Homemade & Commercial

Wine, Beer, Spirits, Cider & Mead Guides

Alcoholic beverages; most commonly beer and wines made at home. Brews made from brewing kits purchased at shops specialized in spirits. The Beer Pirate features homebrew recipes, equipment requirements, and commercial productions information; and all the best practices needed to make that perfect batch!

Bottled cider, with its pleasant effervescence and mild alcoholic content, is now widely available in major cities throughout North America as we had anticipated when that first tasting was organized last fall. Americans are greeting bottled cider with the same enthusiasm that has been shown for fresh cider during the past ten years. Cider is now a feature in many wine shops and restaurants) as well as in stores that specialize in wholesome foods.

All ciders) both bottled and fresh) not only originate from the same natural source but share certain other characteristics as well. As you learn to identify and appreciate these qualities) you will not only find great enjoyment in tasting different kinds of cider – both imported and domestic – but will develop a palate for cider that will guide you reliably in future buying.

Some of the qualities that are usually sought in good wine are also descriptive of bottled cider. For example: flavor) body) and balance between acid and sugar. Many basic elements of good wine are found in most ciders) even though cider is generally blended for uniformity and) unlike wine) does not improve with bottle age. Although the elements of character) style and substance are rarely as complex or sophisticated in cider as they are in wine) their existence gives a basis for comparison among ciders as well as a terminology familiar to wine lovers who have turned their interest to cider.

A comparative tasting of bottled ciders is both an enjoyable and instructive experience. There need be no mandatory protocol with respect to number of participants or varieties of cider. Scoring tended to be somewhat arbitrary and superfluous in our experience at several tastings last year. It is more helpful to simply make notes with certain specific characteristics in mind and then record an overall general impression. Discussion among tasters proved to be very helpful as well.

The most easily identified characteristic of bottled cider is the belance between sweetness and acidity. In certain parts of Canada) bottled cider is likely to be minimally sweet because much Canadian cider is produced in Ontario and Quebec, where the French influence affects cider. In the United States) however) most bottled cider – especially that imported from western Canada) England and France – is moderately to markedly sweet. The drier varieties are noticeably absent in most retail outlets in the U.S. in part because those ciders are in great demand in their countries of origin and there is little available for export; also) the marketing specialists at the large European cider-makers assume that Coca-Cola-weaned residents of the U.S. prefer sweet drinks. As a result, the cider that you may have enjoyed on a trip to France, for example, may be quite different than the cider sold underthe same label at your local wine shop in the U.S.

The sweetness of bottled cider should be balanced with some acidity, and often is, especially in the more carefully made labels. The bitterness of tannin, present in the English apples grown and pressed strictly for cider, provides another aspect of balance in certain imported ciders as well.

Flavor or fruitiness is very desirable in bottled cider. This quality varies considerably from ciders with distinct apple character to those with absolutely no hint of any natural origin whatsoever. As an aspect of flavor, the aftertaste of any cider should always be smooth and pleasant. Any rough, chemical or oxidized flavor is simply unacceptable.

Color and aroma give important indications of the care with which the cider was made. Good bottled cider ranges in color from light amber to pale straw. Browning is undesirable because it indicates that oxidation occurred during crushing and pressing. Well-made cider has a definite, usually faint, aroma of fruit. Any foul or off-odors are the result of careless production.

Body is a measure of the blending process that most ciders undergo.

Some ciders are blended by mixing together ciders produced from different batches of apples. This results in a product with a pleasant, full body. A less than satisfying product – with a too-thin body – can and often does result in cider to which excess water has been added before bottling.

Effervescence is characteristic of many bottled ciders. The bubbliness in most ciders is created just before or during bottling by artificial carbonation and is noted on the label with the wine terms petillsm, mousseux or sparkling. Bottle-fermented cider made in the manner and style of champagne boasts natural carbonation.

