1. BY MATTHEW POSTLEWAITE
Cidermaking 101
BY MATTHEW POSTLEWAITE

2. Short History of Apples and Cider
Apple cultivation occurred about the same time as grapes and possible before the complete domestication of grains, around 10,000-12,000 years ago.
It is thought that the first cultivation happened in central Asia around modern day Kazakhstan and filtered into Europe over a few millennia.
Cider production may have occurred out of necessity as apples only stay ripe for so long while cider can be stored for a year or more.
Cider tastes better and was safer to drink than water during much of European history.

3. Short History of Cider in Europe
Apple cider has spread throughout most of Europe as the climate in many areas of Europe are very suitable for growing apple trees.
Here are some recognizable ciders from Europe:
Bulmers – Ireland
Thatchers and Magners – England
Clos de Duc – France
Bertolinos – Italy
Sidra Natural de Asturias – Spain
Hohl Maintaler Apfelwein - Germany

4. Short History of Cider in America
Cider came to America with the English and Irish immigrants.
It was, at one time, drank more than beer and rivaled wine in America.
President John Adams said that he had a glass of cider every morning to start the day.
Prohibition killed the cider trade in America for over 60 years, until the resurgence of ‘hard’ cider in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Presently, cider sales in America have grown by over 800% over the past two decades or so.

5. Very Short Cleaning and Sanitizing Statement
This is the most important part of making cider, obviously besides the apples, of course.
It is important to clean with caustic, nonoxidizing cleansers. Don’t use bleach and certainly never with vinegar. I use Destainex LF.
Sanitize after thoroughly cleaning. I use either PAA (Peracetic Acid) in water or citric acid and sulfur (KMBS).
I clean and sanitize before I use a machine or tool and I clean and sanitize after.
I use Everclear cut with water at roughly 70% ABV in a spray bottle for tri-clamp and general sanitizing.

6. Apples and Pressing
The most important element in the craft of cider making is the apples. There are over 7,500 varieties known. Which ones to use?
The real answer to that is what ever apple varieties are available.
What varieties make the best apple cider?
The British and the French both have a traditional cider apple categorization system.
British – acidity and tannin content
French – acidity, tannin, and sugar content

7. Acidity of Apple Juice
Malic Acid is the primary acid found in apple juice.
Taking a pH measurement is one way to measure the concentration of acidity in apple juice.
When fermenting, I like the apple juice to be between pH 3.2 to no more than 3.8.
If the pH is too high , adding Malic Acid will lower the pH.
It can be more difficult to raise the pH. Blending different varieties of apple juices may be a solution.
TA or total acidity measurement is also suggested through titration. This will record the total acidity in the solution.

8. Tannin in Cider Apples
“Tannin is a loose term for a whole collection of non-volatile phenolic substances found in apples, grapes and many other fruits, and which provide ’body’ to fermented beverages.” (
You can add tannin to juice prior to fermentation to create different levels of ‘body’.
Like acidity, it can be difficult to remove tannin already dissolved into the juice.

9. Sugar
Unlike beer, where the sugars need to be brewed out of the grain, apple juice has the sugars in a ready state for fermentation.
Apples have a natural brix measurement typically between 12° and 15°. This will produce roughly a raw cider between 7 and 8 percent ABV.
Chapitalizing – adding additional sugars to increase ABV can be done, though you begin to move away from cider making and into apple wine making.

10. British and French cider apple categorization systems
Traditional cider apple categories of the United Kingdom.
Bittersweet - low in acidity and high in tannin
Bittersharp – high in both acidity and tannin
Sharp – high in acidity and low in tannin
Sweet – low in both
Traditional cider apple categories of France.
Sweet – low acidity, high sugar, low tannin
Bittersweet – low acidity, high sugar, high tannin
Bitter – low acidity, low sugar, high tannin
Acidic – high acidity, low sugar, low tannin

11. Apples and where to get them
There are a few orchards in Tennessee (Carver’s Orchard-Cosby, TN; Apple Barn-Sevierville, TN) that have a decent variety.
Henderson, NC and Virginia along the Blue Ridge Mountains have many apple orchards (Silver Creek Orchard-Tyro, VA).
When working with commercial orchards try establishing a working relationship.
Some of my favorite apples to use:
Staymen, Winesap, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Arkansas Black, Dabinett, Hewe’s Crab, Johnathan, Ashmead’s Kernel, Tremlett’s Bitter, and Pippin.
There are 7,500 varieties, try them all.

