A few words on Ciders

With fall in the air and apples in the market I've decided it is time for a quick overview of the more common hard cider style you may encounter.

First up, and sadly most common, the Not Hard Cider At All.
Look closely at what you buy. If the bottle says 'malt beverage' what you mostly have is fermented grain, most probably rice, with flavoring pretending to be Hard Cider.

Farmhouse Cider- these range from sweet to dry (and should be labeled as such). Most are going to be drier than the average person tends to expect. You tend to taste the alcohol up front with subler fruit flavor coming into play later. Many small cider producers make these

French Cider- this is the style most Americans will be more familiar with, it has a lower alcohol content and higher sweetness with a more 'apple juice' character to it.

Fruit Cider- this is hard cider with other fruit juices added.


Now I bet you are wondering why more breweries don't make their own hard ciders.
Simple answer here, it requires a winery liscense. In the U.S. alcohols fermented from agricultual products other than grains (like apples or honey) are legally considered wines. Which is why, I suspect, we tend to see the Not a Ciders hanging about in the grocery store...