Back in the 70’s and early 80’s we made a barrel of it a year. We were forced to quit when the 2nd cider mill closed. Now the wife use’s our 2 oak barrels for house planters.
I’ve been thinking about getting an apple press. But it’s something that you would only use a month or two max per year, so I put it off...
The apples are heavy on the trees out here this year!
There’s a place down the road a bit that makes pasteurized, ZERO PRESERVATIVE cider, so I use that. Now they say it’s pasteurized, but if you leave it on the counter unrefrigerated, it will start to ferment. That was what happened to me and what got me into home brew about 4 yrs ago!
A good, clean, crisp dry hard cider is wonderful. And I doubt I’ve ever done a run that came in less than about 7% ABV, so it’ll put ya on yur lips!
Everyone who has tried it LOVES IT!
In the late sixties, I stayed for several weeks on the farm of my German professor. Her father lived there and he had two barrels of hard cider. Every evening we would sit on the porch of the farmhouse and enjoy a pitcher while watching the fireflies and having discussions in English, German and Russian (not me). Wonderful and facinating people who had been displaced by war several times in their lives.