12. Washing, Grinding, and Pressing
For pressing, you must have your apples washed, a grinder, and a press.
Washing apples prior to grinding is important, as the process cleans any pesticide/fungicide off of the apples. It also allows for rotten apples to be removed from the bunch.
The grinder is important in juicing apples as you will find it difficult to press whole apples.
There are different presses available from small hand presses to industrial bladder presses. I used a squeezebox-acordion like press.
Most of these items can be found at agricultural outlets like GoodNature, inc.

13. Juicing suggestions and hacks
When getting apples from an orchard try not to get ‘drops’ from the farmer (apples collected from the ground), always ask for ‘tree run’ apples (apples collected from trees directly).
When pressing apples it helps to mix rice hulls with the ground up apple pulp. These hulls help deliver more juice from the pomace.
Occasionally, apples will contain a large amount of pectin in them, which makes the ground apples gelatin-like and difficult to extract the juice. When this occurs there are additives and enzymes that can assist. I used KS (kitchen sink) and Pec5L enzymes from Scotts Lab, inc.
Keep a log of everything!

14. Carbon Dioxide
When the juice is in the tank, the juice should be covered with a layer of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Apple juice and fermented cider are both susceptible to oxidization. Carbon Dioxide is heavier than Oxygen and will prevent oxidation.
Be sure to have ventilation when using CO2
Beverage grade Carbon Dioxide can be purchased at any natural gas retailer.

15. Juice Chemistry
The apple juice chemistry should be tested prior to beginning fermenation. This juice chemistry will direct you in what should and should not be added.
Measure pH.
Measure TA if equipment available.
Sugar concentration measurement – Brix or Specific Gravity?
Taste it
Smell it
Add any tannin, Malic Acid, or sugar (if you dare) prior to other action.

16. Fermentation
Fermentation is much more similar to wine fermentation than it is brewing, primarily because there is no need to cook apple juice. The juice has the fermentable sugars readily available.
Once juice is in the vessel to be fermented, it is suggested to add potassium metabisulfite (KMBS) to the juice in order to kill any wild yeasts living in the juice. I usually add somewhere between 35 and 50 ppm depending on the pH level.
Higher the pH, the less acidic, the more KMBS to add.
Once this is added and stirred in, wait at least 24 hours before pitching yeast.

17. Yeast
There are many yeast strains that are suggested and found to work well, however; most yeast varieties will work.
Scott Labs produce a cider handbook that supply many great suggestions on yeasts, nutrients, enzymes, etc. that have been proven in cider craft.
Different yeast strains can have different effects on cider creation. Flavor, mouth feel, retro-nasal, etc.
Yeast strains that I used:
K1(V1116), DV10, ICV Opale, Vin 13, W15, and standard champagne yeast strains.

18. Yeast Nutrients
There are many yeast nutrients that can be used during fermentation to help the yeast thrive.
GoFerm – is a starter nutrient added with the yeast during the yeast rehydration process.
Fermaid K – An additive that contains DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) that is added during the early part of fermentation (just after the lag phase). Yeast steroids!
Fermaid O – Organic additive similar to Fermaid K, except without the DAP.
ICV Noblesse and Opti-white are other nutrients that I used.