As we tasted and compared bottled ciders at several different sessions, we looked for some balance, pleasant flavor, good color, and fragrant aroma. Full body and moderate effervescence were also desirable. As notes were made and discussion flourished around the table, though, the most useful rating came under the heading of overall impression. The best descriptions of certain ciders became more poetic than analytical.

Although there was never any unanimous agreement on a single favorite, nearly every taster left the gathering with a preference, as well as a label or two to be avoided in the future. Cider seems to fall into several different styles, some of which were more attractive to certain tasters than others. Interestingly, a cider’s style is often a clue to its nationality. In general, the French ciders are light and very fruity, moderately effervescent and somewhat sweet. The English ciders are often full in body and flavor and are well-balanced. Canadian cider tends to be lighter and often sweeter than the cider from Europe. Although there are several brands of domestic cider sold in the United States, we were only able to locate one for our tastings. That bottle-fermented cider was particularly dry, fruity and flavorful, and was greatly enjoyed by all of its tasters.

The other major cider-producing country of Europe is France. Much of the cider made at cider mills throughout the countryside in Normandy is turned into Calvados, the fiery brandy that is traditionally consumed after rich rrieals as a digestive aid. Calvados is relatively unknown outside of France, especially in comparison to the brandies made from grapes, Cognac and Armagnac. It is available in America in small quantities and is eagerly sought by connoisseurs who especially value its fruity aroma and faint apple aftertaste.

Under French law, only the apple brandy made in particular areas of Normandy can be labelled and sold as Calvados. It must be slowly aged in oak casks and approved, batch by batch, by a licensed tasting panel.

Calvados is not only an excellent sipping liqueur, but very useful in the kitchen as well. A Norman version of the traditional Burgundian coq au vin takes on a lively fruitiness with the addition of Calvados to the preparation. Another classic use for Calvados is in a light and frothy dessert souffle.

We had some firsthand experience with Calvados and Normandy cider several years ago} and like most American travellers to France} we came home in search of those “liquid apples” with little success. Fortunately, cider and Calvados are now more readily available and the nostalgic traveller can relive fond memories in the kitchen at home, as we have done.

We had spent two extraordinary weeks in Paris as the guests of an American friend who had been living in the city for several years. She was eager to show us France as few tourists have an opportunity to experience it. We spent the mornings of our days at national monuments like the Louvre and Notre Dame, and then met for lunch at a different brasserie or cafe every day, and a second establishment for dinner, until we had covered virtually every quarter of the city.

This gastronomical tour took us far beyond the culinary boundaries of Paris and even of the country itself. Parisian immigrants from all over the world seemed to bring the best of their native cuisine to their adopted city, and the local markets responded remarkably with the necessary ingredients. In discovering Paris with our palates, we also tasted the cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, Spain, Lebanon, Syria and even Russia and China.

Our hostess suggested that we spend our last weekend in France in a small seaside village in Normandy called Honfleur. She knew a small dockside pension in this community of fishermen and sailors that would serve us the very best Norman treatment of the daily catch. And then it was only a matter of climbing a small flight of stairs to a bed overlooking the harbor.

Perhaps more than in any other single region of France, the delectable cuisine of Normandy has evolved from foods grown and gathered locally. Norman cattle are grown not only for their well-marbled, tender meat, but also for some of the most flavorful, richest cream in Europe. One result of the abundance of cream is a corresponding abundance of cream sauces in many regional specialities.

Apples, cider and Calvados are also essential in the Norman preparation of food. Cider is used freely in sauces and poaching liquids. Calvados is also used with a liberal hand in the kitchen and is served routinely at the close of a large meal. We went to Normandy that weekend with great expectations of delicious cuisine and were treated to cider, Calvados, fresh cream and fresh fish in a manner and quantity that far exceeded our hopes.

