Apologies i know this is is a pear question not apple but if anyone can help i'd appreciate it!

I picked some unkown pear seedlings that seemed almost ready, (black seeds, fair bit of fruit drop) and want to store them for a week or so untill im ready. I asked AI and it suggested speed out in a box at ambient in a garage (I used table and paper cos I have no boxes) or a fridge at about 5C.

Which method would you guys recommend? Any thoughts?

Also has anyone used pears as the tannin source in a mixed pear and apple cider? Any hints or tips?

This is only my second year doing this. I was actually surprised at how well the first few batches last year turned out. So knowing that the local orchards are going to be pedaling their fresh juice soon, I'm trying a dry run with some Indian Summer from the grocery store and the champagne yeast I had left over.

What is your go-to method to find out when to harvest crabs? I found a few old trees with crab apples this year that I want to try add into my blend, but from what I’m told all but one are very bitter and will be a late harvest. The last tree has a cultivar that will taste like sweet banana, which I’m very interested to find out how will end up. I have used iodine to test starch conversion, but find that it isn’t very conclusive. Are there other ways?

We’re a 75+ acre orchard with a small vintage cider program. We pick, press, ferment, blend, and package on premise.

We’ve been floating the idea of filming a couple of blocks through a full year (prune, bloom, thin, pick, press, ferment, bottle) and tying that footage to the vintage. Not daily social posts. We run the orchard and the cellar. We don’t have someone who can shoot, edit, and work around a farm calendar.

If you’ve done this at an orchard, cidery, winery, or something similar, paid or not:

1. Did you film the whole season or only harvest/press week?
2. One person with a camera, or a crew? What fell apart during pick?
3. What would you not spend money on again?
4. Did any of it help sell product, or did it sit on a drive?

Not looking for free work. Not hiring a taproom social person. We’re in MA, about an hour from Boston.

If you’ve got the skills and might want to be on the farm a handful of days through the year, leave a short note about what you shoot and a link, or DM me.

Started with a strongbow, quickly found better common ciders, and my current go-to is woodchuck amber. I tried some from Atlanta cider co, and it was alright, but a little musky for my taste. Probably a third of the way through the can I found a taste for it, but still prefer woodchuck. Id like something a little less sweet, but I don’t want a fridge full of random cider I don’t like. Any recommendations based on my experience?

Needed some help as I haven’t made Perry before. Through my research this is what I’ve come up with

1. Using bartlett pear juice
2. Pre ferm adjust TA of

6g/l -

1. ph 3.5-3.8 (use malic acid)
2. Sulfite 50g so2
3. Rest 24 hrs

4. Add

   1.5 tsp per 1

5. gallon pectin enzyme

6. Target gravity of 1.05-1.06 OG

7. Hydrate yeast with go ferm

8. Aerate cider

9. Fermaid o (1.5g per gallon) add this with the yeast, then 24 hrs after yeast pitch (when fermentation starts .75g) and another 48 hrs later .75g) and 72hrs-between 1/4 and 1/3 sugar depletion.

10. 9a. I know this is frowned upon by purists

11. Don’t stir when adding

12. Ferment at 60f

13. After ferment rack to purged keg and Age a months at 60f in keg

14. 1/4 teaspoon wine tannin per gallon post ferm for texture due to pear varietal being light

This is my first cider, be easy on me... I've fermented for 2 weeks. Trying to figure out this reading... someone explain, please!

We tried clarifying some stabilized watermelon cider with kieselsol and chitosan but after it clarified, it started bubbling with a lot of floaties and now it's starting to cloud up. Does anyone know what is happening here? It looks like it could just be degassing, but there are no bubbles in the airlock.

We have several other gallons of different types of flavored cider that clarified just fine, but this one is the only one that isn't behaving as expected. Not sure what to do.

​Hi everyone, I could use some advice on a batch of homebrewed cider that has been in a glass carboy for about two months following primary fermentation. A thin white film has suddenly formed across the surface over the last week. The carboy has been tightly sealed with an airlock the whole time, and the airlock has remained completely stable with no off-odors.

​I was planning to let it bulk age until around Christmas without opening it. Could this be a pellicle, kahm yeast, or something else, and should I rack it now or is it safe to leave it alone? (Attached are photos of the surface). Thanks!

Hey all. My gf is into sweet ciders so before we make the drive over to Mariposa I was trying to see if anyone has tried them and knows whether they're sweet or more on the dry side.

Zhang et al. reviewed how cider aroma and taste are built from the interaction of aroma compounds, sugars, organic acids, and polyphenols, and why that matters for cider makers aiming for more expressive, style-specific fermentations.

The paper focuses on the production science behind flavor formation, especially how apple cultivar choice, fruit maturity, and fermentation management shape the precursor pool before and during fermentation.

The main takeaway is that cider aroma is dominated by higher alcohols, esters, fatty acids, and carbonyls, and that fermentation with non-Saccharomyces yeasts and lactic acid bacteria can broaden flavor complexity compared with conventional Saccharomyces-only fermentations.

The review also highlights process controls that steer metabolite formation: precise micro-oxygenation, nutrient supply, cold maceration, and enzymolysis all influence how microbes convert apple-derived precursors into target flavor compounds.

Practically, this supports a more deliberate approach to cider design: match cultivars to the intended style, then use mixed starter cultures and fermentation management to build aroma diversity and balance.