19. Yeast Rehydration
Use either juice or distilled water to rehydrate. I prefer to use distilled water.
I used an electric water kettle to heat the water and a thermometer to measure. I usually mix yeast for a 500 gallon tank using about 2 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket.
Add GoFern nutrient to water (0.25 grams/liter) at 110° F and stir until mixed well.
When mixture drops to 104° F, add desired yeast to nutrient mixture (0.3 grams/liter), stirring well to add oxygen into mixture.
Let sit for 15 – 20 minutes for rehydration to occur.

20. Pitching Yeast
When the yeast and GoFerm mixture is rehydrated, the temperature must be within 18° F (10° C) of the fluid in the tank in order not to shock the yeast, which can stall fermentation if not done properly.
In a temperature controlled tank, I keep the temperature of the fermentation between 52° F and 60° F. In a carboy, find a dark, dry, cool location.
Do drop temperature of yeast mixture to that of the juice in the tank, I drop the temperature about 20° F every 15 minutes, adding juice from the tank to the 5 gallon bucket with yeast mixture. I always had to use two buckets.
Once the mixture is to the correct temperature, pour the mixture into the tank and mix either by hand or pump over for 5 minutes.

21. Lag Phase
There is anywhere between 1 and 4 days of lag where the yeast is building up enough population to begin to change the chemistry of the juice.
I like to keep the temperature during the lag phase to around 58° F if possible.
After the lag phase is over (brix begins to drop), Adding Fermaid K can help give the yeast a kick start (0.15 grams/liter). Dissolve Fermaid K into about a gallon of juice, mix, and add to fermentation

22. Checking Fermentation Daily
Check your fermentation every day.
Temperature pH
Brix or Specific Gravity
Adjust Brix or Gravity with temperature
Taste, smell, look
This daily record of juice chemistry will guide what to do with the juice. If the brix are dropping to fast, lower the temperature; if the brix is dropping too slowly, raise the temperature.
Daily checks can also alert you to potential problems.

23. Fermaid O additions
Fermaid O can be added to the fermentation to assist the yeast in their job.
Add Fermaid O (0.125 grams/liter) after one-third total drop in brix.
Add Fermaid O (0.1 to grams/liter) after two-thirds total drop in brix.
When adding these, mix nutrients into 1 to 2 gallons of fermenting juice. Once dissolved, add to fermentation tank and mix with CO2, a paddle, or pump over to mix well.

24. Finishing the Fermentation
Depending on how controlled the fermentation was, it will finish total fermentation between 12 and 21 days.
Once the fermentation exhibits less than 2 brix during the daily chemistry check, it is getting close to being finished.
Raise the temperature on the tank a bit to help the yeast finish strong.
Clinitest – test low sugar amounts.
When the fermentation is dry (no sugar left) fermentation is complete. You now have raw hard cider.

25. Cold Crash
Cold crashing is when you take a juice that has completed raw cider and drop the temperature close to 32° F.
The cider should stay at this temperature for 5 to 7 days.
The process of cold crashing helps separate lees from the cider.
The lees are the large particles of dead yeast, nutrients, apple bits, and additives that were used up during fermentation. As the temperature drops, the lees fall to the bottom of the tank.

26. Racking Cider
Racking cider is the process of removing the cider from the lees and putting it into containers for aging.
Remove the cider from the tank through the racking valve (above the lees) via tri-clamp hose and pump into clean storage container.
It is best to push raw cider through course filtration pads (k700) when racking to filter out smaller particulates.
Test juice for sulfite concentration using sulfite titration.
Inoculate raw cider with potassium metabisulfite (KMBS), between 35 and 50 ppm depending on pH level.
Mix KMBS with hot water to dissolve then add to raw cider in container after filtration.

27. Lees Removal and Uses
As described earlier, lees are the remains of the dead yeast, yeast nutrients, apple particulates, and additives that will sink to the bottom of the tank during cold crashing.
The lees can be wasted and washed down the drain. However, there are some that use the lees to inoculate a second and third batches of juice to be fermented.
Others have used the lees to make bread and beer.
How green are you?