Several hundred fishing boats were moored securely in Honfleur’s harbor on the afternoon we arrived. Their day’s work was completed, if in fact they had ventured out at all. Fishermen often sat out the cold, rainy January days in local cafes. We parked our car on the main street which ran along the harbor and got out to explore on foot. There was laughter drifting into the street from the closest cafe and we decided to investigate.

The bar was lined with friendly faces who spoke as little English as we did French. It didn’t seem to matter much to anyone though, as we ordered two of the small glasses filled with Calvados that almost everyone else was drinking. While most of the patrons sipped slowly on their drinks, one brave soul opened his mouth as wide as he could, tilted his head back and tossed the entire contents of the glass into his throat with one graceful motion. As he swallowed and drew a deep breath, a cheer went up from his companions and the woman behind the bar leaned over to fill his glass again.

We finished our drinks and headed into the street in search of the pension. It was dark and our dinner reservation was for 6:30. A very small sign above the door of a narrow, four-story building identified it as our destination and a friendly large woman greeted us at the door. She spoke no English, she declared immediately in French, and understood very little. Our French got us upstairs to our room and aware of her admonition to be prompt for dinner.

Although our friend in Paris had advised us of the quantity of food we would be served at every course we were still unprepared for the largesse and culinary extravagance that was set before us. There were a dozen other diners, mostly local residents who ate regularly at this “simple” restaurant. The owner remained in the dining area through much of the meal, assisting the two young men who were serving and making sure that all of the diners were thoroughly satisfied.

Shortly after we were seated, a large pitcher of cider and two glasses were placed on the table. This was customary in restaurants throughout the region, we were told. The light, fruity cider was an excellent accompaniment to the entire meal, especially the poached sole served with a rich and flavorful cream sauce and the veal chops baked in a delicious and slightly piquant brown sauce. Both entrees were prepared, we learned later, with cider-based sauces, and Calvados was added to the sauce for the veal.
After the entrees we were offered a glass of Calvados, which is the traditional method in Normandy for dividing a long meal into two more moderate repasts. The trou normand, or Norman hole, is intended not only to interrupt the progress of the meat but to create a hole in the stomach so that the diners can continue to eat even more.

We left Honfleur after two more days of glorious feasting and returned to Paris to catch a flight home. It had been a magical two weeks, given almost entirely to eating and drinking and making new discoveries. Of all the new discoveries, none was more memorable than cider.

One evening last fall, nearly a dozen of us sat around a large table, well supplied with wine glasses, scoresheets and pens, and spent several hours systematically tasting the alcoholic contents of one tall thin bottle after another. An unexpected visitor would probably have thought that we were tasting wine. But although the bottles had been purchased from local wine shops, they were filled with cider. We were tasting a variety of locally available bottled ciders, most of which had been imported from England, Canada and France.

We were all somewhat knowledgeable about wine, which gave us some preliminary understanding of the ciders. It was apparent that although bottled cider and wine share certain similar characteristics, cider has its own distinct charm.

The evening passed quickly as each taster worked intently to judge and evaluate the different ciders. Finally the scoresheets, which had been filled with cryptic notes and numbers, were handed in for tally. As we said goodnight, someone predicted that bottled cider would become as popular in America as it is in England and France.

The production and enjoyment of cider is a centuries-old tradition throughout the apple-growing regions of France, England, Spain and other countries of western Europe. It is a tradition steeped in folklore and custom, and it has spawned nearly as many stories and legends as enthusiasts for one of the world’s oldest beverages.

In England it is said that Joseph of Arimathea came to Glastonbury in Somerset to found a center of Christianity in the years following the death of Christ. Glastonbury was known in Arthurian times as Avalon, which means the isle of apples. Joseph was said to have eaten apples at Glastonbury and then spat the seeds into Somerset. Cider-apple trees sprang from the ground as a result and created the vast orchards that grow today in Hereford, Somerset and Devon.

