Turning Apples into Wine - An Introduction to Hard Cider

You can make wine out of pretty much any fruit or vegetable. One of my favorite alternative “wines” are hard ciders made from apples, but I also like ciders made from pears and pineapples. Let’s explore the world of hard cider along with some recommended ciders to get you started!

Photo by Laurie Geis

I have always loved apple cider, which is simply an unfiltered, non- alcoholic beverage made from crushed apples. It’s usually quite sweet and great served either hot or cold. But a few years ago, I tasted my first hard cider, which is a fermented beverage made from the juice of apples. We were at a burger joint in Florida, and they had a long list of hard ciders on tap and in the can and bottle – I tried a bottle of the Crispin Cider Company’s Honey Crisp Artisanal Reserve Unfiltered Hard Cider and fell in love with it. It was a perfect match for the burger and fries, and I was surprised by how complex the flavors were and how balanced a drink it was, with light carbonation and a slightly sweet finish courtesy of the honey that was added to the mix. I was sold and have enjoyed exploring the world of hard cider ever since then.

Hard cider has been made for centuries in England and northern France, while American ciders go back to the early colonial days in New England where grapes were impossible to grow but apples weren’t. These early Americans had to get their alcoholic beverages from somewhere to survive those cold winters!

Technically speaking, cider is a wine since it is made from fermented fruit juice, but it tastes quite different from grape-based wines and is marketed and packaged differently as well. The English and French versions of hard cider are usually dry, meaning they have little to no residual sugar – they are tart and complex with light carbonation (or none is some cases). American hard ciders tend to be sweeter with some level of residual sugar, although the artisanal cider makers tend toward the dryer styles. In addition to New England, hard cider is made across the US with California and other west coast states producing a large portion of hard ciders in the States.

I like all styles of hard cider, from bone dry to very sweet. The dry ciders are more complex and often come unfiltered as well. They taste of apples, but also have a somewhat earthy character to them as well and tend to be tart on the finish. They can have “funky” characteristics and like wine, they are an acquired taste for many.

The sweeter ciders usually have a higher level of carbonation and taste of apples and tropical fruit – these ciders have more general appeal and are great ones to try if you are new to hard cider and want to give them a go.

Also, many ciders incorporate other fruit juices into the mix, like blackberries, watermelon, lime, passionfruit, and raspberries – these flavored ciders are becoming more popular over time, and you can find them in all styles from dry to sweet. Finally, most ciders come it at between 6 to 8 percent ABV (alcohol by volume), quite a bit lower than your average wine which is usually in the 12 to 15 percent ABV range.

To get you started, I sampled four different ciders for you (I know, the sacrifices I make for my loyal readers, ...!) and wrote up some tasting notes below – give these a try and let me know what you think. And if you already drink hard ciders, I’d love to hear which ones are your favorites!

• Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider. This is one of the most popular ciders in the U.S. and easy to find in stores and restaurants. Dark gold in color, this cider is sweet in the mouth and on the finish and tastes of ripe red apples and hints of citrus fruit as well. It’s an uncomplicated and easy drinking cider, perfect for a warm summer day out on the deck! 5% ABV.

• Schilling Passport Pineapple and Passion Fruit Hard Cider. This is a flavored, apple-based cider with pineapple juice and passion fruit puree added into the mix. When I drink this, I am transported to a tropical island – it tastes of tropical fruit and is quite sweet, but not cloyingly so. It’s also lightly carbonated and finishes with pineapple and apple notes. 6.7% ABV.

• Original Sin Black Widow Cider. This cider is from New York – it’s apple based and flavored with blackberry juice. Light red in color, it tastes of red and black berries along with light tart apple flavors on the finish. It’s medium bodied with light carbonation and semi-sweet. Nicely balanced and refreshing to drink. This one is widely available and a favorite of many restaurants who serve cider on tap. It’s great with BBQ and smoked meats! 6.0% ABV.

• Shilling London Dry Hard Cider. This cider is made in the English style, meaning dry with very little (2% ABV) residual sugar. It is full bodied and tastes of tart green apples with a nice acidic and clean finish. It’s medium gold in color in the glass and lightly carbonated. This cider provides a great introduction to the drier style of cider.