FERMENT IT
Cider Rules
Make and bottle your own hard cider.
BY HOLLY GATES
What’s more American than warm apple pie? Turns
out to be a big jug of hard cider. Apple trees intro-
duced by English colonists grew especially well
in the Northeast, and were spread across the country by farmers
and Johnny Appleseed. Before refrigeration, fermenting juice from
apples was the easiest way to retain most of their useful calories.
The resulting alcoholic brew kept much longer and, much like
its malty cousin beer, served the crucial need for safe hydrating
beverages in the ages before advanced water treatment.
Photography by Holly Gates
Almost all hard cider on the market today bears little relation
to the complex nectar you can make at home. After you taste
the (fermented) fruits of your labor, commercial cider will seem
like weird apple candy dissolved in lighter fluid. After adjusting
to the subtle and intriguing new flavors, chances are
you’ll never go back.