English villagers in Somerset still practice the traditional ritual of apple wassailing, which is supposed to ensure a bountiful crop. On January 6, Twelfth Night, they gather around the largest tree in the orchard, drink to its health, and pour cider over its roots. Then everyone joins hands and dances around the tree while some blast shotguns in the air to scare evil spirits away. Pieces of cider-soaked bread are tied to the tree’s branches as an offering to robins, the good spirits of the tree.

There are nearly 300 different varieties of cider apples growing in England today, some of which are descendants of ancient trees first planted by the Romans. Most have picturesque names like Slack-MyGirdle, Lady’s Finger, Cats’ Heads, and Sheep’s Nose. Their juice produces the bittersweet flavor characteristic of English cider. These apples are sour, bitter and coarse by the standards for most table or eating apples, but they are the absolutely essential raw material for proper English cider.

Thee juice from those apples is so essential to cider that H.P. Bulmer Ltd., the largest producer by volume of cider in the world, exports it in concentrated form to its plants in other countries, including a large operation located in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia, which was opened in 1969.

Thee concentrate is shipped halfway around the world and reconstituted and blended with fresh juice from apples grown in Tasmania and other parts of Australia. A typical batch of cider from Bulmer! Australia is 40 percent from apple concentrate pressed at the orchards near the main plant in Hereford, England. The blended juice is inoculated with a special wine yeast which has been isolated and kept pure for almost a hundred years.

Then the cider ferments for several weeks in huge 10,000 and 20,000 gallon tanks which, following Herefordshire tradition at the original cider works, are named for towns or people involved in the long history of the firm. The large tanks are called Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Koala, Kanza and Credenhill and the smaller ones are labelled Patrick, James Cook and David, for example.

Each tank ferments at a slightly different rate which is controlled by the surrounding temperature as the tanks are not refrigerated. Once fermentation is completed, the cider is allowed to settle and siphoned off to rest. After some days it goes into a centrifuge for clarification and then is passed through a diatomaceous-earth filter and finally through a filter of special paper. 111en the cider is ready for blending.

The cider is blended with water to create an alcohol content that depends on the label under which it will be sold. Carbonation also varies according to the label and is done as the cider is bottled. The bottles are filled at the rate of eight hundred gallons an hour and are pasteurized briefly before they are labeled and put into cases for shipping.

The original Bulmer cider works in Hereford began operation in 1888. Four thousand gallons of cider were made that year in a rented warehouse by Percy Bulmer, an enterprising twenty-year-old. His brother soon joined the successful business and by 1911, the Bulmers were granted a Royal Warrant, making them the official cidermakers for the British royal family.

Cider making in Hereford usually begins by mid- September and goes full tilt through October and November. The cider works uses apples from its thousands of acres of orchards, and buys still more from independent local growers. The apples are shaken from the trees and delivered to the cider mill where they are washed several times, ground to a fine pulp and pressed. The juice is stored in settling vats and then pumped into other vats for fermentation, which usually takes about three or four weeks. The storage vats, named for countries, planets, and even birds, store 15 million gallons of cider at one time. The largest tank is named Strongbow and holds 1,650,000 gallons of cider.

It is a fifteen-minute drive from the Vashon Island ferry dock to the 250-acre farm called Wax Orchards. Seattle is just a short ferry ride away, but the island’s remaining forests and well-fenced pastures have an air of timeless tranquility that belies their urban proximity. It is a perfect setting for the largest fresh cider mill in the Pacific Northwest.

Cider is only the most recent product of Wax Orchards, an enterprise that began in 1929 when August and Johanna Wax came to the island from a farming community just south of Seattle with a mind to raise pie cherries. They bought a large tract of land that had been logged once, cleared away the second-growth timber and logging debris, and planted Montmorency cherry trees. They enjoyed decades of successful cherry harvests and planted several acres of peach trees as well. The next logical addition to the orchardists’ acreage was apples. Another thirty acres went into apple trees of many different varieties.

