A Toast to the 'Year of the Land'

Way back in March, we laid out a handful of things we wanted to do with our land this year. This weekend, we were able to enjoy the last item on that list - opening a bottle of hard cider made from our apple trees. Amongst all of the canning, it was hard to set aside time to make some apple cider, but we were able to press, ferment, and bottle a gallon of hard cider.

While in the local Tractor Supply store recently, I saw a book on making hard cider and mead. The introduction noted that the recipes were designed for 1-gallon batches. I found this an interesting approach, as most brewing recipes make about 5 gallons. Part of the reason was sustainability. Making any food requires a lot of cleaning, and brewing especially requires good sanitation to prevent spoiling a batch. The smaller the batch, the less water is used for cleaning. The book also noted that if a batch was ruined, only a gallon of ingredients was wasted. Lastly, the book's introduction noted that moderation is important, and that a small batch of hard cider or mead meant you were not tempted to overindulge. While I may not have agreed with this last point when I was in my 20's, I see the wisdom in moderation now.

For this batch, I wanted to make it sweeter. This can be tricky. You cannot simply add sugar when it is bottled, as the residual yeast will ferment the sugar. In fact, some sugar is added to 'bottle condition' the cider, or give it carbonation. Too much sugar, and the bottles can explode. I used erythritol as a sweetener, which is a non-fermentable natural sugar alcohol. Xylitol can also be used, but it is poisonous to dogs, and we have a dog. I added about 3 tablespoons to my gallon of hard cider before bottling, to produce an off-dry cider. This weekend, we opened a bottle. It was very clear and nicely carbonated. The cider was sweet at the start and finished dry. It was as good as any store-bought cider I have tried, which was a nice accomplishment. My batch produced eight 12-ounce bottles and one partial bottle - a moderate amount.

We have been winding down the year with several outdoor projects after the mad rush of finishing the kitchen and hall/laundry room. With the weather turning cold, we will be starting up house projects again. This has been a trying year, but it was nice to have a glass of cold hard cider, look back on the good things that happened, and hope that next year brings better times.