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Hard Apple Cider
Making Workshop
Dates:
Part 1 - Monday, November 2
(making the cider),
Part 2 - Tuesday, December 8
(bottling and labeling)
Time:
7:00 PM
Place:
Deja Brew, 510B Boston Turnpike Road, Shrewsbury, MA
Cost:
$45 (includes 6 bottles of finished cider)
Click here to
reserve and purchase tickets online
Contact:
Bruce Frankel, Spitjack, 508 425 3261
Speakers and
Sponsors:
Ray Schavone -
Deja Brew (the cider making process)
Bruce Frankel –
SpitJack (home cider making equipment)
Armsby Abbey (hard cider served the the bar and restaurant, Worcester)
Julio’s Liquors (hard cider retail sales, Westborough)
Hard Apple Cider is a great New
England Tradition. Before prohibition, more cider was drunk here than any
other alcoholic beverage. Our region has the ideal climate for growing
apples and although traditional “New England Cider” is legendary, modern
local cider makers are perfecting a new style of hard cider that is not
only the finest in America, but rivals the best brands of England and
France.
Making hard apple cider is a
very similar process to that of making wine. A fruit is crushed and the
juice is then extracted and fermented under careful watch until ready to
be bottled. Of course there are many variations and techniques that can
greatly affect the outcome and that is where the skill and experience of
the cider maker come into play.
First, the proper apples must be
chosen. Unfortunately, most of the apples we see at the store and even the
farm stands are grown and sold for eating or making sweet (non-alcoholic)
cider, not for fermenting into hard cider. Special heritage varieties of
apples (Kingston Black, Tremletts Bitter, Roxbury Russet) had to be
replanted before an authentic product could be created. Next, traditional
techniques had to be married with modern equipment and technology to
produce a cider worthy of the New England tradition. While this is still a
work in progress (it takes at least 5 years for new apple trees to start
bearing fruit), efforts from the
West County Winery and others are yielding astounding results.
While most of us don’t have
access to resources necessary to create a world-class beverage, it is
possible, with a little effort and patience to make an excellent hard
cider at home. The book
Sweet & Hard Cider is a fantastic resource and with a little
persistence, you will be able to find some of the better cider making
apples at local orchards. Then you will need to find a way to crush and
press the fruit and then invest in some fermenting equipment and bottles.
All this will take about 2 months from crushing to drinking and cost at
least $100 in expenses and probably take about 12 hours of solid work.
There is however, and excellent
alternative. In this unique hands-on workshop you can learn cider making
from experts and observe and participate in the step by step process. A
special blend of apples will be collected and pressed at a local orchard.
Four different styles of cider will then be created (from dry/still, to
sweet and sparkling) that reflect the better commercial ciders available
at wine stores and restaurants. Five weeks later, you will return to
bottle the results and take home 5 full bottles of finished product. While
at the workshops you will be drinking examples of local hard cider and
tasting delicious food specially created to compliment it.
This is the time to make cider
and this is a great opportunity to learn how and have a lot fun while
doing it. Call 508 425 3261 or reserve online. Only 30 seats available so
reserve now!
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