The Waxes discovered that unlike cherries and peaches, which brought a good return, their apples found little or no market as table fruit. Rainy western Washington simply would not produce the picture-book fruit grown just across the Cascade Mountains in the irrigated orchards of the Yakima Valley. They could barely meet expenses with their Gravenstein, Golden Delicious, and Stayman apples, which were juicy and delicious, but small and irregular by eastern Washington standards.

Cider seemed to be an obvious use for the unsold apples and a large old wine press was put into use. Neighbors and friends were the first customers, but as the word spread, demand for the cider far outstripped the supply.

Then in 1970, the family got an unexpected prod from nature when a severe hailstorm damaged most of that season’s apples. Faced with a bruised apple crop that could only be saved by making cider, and a press which produced only a few gallonsat a time, the cidermakers decided to mechanize the process. A simple fifteen-ton press and a mill for grinding the apples were built to increase production capability. Almost 8,000 U.S. gallons of cider were pressed and sold that year. Not a single good apple grown at Wax Orchards has escaped the cider jug since.

Visitors to Wax Orchards park their cars next to the comfortable two-story farmhouse and walk a few hundred feet out to the cannery building where, on almost any day of the week, cider making is in progress.

Five or six people are hard at work in an 11,000-square-foot cement block building which was constructed as a cannery for the cherries and peaches. The workers are warmly dressed in order to remain comfortable in the unheated structure.

The roar of the machinery makes conversation almost impossible even at the opposite end of the cannery. A strong fruity smell of apples pervades the air. Visitors are advised to wear boots because on pressing days the concrete floor of the cannery is usually wet. Both the cold and dampness can be escaped inside a small office, where a woodstove is usually burning and a pot of hot cider sits ready to be poured.

Several dozen big bins of apples sit near a large loading dock, some inside the building and others on the ground. Each bin holds half a ton of fruit. In the fall, the bins are full of apples harvested from the farm’s orchards by neighbor kids and migrant pickers. Many of these red, green and yellow apples have simply fallen, as apples will when they are fully ripened and ready for the cider press. Others have been picked up from the ground after the tree has been lightly shaken.

The full bins are hauled from the orchard on a trailer which has been especially designed to run behind a large farm tractor. The tractor can move ten bins at once and can bring much of the daily harvest to the cannery in two or three trips.

A single bin is positioned on a hydraulic lift which tilts gradually until the apples begin to spill out onto a scrubber and then into a hopper filled with water. A worker is on hand to keep an even stream of apples flowing into the bath and to see that all the apples are thorough. lywashed.

The apples are pushed toward a paddle wheel by several jets of water at the far end of the bath. The paddle wheel guides the apples onto a conveyor which moves them slowly past more jets and up to another worker. The apples are carefully inspected for spoilage, and any bad parts are removed or the whole fruit discarded if necessary. This stream of apples flows steadily under the worker’s watchful eye into a mill where it is ground to the consistency of applesauce. Fine grinding reduces oxidation and also allows the maximum amount of cider to be released from the pulp when it is pressed.
The pomace, as the ground apples are called, plops into fifty-five gallon steel drums with plastic liners. Each barrel is labeled by the variety of apple that it holds. Some of the pomace heads directly for the press and the rest is stored in a freezer for use during the weeks and months ahead. By freezing freshly ground apple pulp for later use, Wax Orchards is able to make fresh cider throughout the year.

The juice of three to six different varieties of apples is carefully blended for Wax Orchards cider. Sweet and tart apples are always combined to create a balanced and full-bodied product. The formula demands 40 to 50 percent juice from tart apples. A consistent balance is maintained throughout the year by using pomace stored in the freezer. Most cider mills do not have this capability and must make cider strictly from available apples, whose sweetness can vary substantially according to the variety and the time of year.

When enough barrels have been filled with different varieties of apple pulp, the press is put into action. The press operator stacks several oak racks and forms in a large stainless steel tray designed to hold the cider as it is pressed from the pulp. Each form is lined with a coarsely woven nylon cloth, which is laid in place carefully to keep it smooth and straight. Several buckets of pomace are poured onto the cloth, then the corners are folded and the form is removed. A rack is placed on top of the so-called cheese, another form is put in place, and the process is repeated.

