Modern Cider

A fresh, appealing guide to brewing hard cider that makes everything from sourcing fruits and juices to bottling the finished cider accessible and fun. Homebrew guru Emma Christensen presents accessible hard cider recipes with modern flavor profiles that make for perfect refreshments across the seasons. This lushly photographed cookbook features recipes for basic ciders, traditional ciders from around the world, cider cousins like perry, and innovative ideas that take ciders to the next level with beer-brewing techniques and alternative fruits. With Christensen's simple, friendly tone and 1-gallon and 5-gallon options, this book's fresh and fizzy recipes prove that cider-brewing is truly the easiest homebrewing project--much easier than brewing beer--with delicious, fruit-forward results! So whether you're a home cook trying your hand at a batch of simple Supermarket Cider or homemade Apple Cider Vinegar, a city dweller fresh from a day of apple picking in the countryside, or a homebrewer ready to move on to the next brewing frontier with Bourbon Barrel-Aged Cider and Spiced Apple Shrub, Modern Cider is your guide.

“Not just a thorough guide to the history of apples and cider in this country but also an inspiring survey of the orchardists and cidermakers devoting their lives to sustainable agriculture through apples.”—Alice Waters “Pucci and Cavallo are thorough and enthusiastic chroniclers, who celebrate cider’s pomologists and pioneers with infectious curiosity and passion.”—Bianca Bosker, New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork Cider today runs the gamut from sweet to dry, smooth to funky, made from apples and sometimes joined by other fruits—and even hopped like beer. In American Cider, aficionados Dan Pucci and Craig Cavallo give a new wave of consumers the tools to taste, talk about, and choose their ciders, along with stories of the many local heroes saving apple culture and producing new varieties. Like wine made from well-known grapes, ciders differ based on the apples they’re made from and where and how those apples were grown. Combining the tasting tools of wine and beer, the authors illuminate the possibilities of this light, flavorful, naturally gluten-free beverage. And cider is more than just its taste—it’s also historic, as the nation’s first popular alcoholic beverage, made from apples brought across the Atlantic from England. Pucci and Cavallo use a region-by-region approach to illustrate how cider and the apples that make it came to be, from the well-known tale of Johnny Appleseed—which isn’t quite what we thought—to the more surprising effects of industrial development and government policies that benefited white men. American Cider is a guide to enjoying cider, but even more so, it is a guide to being part of a community of consumers, farmers, and fermenters making the nation’s oldest beverage its newest must-try drink.

A fresh, appealing guide to brewing hard cider that makes everything from sourcing fruits and juices to bottling the finished cider accessible and fun. Homebrew guru Emma Christensen presents accessible hard cider recipes with modern flavor profiles that make for perfect refreshments across the seasons. This lushly photographed cookbook features recipes for basic ciders, traditional ciders from around the world, cider cousins like perry, and innovative ideas that take ciders to the next level with beer-brewing techniques and alternative fruits. With Christensen's simple, friendly tone and 1-gallon and 5-gallon options, this book's fresh and fizzy recipes prove that cider-brewing is truly the easiest homebrewing project--much easier than brewing beer--with delicious, fruit-forward results! So whether you're a home cook trying your hand at a batch of simple Supermarket Cider or homemade Apple Cider Vinegar, a city dweller fresh from a day of apple picking in the countryside, or a homebrewer ready to move on to the next brewing frontier with Bourbon Barrel-Aged Cider and Spiced Apple Shrub, Modern Cider is your guide.

This complete guide to North America’s oldest beverage celebrates hard cider’s rich history and its modern makers, as well as its deliciously diverse possibilities. Flavor profiles and tasting guidelines highlight 100 selections of cider — including single varietal, dessert, hopped, and barrel-aged — plus perry, cider’s pear-based cousin. A perfect addition to any meal, cider pairings are featured in 30 food recipes, from Brussels sprouts salad to salmon chowder, brined quail, and poached pear frangipane. An additional 30 cocktail recipes include creative combinations such as Maple Basil Ciderita and Pear-fect Rye Fizz.

