Here is the first entry in what is to become a long line of my hard cider category of posts. I have a general idea of where I want to go with this category and what the sub categories will be.
Starting my favorite blueberry cider
I’ll be starting off with:
Cider information and Guides
Hard Cider Reviews
Cidery experiences and visits
Industry profiles and interviews
Reader requested content
Now, here is the story of myself and hard cider and how it fits into my life. It all starts with brewing beer, well the failure of brewing beer. About 8 years ago, I bought a bunch of beer brewing equipment (5 gallon glass carboy, airlock and rubber stopper, the cleaning supplies, and a complete extract brewing box) and gave a good run at brewing my first batch of beer of the Oktoberfest variety. It did not come out very good and that equipment hit the self for a few years until I pulled it out for my first round of a New England style hard cider (cider with added raisins) after having some of my neighbors hard cider he made during our sugaring season (making real maple syrup) (from trees).
One of my first attempts at cider
Some of the cider could pass as drinkable and I knew I could do it again. Fast forward a few years, a few moves, and buying a house; my parents wanted to finally unload a bunch of my stuff I was storing at home. The brewing equipment was in one of the first batches of my stuff to migrate to the house, and it gave me the idea to give it another go.
This time around I went deeper. I read a ton of articles online and watched who knows how many hours of youtube videos. I bought some more equipment off of amazon and a local home brewing store and went to town. The fist batch that I made in my house was a fortified cider with Nottingham ale yeast. It made my entire shoe closet smell like farts and I was not a fan of how it came out. I did some more research and found all about the nutrients in the the juice and how to make yeast happy (no more fart smells!). My research continued and I kept at it refining my process and ingredients until I had a cider that I loved to drink and share with others.
That was 2 years ago and I still am making cider and have dedicated most of a spare bedroom to my hobby of cider making. Last year I bought a kegerator and 5 used corny kegs and have been brewing and filling those over and over. I even joined United States Association of Cider Makers and even attended the national trade show for the hard cider industry, Cider Con, last year in Baltimore.
Cider Con name tag and guide
This has become a never ending hobby for me as there are endless possibilities of what I can try with my cider making. While I legally can’t sell my cider to make money, I am saving myself a boatload of cash making my own, small batch, craft cider right here at home.
I look forward to sharing my experiences within this hobby and industry with you and inspiring you to give homemade hard cider a honest try.