When the press operator is finished there will be ten to twelve cheeses in the stack. The weight of the cheeses on top causes liquid to run freely from those on the bottom of the pile and the metal tray fills quickly with cider before the press is even started. The presser pushes the loaded stack under the press, flips a switch and 30,000 pounds of pressure are gradually applied to the apple pulp by a hydraulic system.

As the cider cascades from the pomace, a pump is started which carries the liquid through a clear plastic tube to the cooling tanks, which are located on a platform above the bottling area. As many as ninety gallons of cider will be collected from a single pressing.

The cider passes through a fine screen mesh to strain any stray pieces of pulp from the liquid and then flows into a holding tank where it is quickly chilled and stored at 33 degrees Fahrenheit. It passes through a second screen en route to a dairy-style filling machine which fills and caps quart, half-gallon and gallon plastic bottles. The jugs are stored at just above freezing until the next day when they are delivered by refrigerated truck to nearly two hundred retail and restaurant accounts in the Puget Sound area.

Variations of the activity at Wax Orchards can be found in communities across the United States. Some East Coast cider mills have been in business for several generations. Others, like Wax Orchards, have opened their doors more recently in response to the public demand for fresh cider.

All successful cider making follows several general rules, whether the press is a neighborhood gathering place or the center of a large commercial operation. When the basic rules are followed, good results are assured.

Only whole, firm and properly ripened apples should be used in the production of cider. An apple that is ready to fall from the tree will be at its peak of juiciness and natural sugar. Windfalls should be examined carefully} however. Apples that are soiled or rotten will make cider that is foul and rough.

Good cider is blended from several different types of apples. Certain varieties of apples have special characteristics that work together to make a fully balanced and flavorful Cider. Jonathan and Winesap apples} for example} are rather tart} and Gravensteins are very juicy. Others} such as Red Delicious} 20 Ounce} and Stayman, add body to the blend.

Sugar} acidity and juiciness are the important characteristics of good cider apples. Although backyard cider-makers usually press only those apples that are readily available} commercial producers often blend the earlier apples of summer} which are usually tart} with the later} sweeter varieties to blend a balanced cider.

The use of sound ripe apples of different varieties} and most important, cleanliness at every step during the process} insures good fresh cider. The fruit must be washed very thoroughly to remove the dust and residue deposited on the apples during the summer. Whether the equipment is a small hand cranked chipper and press or a large and efficient electrically powered machine} it must be scrubbed and rinsed carefully before and after it is used. A gallon of fresh sweet cider requires not only eleven to fourteen pounds of apples but several gallons of wash water as well.

Fresh cider will remain in its sweet full-bodied state for ten days to several weeks if it is stored at 38 degrees or less} which is the average temperature of a properly functioning kitchen refrigerator. The cool temperature postpones but does not prevent the natural fermentation process. Once this process begins} cider becomes a number of different beverages} tasty by the glass and amazingly useful in the kitchen.

Each jug of cider will move at its own individual rate into a semi-dry state according to its balance of sugar} acid and yeast. Yeasts that give the best flavor to fermenting cider are encouraged to grow at temperatures of 40 degrees or less. Those that give the rough and strong taste often associated with fermenting cider are discouraged by cool temperatures. While the 40•degree guideline for proper storage does not guarantee successful fermentation every time} clean cider that is carefully made and treated well will rarely just “go bad.”

Lower storage temperature not only favors the better flavored yeasts, but also slows the rate at which the natural sugar is turned into alcohol. A slower fermentation process results in smoother and more flavorful semi-dry and dry hard cider.

