Making Traditional Cider
Here at Now Strike we deliver historic and traditional experience days in Essex not only as a job but also a passion for all things heritage. Outside of work we generally live and breathe anything that fits into those categories, so when I got the chance to make some traditional cider, I absolutely jumped at it! You can watch my year long journey via the video below or carry on reading for some more information on the process I used
A brief history of cider making
Cider (or hard cider) is one of the oldest drinks in the world with historic evidence suggesting it dating back to around 5000 years. It was documented by the Romans after the invasion of Britain as the Romans introduced various apple varieties. Certainly in the Medieval period it was a well recognised beverage and enjoyed and the Normans equally brought new varieties post 1066.
It was once legal for land owner to pay farm workers in cider with the earliest evidence of this practice being in Norfolk from 1204! Sadly nowadays it is illegal to pay workers in alcohol, though I guess it makes driving a tractor a little safer.
Cider in the UK is probably at it’s most famous from the West Country where apple varieties such as Kingston Black are favoured for their tannins and acidity to make a complex drink. Most true cider apples are rather unpalatable to eat as they tend to be quite bitter so what do you if you are a person from the past, who knows there’s ample fruit available full of goodness, but you don’t want to eat it? It certainly makes sense to process it in some way to extract the vitamins etc.
How I Started My Cider Journey
A few years ago I met a lovely chap called Steve from the Norfolk Cider Company. Steve is a regular face at local events such as country fairs, historic events and craft shows and is particularly generous with his product after hours. I remember when I first met him he explained to me that because his cider (using sweet Norfolk apples) was completely organic you could happily drink it without fear of a hangover. Rubbish I exclaimed! A brilliant marketing claim but surely not a reality? “Prove me wrong he said” as he topped up my tankard. Well I tested this, you understand for science, and I was pleasantly surprised to wake up the next morning feeling stronger than when I went to sleep. I spent the next day waiting for the hangover to start but it never came. Over the next few years I got to know Steve quite well and seeing him was always a highlight of our event calendar. I learnt that Norfolk cider is made using sweeter apples than West Country and essentially any apple ultimately will do if you are brave enough.
About 3 years ago and we came into ownership of a small pocket of land that we originally thought was a mix of woodland and scrub. Clearly quite young relatively speaking, we started hacking our way through brambles and discovered an apple tree absolutely full of bright red fruit. Then another, and another and ultimately we counted about 40 apple trees! What do you do with that many apples? As I was already experienced in brewing beer, I decided to collect as many as I could and juice them with the view of making my own home made cider. As we are only able to make educated guesses as to the varieties of the apples, other than knowing that they are all sweet eaters of course, I decided to put all them in the bucket and hope for the best.
I later presented Steve with a bottle of my own, asking him to try it and give me his brutally honest opinion. He took a sip, looked me in the eye and said “Adam, normally I would not drink someone else’s cider, but I would drink yours”. High praise indeed I thought!
Preparing the Apples
Making cider is relatively easy compared to other drinks, you need a means to mill/scrat the apples which can be achieved at a basic level with a bucket and a heavy piece of wood to crush them, or you can purchase tools designed for the job and as expensive as your budget. In the video you will see me using a hand cranked scratter which, after this last year I think I may well upgrade to an electric one. Once you have broken the apples down, it is good leave them over night for the pulp to break down further for a higher yield of juice. Some people freeze their apples which apparently makes it even easier though in my case I’d need a huge chest freezer for that!
Pressing the juice
Juicing is achieved with a press. This year I made one out of wood and used an 8 ton car jack to apply the pressure. In previous years I’ve used a rather small press with screw top that I purchased online for less than £100 which is better suited for much smaller garden based juicing.
Once the juice starts to flow, you will see a thick dark liquid that is pure concentrated apples. Unlike the store bought variety, it is rich and incredibly sweet. It is definitely something you need to enjoy in moderation though it is hard to say no to another glass and a small glass of it is like ingesting the sugar of 5 or 6 apples!
I find it easiest to collect the juice in a large brew bucket and when full I take a gravity reading from there. The little gravity reader bobs up and down in the juice and will settle to give you a reading. It is specifically measuring how dense the juice is which gives you an idea of how much sugar is present. After fermentation you can take a second reading and compare the two numbers to calculate how much sugar has turned into alcohol.
Fermentation: Turning Juice into Cider
Once juicing is complete, I seal up the buckets and place an air lock on top to allow excess gasses to escape without letting any fresh oxygen (or bugs) in. Nothing is added to the juice as the natural yeast on the apples will start to take and bubble within 2 to 7 days. You can add commercial yeast which will give you the same consistent flavour each time but personally I prefer a wild ferment as I find it gives you a much deeper more complex drink. Unlike brewing beer, we also want a very slow fermentation so leaving the brew buckets in a shed outdoors is perfect.
Maturation and Aging
Once fermentation slows down somewhere between January and March, the juice can be decanted into smaller vessels to age. I personally use demijohns that are about 5 litres. Gravity is your assistant in this case and attaching a hose to the brew bucket tap means you can slowly fill your demijohn from the bottom to express all the air. Filling as high as possible is recommended to minimise the headspace so that the cider doesn’t oxidise (and turn to vinegar!).
Once it is in your aging vessels and sealed with a bung and airlock, it will continue to ferment out the last of the sugars as the weather starts to warm up producing a very dry cider with a high alcohol content. The longer you resist drinking it, the nicer it will be. After a few more months it is ready for bottling and then enjoying!
What Does Traditional Cider Taste Like?
Traditional cider is usually still rather than carbonated and has a bold, apple-forward flavour. Unless it has been sweetened it is often dry and more complex than mass-produced ciders. The taste reflects the apple varieties used and the natural fermentation process. Personally I find using this methods gives me a very floral almost honey tasting drink in addition to the massive hit of fresh apples
Why Make Cider the Traditional Way?
Making cider the traditional way offers a deeper connection to nature and seasonal cycles. While it takes more time and effort, the reward is an authentic cider with unique character, depth of flavour, and a story behind every bottle.
