a nice clear cider (takes about 30 days usually, sometimes more) of each, they were ready for bottling- but more importantly, ready for tasting.

I should mention here that cider can be fermented with different kinds of yeast. Some yeasts produce a more hard cider beer, while others produce more of a sparkling wine taste. My family went the sparkling wine route.

Moving on…my parents held a little get together with the friends that supplied the apple press for the first round of tasting. A blind test was conducted to see who preferred the true Ugly Apple Cider VS store-bought cider. Of the four, three preferred The Ugly Apple Cider and surprisingly, the oddball out was my dad, who preferred the store-bought (though everyone still liked both).

I was able to experience the taste test on my own short after this. I was given two glasses of cider with the two varieties. Visually, one cider was much lighter than the other, and of the two this lighter one also had a much more dry taste. The dark cider was more reminiscent of apples and was sweeter. I preferred the darker and sweeter cider, which turned out to be of The Ugly Apple variety. That being said, they are both tasty and can go down smooth (maybe a little too much).

Like myself with wine making, my dad has now had the experience of making his own alcoholic beverage and is eager to make more. He is exploring the thought of a pear cider next. The process of cider making and wine making appear to be quite similar and also is not as technically complicated as beer making. For any of the three, once the initial investment is made into the equipment, the entire process becomes very cost-effective. Plus, if you plan it right you can give out whatever you produce as a unique gift.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures…Mom, can you help me out with that?)

 

Remember when I used to post?

Once again I’m reaching a point where I’m apologizing to the small readership that I have (hey Mom) for not posting regularly. As I’ve mentioned briefly before, I graduated in May and found a full time job (YAY!), but now that I’m on a computer all day I have no motivation when I’m home to get on here.

So, from the tips of my fingers punching on this keyboard to my freezing toes that are wishing I had slippers on right now, I am sorry.

I’ll get a post up this weekend, promise! One that I’ve had started but not yet finished. Hard apple cider recipe, anyone? With pictures of my family making their own for the first time? Yesssss.

Introducing: The Ugly Apple Cider Company (part 1)

Ugly Apple cider being born...

Before you get your hopes up, there is not an actual Ugly Apple Cider Company, sorry. However, this is the affectionate name that my family has decided to give their home made hard apple cider. Does a better name exist? I think not.

I spent part of a Fall (yes, this has been drafted for quite some time) Sunday afternoon helping cut, dice, and blend wild apples that grow somewhere on my parents land (I say “somewhere” because I was wearing nice shoes and declined a muddy visit to the tree). I can’t tell you anything about the apples except they are small, and…ugly. They are malformed and while they taste great, they are the ugliest apples that are still edible that you’ll ever see.

My dad borrowed an apple press from some close family friends (thanks Tawni & David!!) and those same friends pitched in to make some cider. They had already started when I arrived, but we still worked on the apples for a few hours. The recipe my dad is following (I don’t have this but will get from him) requires three gallons of cider, and those hours of work produced just enough to make the minimum. It was fun to chat and visit with family, but it was a slow process (I think I will stick with wine making).

First the apples soaked in water, that part was easy. Then the apples were cored, sliced, and diced. Doing that isn’t hard, but after your first 50 or so apples it gets old. Then the apples were blended and put through the apple press. the apple press, of course, presses the apples and squeezes the juice out, which is strained through a cheese cloth into a container. The process itself is quite simple, But it takes a lot of apples just to get to three gallons.

The fermentation process has now started and been going for a few weeks for the Ugly Apple cider. This is my dad’s first go at making hard cider, so I’m interested in seeing how the process goes. The plan is to bottle, and taste, very soon. When I update I’ll post the recipe! In the meantime, you’ll have to wait (and/or Google another recipe elsewhere).

Apple prep, before the press.

 

PS- if anyone has made hard cider themselves before, I’d love to hear about your process/advice!