Fresh cider should be exposed to air as little as possible. Contact with oxygen eventually turns fermenting cider into acetic acid or vinegar, although this may not happen for three or four months. A container of fermenting cider should have its cap slightly loosened to permit carbon dioxide to escape, but care should be taken that the caps are barely rather than very loose.

The first stage of natural fermentation, semi-dry, seems to be the favorite among those who appreciate fresh cider as a beverage. The cider is usually quite effervescent as a result of the fermentation process, and noticeably drier than when it was first pressed. Alcohol content is slight, usually no more than 3 percent, but the flavor and fruitiness of the cider is usually substantial.

The second, or dry hard) stage of fermentation often takes weeks of storage in cool temperatures. Dry hard cider is bone dry and 6 or 7 percent alcohol, since all of the natural sugar has been changed by the yeasts into alcohol. Dry hard cider is naturally quite clear and if stored for weeks after the fermentation is complete, it will become completely clear as the minute particles of apple pulp sink to the bottom of the jug. Some fruitiness may be evident in certain ciders at this stage, but most have virtually no apple flavor. Effervescence also disappears when full fermentation is finally reached.

Naturally fermented dry hard cider, which was served daily on country tables from colonial times until the early years of this century in the United States, is almost unknown as a table beverage today. Since naturally fully fermented cider is not a commercial product, only those who press or buy fresh cider and then commit the time and storage space for proper fermentation will be able to enjoy it at all. Those cider-makers are rewarded, however, with more than just a refreshing drink. Naturally fermented cider is exempt from the federal tax regulations which apply to large quantities of homemade wine and beer.

But even a profitable tax break isn’t really enough incentive to inspire potential retailers of naturally fermented hard cider. First of all, space-consuming refrigeration is required to prevent the cider from spoiling or fermenting too quickly. Even with proper refrigeration, the relatively low alcohol content of the beverage makes it difficult to keep for more than a short period of time.

Although it is impractical for most of us to make naturally fermented cider in great quantity, it is both effortless and most rewarding to buy a gallon or two of fresh cider, leave it in the kitchen refrigerator to ferment for a few weeks, and then put it to use, as we would wine, in the kitchen.

The sweetness of different bottled ciders varies almost as greatly as the alcohol content. Since most bottled cider has sugar added during the fermentation process to establish sufficient alcohol content to prevent spoilage) there will occasionally be some residual sugar in the finished product. More frequently though) the cider has its sweetener added in the blending process just before bottling. Some ciders are left in a dry) more natural state.

European ciders are made from particularly tart and coarse apples grown especially for cider making. These apples give a distinctively sharp and sometimes bitter taste to the cider that results. Bottled cider made in Canada and the United States begins with juice pressed from the culls of table apples. In Australia, one large cider-maker blends a concentrate pressed from English apples with locally grown apples for a milder yet definitely Old World taste.

World production of bottled cider exceeds 140 million gallons (U.S. measure) a year. Cider is the table drink of the apple-growing regions throughout western Europe. The popularity of cider there is historic and involves considerable tradition and lore. Barrels of cider sit next to barrels of stout, ale and beer in pubs throughout Devon, Somerset and Cornwall in England. A carafe of cider is often served on dinner tables in Normandy and Brittany, as wine is found elsewhere in France. Asturias on the coast of northern Spain counts cider as its significant contribution to Spanish cuisine.

While some Europeans and Canadians might sit down to meals with bottled cider, Americans are more likely to serve fresh sweet cider directly from the press. Let’s take a look at the production of fresh cider at a large cider mill in the Pacific Northwest, and then journey to France and on to Australia for a look at cider abroad.

When most of us think about apple cider, visions of crisp fall days, trees burdened with red sun-ripened fruit, and roadside stands stacked with jugs of golden liquid corne to mind. This is the cider of autumn, the drink that is traditionally served to the hordes of thirsty children who knock expectantly on neighborhood doors in search of an annual Halloween treat. For skiers and football fans, it’s hot cider with a shot of rum, to take the chill off a windy afternoon. And in reo cent years, cider has become the beverage of choice for those who favor wholesome natural food and drink.

