Cider Chat

Jun 27, 2018

What are Medlars?

• Medlars are pommes.
• It can be either a tree or a large bush.
• The small brown medlars are picked in the fall. Because Medlars are eaten in the winter months they were very popular at a time when fruit was not easily accessible during winter months.
• To Blet a Medlar, means that this pomme is allowed to...

Jun 20, 2018

Attention Cider Makers! Understand Your Cider’s Chemical Fingerprints

John Edwards presented “Cider’s Chemical Fingerprints” at the United States Association of Cider Makers (now referred to as the American Cider Association) annual conference in Baltimore Maryland (CiderCon) in February 2018.

The full title...

Jun 13, 2018

Bâtonnage is a winemaking technique that is also used in Cidermaking. It involves raking the lees or what is seen as the heavy particulars of yeast cells that fall out of solution and down to the bottom of the barrel during primary fermentation. Bâtonnage is all about stirring the lees back into solution. Makers...

Jun 6, 2018

Cider Barrel Maintenance

The craft of making an oak barrel is called “cooperage” and the person who applies this craft is called a “cooper”. The skills of this trade have been passed down through the centuries. The tree and the wood chosen to become a barrel has to meet specific criteria, such as having a tight...