Is anyone a fan of Cider?

[Speedwell68]

I am, love the fermented apple juice. My favourite tipple has to be Cornish Rattler...



They do it in Apple and Pear varieties, which are both lovely.

[stobes21]

I enjoy it occasionally, but I find most ciders too sweet to drink very often. I used to brew 5 gallon batches of cider in college that turned out pretty good. For those interested in brewing beer it is a great way to get started because you do a lot of the same things, but avoid the initial mess of making wort. Great way to learn the basic equipment and techniques, and less $ invested in software if you screw up your first batch.

[TheShaun]

I love Bulmers, but can't find it locally anymore. hope it comes back for the summer.

[Space]

bulmers and strongbow are decent if you can find them around here. Some flavors of woodchuck are ok. but philly isn't really a cidertown, so it's kind of slim pickins.

In my travels I used to hangout with a few people from southwestern parts of england and they could go on for days about cider. I just nodded and drank Scrumpy's, and the ocassional snakebite...half cider, half lager, topped off with blackcurrent.

but man, Me and a few friends have had some infamous nights while drinking scrumpy's.

[dklaiman]

Crispins over ice is pretty refreshing, but I can't imagine drinking more than one.

[jbp84]

I absolutely LOVE cider. Thankfully there's a large liquor store near me that sells some good imported and regional brands. The only cider I can find in the grocery store is usually Woodchuck, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite is Scrumpy's Winter Solstice cider...it's got a touch of cinnamon and honey. Absolutely fantastic on cold winter nights.

[_MementoMori_]

I've never had a cider I really liked. They just don't seem to do it for me. It's a shame, though, because I think there's potential for them to be enjoyable. I guess maybe I just haven't tried the "right one" yet.

[taffy]

I like cider, though dry cider not sweet cider, plenty of choice here in the uk, in bars and loads of variety in the shops, local to me is a cider farm which supplies local stores and nationwide stores, and twice a year they hold a cider festival where you can sample free cider, eat local food and listen to bands, though if you drink to much cider the bands are missed along with the whole day!

[Edcculus]

I LOVE cider! I've actually been seriously considering starting a Cidery and orchard which grows true hard cider apples. Thats a long way off though...

Cider here in the States is hit and miss. The big brands (Woodchuck etc) are bland uber sweet alcopop IMO. I'm a huge fan of drier ciders. A few brands I buy more regularly that I can get here are Aspall and Samuel Smith's Organic Cider. Harpoon's is decent too.

Other than that, I've been making a good bit of cider and apple wine. I really prefer straight cider rather than apple wine with added sugar. So far I've only been able to use store juice. My latest batch with organic juice from Whole Foods is awesome. I added some tannin and lactic acid to make up for the low tannin and acid found in real cider apples. I didn't let this one ferment completely to preserve some apple flavor and sweetness.

[Matt R.]

I'm a huge fan of Woodchuck. I grew up in NY in apple country, so it's practically in my blood!

[toucanlamp]

I liked Bulmer's cider when I tried it, but in Canada here I guess the market for cider is very small so the only cider available at 99% of liquor stores is just strongbow.

I'm not a huge fan of strongbow, I find it to be just really sour and flavourless. Bulmer's is sweeter and quite good but I can't get it.

I've had a pear cider called Sir Perry's or something like that, it was ok, really to me it tasted almost just like a sweet white wine that you watered down a bit to take the alcohol content lower.

[taffy]

I am no strongbow fan, its everywhere in the uk, totally runs the market, but its horrible stuff

[JamieW]

I make homemade cider (and other fermented juices) regularly. We call it hooch around here because of how ghetto the apparatus is, but it drinks quite nicely...and it only costs about $2 to make a 2 liter bottle of the stuff. You can also regulate how sweet or dry it is by the amount of sugar you use and the amount of fermentation time.

It all started with this $17 kit than I found on EBay one day: http://tinyurl.com/297nspe I was feeling crafty, so I give it a go. Nearly 50 bottles later, I can say that I am a fan. It doesn't get any easier to make the stuff (and I also homebrew beer), and it is very drinkable. We rarely ever buy beer or wine anymore.

For cider, you just take an empty 2 litre soda bottle, fill it with apple juice, add a cup of sugar, add 1/16 tsp of the yeast in the kit, shake it, and screw on the cap. After a week at room temperature it's ready to drink. I usually let it sit for 2 weeks 'cuz I like it strong.

And, no, I'm not affiliated with the EZcaps company in any way, it's just a product I use and really enjoy. Though I wish I'd discovered it while in High School...Id'a made a fortune with this stuff :).

[Edcculus]

Cider in 3 days Ha! Not to sound snobbish or harsh, but thats hooch marketed at high schoolers. IMO, you can get a decent scrumpy out in about a month. Just get 5 gallons of whatever apple juice you can find (organic would be best). Mix that in a sanitized bucket with some yeast nutrient, ~3 teaspoons of tannin, 6 teaspoons of acid blend, some pectic enzyme if the juice is cloudy. Aerate well (I use pure O2) then pitch the yeast. I prefer ale yeasts over wine or cider yeasts. They lend a nice frutiness and tend not to ferment the beverage as dry. I let this sit in a covered sanitized bucket for a month, then rack to a glass carboy and bulk age until it drops clear.

[JamieW]

You're right, it is totally hooch (that's what we call it in this house), but it really does drink quite nicely. I'm sure yours is superior, but that's a lot of work! This is 5 minutes of prep, and 2 weeks of waiting. The 3 days claim on their EBay listing is a bit misleading, unless you want weak, carbonated, juice, but a week or two really does get you something drinkable. I've served it to several suspicious friends, and they all ask for more whenever they come over.

[DefaultAnon]

any of you fellas talking about scrumpy, as in the green bottled cheap cider they sell in New Zealand? or are you refering to the style of english cider?
If its the Kiwi kind, anyone know where i can buy some in the United States.
ive got a scrumpy monkey on my back

[Luc]

Bulmers, Magners, Strongbow, Monteiths...

If someone lives around Montreal, I can't remember how many places you can go to get some locally made...

I tried to make some myself but didn't have the right apple so it came out very acid...

[valmara1971]

Heck yes! I'm moving very very soon and my new gaff will be about 1/2 a click from a cider farm! I have had a few test samples and boy oh boy they are good.

[rm71]

Bulmers, Magners, Strongbow, Monteiths...

If someone lives around Montreal, I can't remember how many places you can go to get some locally made...

I tried to make some myself but didn't have the right apple so it came out very acid...

I've had Strongbow and it was average. All the others you mention Luc are available at my local bottle shop. Which is the pick of the bunch for you?

[Ronan the BARBERian]

I am, love the fermented apple juice. My favourite tipple has to be Cornish Rattler...



They do it in Apple and Pear varieties, which are both lovely.

Not a fan of English or Irish ciders but very partial to the French stuff especially the traditional naturally cloudy Breton cider