Hard Cider Flavoring (2024)

FAQs

Hard Cider Flavoring? ›

Using fruit other than apples in hard cider is common and adds great additional flavor. Some of the more common fruit selections are pear, cherry, peach and pineapple. Other options include mixed berries, blueberry, mango, blackberry.

To do this, add the strawberries whole into the fermenter along with the apples. If you want to add lime as well, peel them and cut into quarters, add these too then finish like you would normal cider. Another combination that is popular is elderflower. Adding an elderflower flavour gives it a lemony and fresh aroma.

Similarly, fruit-flavoured ciders can either be made with industrial fruit syrups or with freshly pressed juice, and the resulting character is just as dramatically different. As with fruit-based soft drinks, that difference is one of subtlety.

If Pectolase is added at the start it will improve the taste in the cider as they help to bring out flavours and without this addition you won't have clear cider. Add one teaspoon per 5 litres (1 gallon).

Some of the more common fruit selections are pear, cherry, peach and pineapple. Other options include mixed berries, blueberry, mango, blackberry. However, there is nothing stopping you from using other options, or mixing them to find a great combination.

To the cider add 1lb. of sugar per gallon for a dry hard cider (not sweet) or 1 1/2 lbs. for a sweet drink. Honey can be substituted for sugar on a pound per pound basis.

Adding apple juice concentrate will increase the alcohol content (see more on alcohol levels here) and also make your cider a bit less watery (increases the viscosity). Adding frozen concentrate can also add a little more 'apple' flavor.

Right before you put your cider in the fridge, add 1 tsp allspice, 1 pinch of nutmeg, 2 whole cloves, and 2 cinnamon sticks. During cold-crashing, the flavors will seep into your cider.

Right before you put your cider in the fridge, scrap the vanilla from its pod, and stir into your wine. If you're using extract, add 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. During cold-crashing, the flavors will seep into your cider.

To infuse hard cider with fruits, you can add fresh or frozen fruits directly into the cider and let it sit for a few days.

How to make sweet hard cider? ›

Keeping it Sweet

If you let cider ferment until the yeast stops, you will end up with a dry cider. One way to get a sweeter cider is to add more sugar after fermentation is complete (sometimes called “backsweetening”). However, you might lose some of the apple flavor by letting the yeast work until it's all done.

Did you know hard cider has many health benefits? According to Cider Craft Magazine there are three health benefits that come from drinking hard cider; antioxidants, vitamin C, and sans gluten. Apples are known to be a type of “superfood” containing many vital vitamins and antioxidants.

Differences Between Cider and Hard Cider

In terms of alcohol content, cider typically remains non-alcoholic, with minimal or no alcohol produced during the fermentation process. On the other hand, hard cider boasts an alcohol content similar to that of beer, typically ranging from 4% to 6% ABV.

While simmering the cider, you can add the optional 2 pounds of brown sugar or honey. This will boost the fermentable sugar content in your cider and up the alcohol content. Next, pour the cider into a sanitized fermentation bucket — an unsanitized bucket may spoil the cider.

Too warm a fermentation, insufficient aging and conditioning, or an unhealthy fermentation may all give the wrong alcohol impression by favoring solvent character which is never appropriate in cider.

The most common and commercially available types are xylitol and erythritol, but there are many other types such as sorbitol and maltitol. Many cider makers (including me) agree that sugar alcohols are the best option for giving a natural tasting sweetness, without adding a bitter, metallic aftertaste.

My favorite way to back-sweeten in the keg is with fresh juice. I add about 1 can of frozen apple juice concentrate per gallon to my sweet cider at the start of fermentation to boost the ABV, and then dilute/backsweeten with about 1 quart of juice per gallon of cider.

Aroma and flavor of green apple, green apple candy, freshly cut grass, green leaves, or occasionally latex paint. At very high levels it may remind of banana or rotting citrus, at which point it indicates a serious problem.