Cidermaking 101

1. Cidermaking 101 By: James McKinney

2. APPLE BARN WINEY - CELLAR Located in Sevierville. OVER 30,000 GALLON CAPACITY BETWEEEN 15-16,000 CASES SOLD EACH YEAR Currently Kegged over 4000 gallons of hard cider in 2018 for Retail at Mill Bridge Winery in Pigeon Forge.

3. 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.

4. 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 • HohlMaintalerApfelwein - Germany

5. 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.

6. Very Short Cleaning and Sanitizing Statement • The mildest effective cleaner I use for tanks and general cleaning is Sodium Carbonate Peroxydydrate. It is an oxidizing agent so a good rinse is necessary. • After cleaning, sanitation can be achieved using a mix of Potassium Metabisulfite commonly called S02 and citric acid. Hydrolyze the mix for spray bottles and circulation through pumps. • Water. • More Water. • Really Hot Water is better. • Ethanol can also be used in spray bottles for tasting valves, etc.

7. Apples and Pressing • There are over 10,000 varieties known. Which ones to use? • Use what is available. It’s up to the cidermaker to bring out the best of each one. • What varieties make the best apple cider? • There are 5 classifications of apples now. • Sharps - Tannins < .2% Acidity > .45% • Sweets - Tannins < .2% Acidity < .45% • Bittersweets – Tannins > .2% Acidity < .45% • Bittersharps – Tannins > .2% Acidity > .45% • Sweet-Sharps – Tannins < .2% Acidity > .45% + Higher Sugars.

8. 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, a favorable pH is between 3.2 and 3.8. • Too low of a pH can stress the yeasts and make fermentation difficult. Blending higher pH juices in may alleviate the hostile environment. • Too high of a pH and you risk unfavorable microbial growth. It’s possible to lower the pH using Malic Acid but test, test, and test. • TA or total acidity measurement is also suggested through titration. This will record the total acidity in the solution.

9. Tannin in Cider Apples • It’s often more about texture than flavor. • It can add a straightforward bitterness or astringency, or a dryness that can be minerally. (chalkiness) • 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. • Barrels and Oak Chips can be used to achieve some tannic characteristics.

10. 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 8° and 18°. This will produce roughly a raw cider between 3 and 10 percent ABV. • Chaptalizing – adding additional sugars to increase ABV can be done, though you begin to move away from cider making and into apple wine making. (German Apfelwein)

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. • Purchasing single strength juice is sometimes a better option especially if you lack milling/pressing equipment. • I currently use a juice blend of Winesap, Jonathon, Granny Smith and Macintosh.

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.

13. Juicing suggestions and hacks • When getting apples from an orchard avoid ‘drops’ (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. • Using a pectic enzyme such as Pec5L will help the break down the pectin into usable sugars for the yeast. It also helps with clarity in the final product. • Keep a log of everything!

14. Protecting the tanked Juice. • Apple juice as well as finished Hard Cider is susceptible to oxidation. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) or Argon can be used to form a blanket over any headspace in your tank. • Be sure to have ventilation. • Food and Beverage grade Carbon Dioxide and Argon can be purchased at any natural gas retailer. We use Holston Gas for our supply.

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. A lab area is a must have for chemistry/lab trials/records. We are tight on space. You can see the Hungarian and American oak barrels as well as a few of my cider tanks.

17. 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. • 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.

18. 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 I have used: • DV10, ICV-Opale, Vin 13, EC1118, R2, ICV- OKAY, PDM, Alchemy I, ICV-D47, 58W3, QA23, Rhone 4600, W15

19. 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). • Fermaid O – Organic additive similar to Fermaid K, except without the DAP.

20. Yeast Rehydration • Start with 10x the amount of water as grams of yeast at around 110°F. If you are using 500g of yeast, use at least 5 liters of water. • Stir in the Yeast nutrient GoFerm at a rate of 2.5lb/1000 gallons. • Allow a few minutes for hydration of the GoFerm and for the temp to reduce by about 5°. • Slowly stir in yeast then allow 20 minutes for rehydration. • If the culture is more than 15-20 degrees difference than must/juice, double the volume with juice and allow another 20 minutes for acclimation. • Add to tank.

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. • Yeasts can ferment between 41 and 90 degrees depending on the strain. If you have the option of temperature control, set it near the midpoint of the yeast’s range. Otherwise, keep your container in a cool area. • After the lag phase is over (brix begins to drop), the yeast are working.

22. Checking Fermentation Daily • Check your fermentation every day. • Temperature • pH • Brix or Specific Gravity • 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. 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. • When the fermentation is dry (no sugar left) fermentation is complete. You now have raw hard cider. • At this point, it is also advisable to add a fining agent such as Bentonite and/or Caseinate. Give this 3-4 days to help settle the finished cider.

24. 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. • Test juice for sulfite concentration using sulfite titration. • Mix KMBS with hot water to dissolve then add to raw cider in container after filtration.

25. 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. • 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.

26. Recipe Creation • This is every bodies favorite part of cider making. Formulating and testing cider recipes. • 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. • Taste test and repeat until desired finish cider is obtained.

27. Blending • Blend ingredients for final cider in a blending tank and mix thoroughly with tri-clamp hose and pump. Use a tank mixer if you have one to expedite the process. Taste after blending to ensure desired flavor. • Filter the blend through a finer filtration (I use sterile filtration through a plate n frame) 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.

28. Plate N Frame We use this to filter from 9 micron to .35 micron particulates.

29. Types of Ingredients I’ve used. Wines Juice/Fruits/JC Other Cranberry Muscadine (red and white) Blueberry Cherry Blackberry Juices: Apple Aronia Pear Lemon Pineapple Fruit: Black Currant JC: Pomegranate Hops – Citra, Sorachi Ace, Nugget, Simcoe, Summit, Cascade Ginger Orange Peel Cinnamon Molasses Honey Hot Peppers

30. 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.

31. Carbodoser • A carbodoser is a tool used to determine how much carbon dioxide has dissolved into the cider. • This is best used outdoors or near a drain

32. Research and Development 3 of my 7-8.5 bbl jacketed pressure tanks

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. • 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 7% or above. Otherwise, you must follow FDA guidelines. • If you are using flavors other than apple (i.e. blueberry, chili pepper, hops, etc.) you must also have your formula approved by the TTB.

37. Summary • Getting Apples • Cleaning and sanitizing • Washing, grinding, and pressing • Fermentation • Feed the yeast • Racking • Aging • Blending • Carbonating

38. Summary • Bottling • Pasteurizing • Labeling • Retail/wholesale • Drink! • Keep calm and Cider On!!

39. Resources • www.cider.org.uk/ • www.scottlab.com/ • Monterey Bay Spice Company – www.herbco.com • Books on display.