Hard Cider - Getting To the Core

I made my first batch of hard cider four years ago while I was still living in Seattle. At the time I was working for a growing homebrew shop, Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply Co. Part of my responsibility as an employee, beyond being able to drink and work simultaniously, was to learn the in's and out's of making beer and wine. I enjoyed this aspect of my job immensely. Initially, all I wanted to make were stouts, porters, and super hoppy Northwest IPAs. For a while I was happy making beer.

Then about two months before wine season, my boss, John, handed me a book called "Techiques in Home Winemaking" and told me to read it. I made 10 gallons of wine that fall - five gallons red (cab. sav./merlot), five gallons white (sav. blanc./semmillon).

On a side note, my parents recently found two cases of wine (one red, one white) cellaring in the garage. During a recent trip back to Seattle, my broter brought a few bottle back with him. I can't wait to serve this special wine with the wild turkey I plan to harvest this year.

Anyway, my wine experiment got me thinking about other annual fruits that could be fermented. I immediately thought about apples because it seemed like everyone, including my next door neighbor, had an ancient apple tree in their back yard bowing with free, organic, ripe fruit. With that simple thought, I started knocking on doors and asking people if I could pick apples. People gladly let me pick their trees clean. That's how I got started.

Last year, with the help of my partner, Dan Richelson, we harvested 1000 pounds of apples and made 25 gallons of hard cider - 255 12oz. bottles. Its delicious and deceptively strong (8.5 ABV).

This year we plan on making about the same volume. The madness starts up again on September 13th.

Here's what's left of last year's cider!