In fact, we are probably more likely to agree on our feelings about cider than on the nature of the drink itself. Even the basic definition of fresh cider causes some disagreement. The one that we prefer is perhaps the most simple.

Fresh sweet cider is the natural liquid that is released or expressed by pressing finely chopped or ground fruit. Although apples are the most common fruit from which cider is made, pears and sweet cherries are often pressed for cider as well. That liquid is fresh cider as long as it remains in its natural state and is not sweetened, preserved, clarified or otherwise altered. As the natural fermentation process runs its course, the cider remains cider at every step of the way.

Fresh sweet cider is converted into what is commonly labeled and sold as apple juice by pasteurizing and the addition of preservatives that stop the fermentation process for a month or longer. Apple juice can also be made by pasteurizing clarified cider at 195 degrees Fahrenheit for one minute. These procedures produce a liquid with relatively long shelf life and no other significant advantages. Apple juice is a cider derivative with very little resemblance to its source in intensity or general quality of flavor. Even though some producers label apple juice as cider, especially during the fall, apple juice is simply not cider.

Fresh apple cider is always (sometimes very) sweet in taste, amber to golden in color, opaque in appearance, aromatic in odor and entirely non-alcoholic. However, this description only strictly applies to the first hours (or days when refrigerated) of the beverage’s life. Fresh ape ple cider is a lively and occasionally volatile liquid that can change many aspects of its distinctive character practically overnight.

As fresh cider is separated from the ground pulp of the apple with a machine-powered or hand-operated press, wild yeasts that are naturally present on the skin of the fruit are swept along into the liquid. These yeasts begin to change the natural sugar in the liquid into alcohol. The natural fermentation process is most often described as turning, working or hardening.

Cider ferments very rapidly and sometimes even violently at temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The process is more leisurely and the results much smoother when the temperature around the working cider is 40 degrees or less. As fermentation converts the sugar into alcohol and the solid particles slowly settle, the sweetness begins to subside and the cider appears clearer and lighter in color.

The beverage that results from the natural fermentation process is the cider of pioneer North America, produced in great quantities wherever farmers had apples. Our forefathers were proud of their cider production and they eagerly anticipated a good annual supply. The mildly alcoholic beverage was not only a pleasure to drink, but ale so a most convenient and easy means of preserving the usually bountiful apple harvest.

Even those who relish the clean refreshing taste of fresh cider often misunderstand the complexities of the beverage in its different stages of natural fermentation. The prevailing confusion, found today from coast to coast in much of the United States) is partly the result of political turmoil) as well as a decided shift in national flavor preferences.

Naturally fermented “hard” cider was a staple of life in the United States from the earliest colonial times until the mid-19th century temperance campaigns that resulted in the destruction of thousands of acres of apple orchards. By the turn of the century) hard cider had all but disappeared from the national diet. The return now of fresh sweet cider to the nation’s tables and kitchens has brought wide acceptance for the beverage in its sweet state) but many of the most enthusiastic cider lovers mistakenly consider the beverage spoiled as soon as fermentation begins. As a result) unfortunately) tasty) good cider is often thrown away.

The cider of the pioneers was not unlike what is now produced for the commercial market in Canada and Australia, as well as in England, France and other countries in Western Europe. Bottled cider is a clear and usually straw-colored liquid which is effervescent in character and often somewhat fruity in taste. Bottled ciders are, in fact) apple wines with a wide variety of alcohol content. The heady cider known as scrumpy, sold from barrels in pubs throughout Devon and Somerset in England) runs as high as 10 percent, but most bottled ciders are a more modest 3 to 6 percent alcohol.

American winemakers are beginning to show great interest in bottled cider, and those with easy access to good cider apples are making cider with great success. The size of their production keeps the market strictly local, but the popularity of bottled cider has encouraged these winemakers to keep the cider coming.