notes from a cider maker

by Russell Holmberg, Holmberg Orchards

Carla McElroy & Winter Caplanson photos

It begins in the orchard New England is one of the best places in the country to grow apples. Our soils are stony but deep, our rain is abundant, and our autumns are cool and crisp. Apple trees thrive here. Also, our farms are rich with a history of cider making. This history traveled with our pioneering ancestors from England and Europe. Their trees and tastes were adapted to the local climate and orchards. Cider has survived centuries, ever changing with time and techniques. Whenever or wherever it is made, all cider starts with an apple.

Choosing the perfect fruit

Great debate exists as to what makes the perfect cider apple. But, there are several attributes generally agreed upon for a good cider fruit. It should be relatively high in sugar, with a decent amount of acid, high in tannins, and with good aromatics. An apple that has all of these qualities can bear the label of a true cider apple. In modern orchards, we only have a few true cider apples. Many of the varieties of apples that were once exalted for their cider quality have been lost to time. As interest in cider waned during the latter part of the 20th century, cider orchards were removed and the apples were lost. These varieties were replanted with culinary apples - apples that eat well out of hand, but do not make exceptional cider. A few cider apples survived, though. The most notable varieties are Russet, Winesap and Baldwin.

As cider has become a resurgent beverage, orchardists have been scrambling to revive and replant orchards of true cider fruit. At Holmberg Orchards, we are fortunate that our Russets survived. This is the backbone for most of our ciders. Other orchards have been successful replanting true cider apples from the UK and Europe. Whatever the varieties, good cider is usually made from a blend of apples: some apples bring aromatics and sugar, while others add acid, and still others deliver the tannins.

Squeezing out the goodness

When an apple leaves the orchard, it is destined for the mill. In the mill, it will be milled to a paste - or pomace - between two whirling metal drums. The process is loud and violent. In seconds, a bushel of apples will become pomace, which is quickly pumped into the press. The press will squeeze the juice from the apple pomace under a force of several tons. The juice quickly exits and the pomace and is pumped into huge vats for fermentation.

Fermentation is a frothing, churning, natural process that turns sweet apple juice into alcoholic cider. It is best conducted in the winter time when temperatures are cool and orchard work is slow. Cool temperatures moderate the fermentation naturally: preserving the aromatics of the fruit and introducing complexity from the yeasts. The apple juice - or sweet cider - that leaves the press is about twelve to sixteen percent sugar. On its own, this juice will ferment to dry cider with about six to eight percent alcohol. But, this juice is rarely left alone. Before and during fermentation the cider makers begin to shape the cider.

This is where it starts to get exciting. We may choose to do very little to the juice, as is the case with our original cider. This will give us a light bodied cider with classic apple flavor. Most of our cider is made in this simple, time tested way. Or, we may start to incorporate ingredients that dramatically change the way the cider tastes. On our farm, we make cider with honey, hops, spices, and other fruits added. This is the new and expanding frontier that is setting American ciders apart from the rest of the world. We are blending modern apples, cider apples, and new ingredients to create ciders previously unknown. It’s something akin to the craft beer explosion where experimentation is as welcomed as tradition. This has done a great service to our farm by creating new categories for cider, especially ones that can be made using modern, culinary apples.

Ready for the can

After months in the tanks, our cider is ready to be filtered, lightly carbonated, and packaged. This is an exciting time at the farm. Early in the morning, a mobile canning truck arrives with a crew and equipment to divide thousands of gallons of cider neatly into sixteen ounce cans. Machines are set in place and the chaos of whirling cans, labels and cider ensues. By day’s end, a year’s work sits neatly on pallets, ready to be put up in a storage built originally for keeping apples.

After months in the tanks, our cider is ready to be filtered, lightly carbonated, and packaged. This is an exciting time at the farm. Early in the morning, a mobile canning truck arrives with a crew and equipment to divide thousands of gallons of cider neatly into sixteen ounce cans. Machines are set in place and the chaos of whirling cans, labels and cider ensues. By day’s end, a year’s work sits neatly on pallets, ready to be put up in a storage built originally for keeping apples.

Drinking & enjoying cider

Drinking & enjoying cider

Our cider is made and sold at our farm. At any time during the year, cans of cider are found amongst the pies, apples, and produce at our farm market. But the best time of the year to try our cider is in the summer and fall. This is when our orchards are open and you can buy and enjoy our cider from where it came.

When drinking our cider, don’t overthink it. They’re meant to add to the experience of a fall day, or time with friends, or ease the burden of a day. Enjoy them in the moment, as they are. If you must search for depth inside your glass, consider the journey of the apple: passing from tree, to hand, to mill, to can. Because after all, it starts with an apple.…