28. Aging Cider
Raw cider can be aged from anywhere between 2 months to a year or more.
Aging is a process of maturing flavors to make better cider.
The chili rule.
During aging there should be a routine of checking and blanketing raw cider with CO2 once a week or so. This protects the raw cider from oxidation and helps to find problems in the raw cider early.
Check KMBS levels once a month and add more if necessary.

29. Recipe Creation
This is every bodies favorite part of cider making. Formulating and testing cider recipes. I do this with a 500 mL graduated cylinder.
First, evaluate the properties of the different raw cider batches through tasting.
Second, blend cider batches together to find desired cider.
Third, add desired flavors and back sweetening.
Fourth, add carbonation into test samples.
Taste test, vote and repeat until desired finish cider is obtained.
Once recipe is completed, extrapolate ingredients used in 500mL test sample to the volume needed for run of final cider blend.

30. Blending
Blend ingredients for final cider in a blending tank and mix thoroughly with tri-clamp hose and pump for an hour or so, switching output and intake locations.
Taste after blending to ensure desired flavor.
Filter the blend through a finer filtration (k200-k100 pads) into the carbonation tank (bright tank).
If you are not going to pasteurize the final cider, it is suggested to sterile filter cider and/or add KMBS and potassium sorbate to arrest refermentation.

31. Carbonating
When the final filtered cider is in the carbonation tank, it is time to pressurize.
It is best to carbonate at low temperatures (around 35° F). The cold the cider is, the easier the carbon dioxide dissolves into the solution.
Check and test your carbonation stone and pressure gages before filling the tank.
I pressurize my tank to around 13 psi over a period of three to four days.
Check and taste every day.
Perform a ‘blow off’ at least once, usually after the first 24 hours.

32. Carbadoser
A carbadoser is a tool used to determine how much carbon dioxide has dissolved into the cider.
Use this once a day at least to be sure the desired carbonation.
This is best used outdoors.

33. Bottling, Canning, and Kegging
Once you have carbonated your cider to the desired amount, it is time to bottle, Can, or Keg.
There are manual bottler machines, semi-automatic bottlers, and automatic bottlers.
Once bottles and/or cans are filled, they should be enclosed as soon as possible (within a few minutes) so that the carbonation does not escape.
When filling kegs, be sure they are clean and sanitized. Also be sure you have a refrigerator ready for storage.

34. Pasteurizing
Pasteurizing is one way of making sure that your cider does not start to referment in the bottle and become a time bomb.
I have only pasteurized in glass bottles. Not sure if this will work for cans or plastic jugs.
Process of pasteurizing in bottle:
Take caped bottles and place them in a container of water that can be heated to at least 150° F. Be sure the water in container reaches the neck of the bottle, just above liquid level in bottles.
Heat water to between 143° F and 150° F and leave bottles in there for 20 minutes. This will kill all remaining yeast and other bugs and bacteria that may have infected the cider through the blending/carbonating process.

35. Pasteurizing
After the 20 minute hot bath, take the bottles out and let cool down and dry out.
Make sure to record everything: leaking or broken bottles, discolorations, etc.

36. Labeling There are manual and automatic labeling machines available.
Most roll on easily and specifics can be worked out with your chosen labeling company, if you go that route.
Most importantly, if you are going to retail your cider, you must have your labels approved through the TTB. If you are using flavors other than apple (i.e. blueberry, chili pepper, hops, etc.) you must also have your recipe approved by the TTB.

37. Summary Getting Apples Cleaning and sanitizing
Washing, grinding, and pressing
Fermentation
Cold Crashing
Racking
Aging
Blending
Carbonating

38. Summary Bottling Pasteurizing Labeling Retail/wholesale Drink!
Slainte, Skoll, Prost, Cheers, Salude, and Down the Hatch!

39. Resources www.cider.org.uk/
apples-are-in-hard-cider-bittersweet-dabinett-yarlington-tremletts- nehou-ciders-to-try.html