From internationally-acclaimed author and fermented beverage expert Claude Jolicoeur comes a globe-trotting, full-color cultural history and guide celebrating the methods, terroir, and traditions of world-class cider. In Cider Planet, Claude Jolicoeur—a longtime, passionate cider maker and author of the international bestseller New Cider Maker’s Handbook—takes readers with him to the world’s greatest cider regions, providing an expertly guided tour laced with his deep understanding and appreciation for how this “Prince of Beverages” is made. Inside Cider Planet you’ll find: • Descriptions of global orchard practices • Specific apple varieties used in different countries and regions • Detailed histories of the world’s oldest ciderlands • Profiles of different cider styles and rituals • Tips and tricks from some of the most knowledgeable cider producers Cider, long perceived as a European country drink, is now truly a worldwide culinary delight. Jolicoeur talks about new and emergent regions that have contributed to this growing appreciation, and how they are building upon the old traditions while creating their own new ones. He explores, for example, the most revered areas for making perry, a delightful but little-known drink that, like cider, is starting to gain fans young and old. And he even transports readers to Kazakhstan in central Asia, famous as the “birthplace of the domestic apple.” Real cider, craft cider, farm cider, artisan cider: Whatever you wish to call it, at its best, cider should be enjoyed like a fine wine, with all of the sophistication but less of the pretentiousness. Just as there are many volumes devoted to the great wine regions of the world, we now need a “cider appreciation” manual to fully understand and delve into the rich culture of cider and perry. Cider Planet is that book, and Claude Jolicoeur is our experienced and enthusiastic guide. For the traveler or foodie, this book transports the reader around the world with wonderful stories and insight that will leave you thirsty for a fresh glass of fermented fruit.

“From unraveling the history of the apple to exploring the intricacies of flavor, [Wilson] reveals the love and labor that goes into a timeless beverage.” —Bianca Bosker, New York Times–bestselling author of Cork Dork Cider is the quintessential American beverage. Drank by early settlers and founding fathers, it was ubiquitous and pervasive, but following Prohibition when orchards were destroyed and neglected, cider all but disappeared. In The Cider Revival, Jason Wilson chronicles what is happening now, an extraordinary rebirth that is less than a decade old. Following the seasons through the autumn harvest, winter fermentation, spring bottling, and summer festival and orchard work, Wilson travels around New York and New England, with forays to the Midwest, the West Coast, and Europe. He meets the new heroes of cider: orchardists who are rediscovering long lost apple varieties, cider makers who have the attention to craftsmanship of natural wine makers, and beverage professionals who see cider as poised to explode in popularity. What emerges is a deeply rewarding story, an exploration of cider’s identity and future, and its cultural and environmental significance. A blend of history and travelogue, The Cider Revival is a toast to a complex drink. “Cider is America’s great forgotten beverage. Jason Wilson’s lively, anecdote-filled, passionate paean to what he says should properly be considered ‘apple win’ will go a long way toward giving this immensely varied and complex libation the recognition and appreciation it deserves.” —Colman Andrews, cofounder of Saveur and author of The British Table

"Combines the best of traditional knowledge and techniques with up-to-date, scientifically based practices to provide today's cider makers with all the tools they need to produce high-quality ciders"--Page 4 of cover.

Easy to brew, easy to customize, and enormously delicious! Looking for a crisp, clean, and scrumptious alternative to beer? On a gluten-free diet or allergic to the grains used in brewing beer? Want to experience the pride that comes when your friends crack open one of your bottles and exclaim, "You made this?" Then welcome to the world of hard cider. Suddenly it's everywhere--it's on the menu in pubs and restaurants, and there's a dizzying array of ciders available in stores. And some cider lovers, just like craft beer drinkers, are looking for ways to create their own brew. The Everything Hard Cider Book takes you step by step into the fermentation and bottling process, with tips on finding the proper equipment, sourcing ingredients, varying flavors, and creating unique packaging. You'll also find advice on advanced techniques, like evaluating the finished product, varying recipes for your own taste, and even growing fruit for cider. And with thirty-five essential and adaptable recipes for apple and other fruit ciders, you'll find everything you need to make your own distinctive and delicious beverages.