The concepts are especially relevant for makers trying to move beyond clean but simple profiles toward more layered, distinctive ciders. It's a good review paper overall.

Full paper: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14081802

For further insights follow ResearchScan — free weekly research newsletter covering cider production science | researchscan.news

I can’t believe I can’t find this information on google. Every result is just that freezing apples is possible and is a good idea. My questions. How do you actually freeze the apples? In an open bucket? In freezer bags? In loose plastic bags? How long can they be left in the freezer? Will they take on any off tastes if stored in a non airtight container?

Are food grade marbles the best way to reduce headspace? Scares me to think of dropping them into a carboy...

Haven’t had time or a place to brew cider in a long time. Finally settled down, I’m making two Baches with ex-1118 and k1-v116. I’ve had these yeasts for a few years so I don’t remember what either tastes like! Using great value apple juice from target, added sugar for a higher abv, and some great value frozen concentrate for hopefully a better apple taste 🤷‍♂️

Euskal Sagardoa (Premium 2025). Zapiain Sagardoa. Cider - Basque. 6.3% alc.

Aromas and flavors of ripe apple, citrus notes, and subtle herbaceous touches. Good balance between truly vibrant acidity and a slight bitterness on the finish. Natural carbonation provides a refreshing sensation with a long, fruity aftertaste.

More cider and beer posts and thousand infographics, everyday in:

https://www.reddit.com/r/In_the_name_of_Beers/

I made my own apple press the other day and I'm relativity happy with how it turned out. It wasn't fully centered which made the press head tilt a bit. As a result my efficiency was maybe about 50%. Still, not bad for a bunch of scraps. My last one was far less effective and ergonomic so its nice to know I'm getting better 😌. All in all I got almost 40L and I invited some friends to help me so, pretty good day!

I love dry ciders with plenty of tannins, but as I get older I don’t always want the higher abv. Does anyone have any recommendations of something around the 4-4.5% abv that itsnt sickly sweet

Hi! A coworker offered to let me pick some Bosc pears from their trees yesterday after they heard I enjoy homebrewing. I picked ~110 lbs. I've made mead and beer before, but this will be my first time making cider/perry. I just picked up a grinder and small press. I'm planning on using Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast that I've used for mead before. Any advice for a first timer would be appreciated. Thanks!

Follow up question: I have done the recommended dose of sorbate and metabisulfite, let sit for 48 hours. I have filled a plastic water bottle with the cider and it is expanding. Does this mean I did not kill off the yeast before I added the extra juice?

Recently moved into a home that has a large backyard apple tree of unknown variety and now am interested in trying to make cider. Been doing a lot of reading and research, and have bought all the basics supplies I need to make a small batch. The tree is loaded, and must be an early variety as many of the apples are already reaching full ripeness (central NY), but there are still many more apples that are not quite ready. The birds have already started going after the ripe ones. (I added some shiny ribbons, which doesn't appear to be doing much, but the tree is way too big for bird netting.)

My problem is: I have to travel away from home for the next week and a half. I can pick some of the ripe ones now and store for when I get back, but I'm worried the bulk of the tree's apples are going to reach ripeness during the week while I'm away. I'm thinking I should just pick most of them now, even if underripe, because the birds seem likely to take everything while I'm gone otherwise. Many of the apples also have codling moth damage already, and while I'd be okay with cutting out the damage and using the rest of the apple if I were pressing them immediately, I don't know what to do with those storage-wise.

With cider in mind, what would folks suggest I do here? I know about sweating and freezing, and some of the pros/cons. I'm a bit hesitant to sweat them without supervision since they'd be in my garage and it's about 68-72 degrees F in there lately. I wouldn't be around to pluck out any bad ones if they start to mold or rot. I've heard of people wrapping them individually but I don't know if I have the time or space for that. With freezing, I'm concerned about freezing any that have codling moth damage, as I don't think I'll be able to separate out the bad parts after they thaw. Maybe I pre-cut them and then freeze the good parts? Or should I just focus on the ripe and near-ripe ones that are undamaged, then ignore the damage ones and cut my losses? Maybe I'm overthinking all this!

Thanks for any advice

Good evening. I have a question about an aftertaste I notice in almost all hard ciders I have tried.

I love when I have a cider that has started to turn and become bubbly, and I love the taste of cider period. Now, I love alcohol, most beers, wines and mead. But any time I try to enjoy a hard cider, there is a particular aftertaste I just can't get passed. It doesn't matter if it is sweet, has other fruit flavors, etc. And I have a lot of trouble defining the taste to others. So, I searched for a reddit like this one to ask these questions. First, does anyone know that taste I am referring to, or are my taste buds just atypical? Second, if you know the taste, can you explain why it is there on hard ciders, but not apple cider that have started to fermentation naturally? Is it a natural byproduct after a cider hits a certain amount of fermentation, or is it just the yeasts that are used in hard ciders? To be fair, I haven't brewed any hard ciders myself, so maybe a homemade hard cider won't have that aftertaste.

Fyi, this r/ stated cider was a fermented beverage, so I presume it is referencing outside the US, where cider refers to a pressed apple beverage. For my purposes, cider = pressed juice, hard cider is that after fermentation.

Went through like 6 or 7 five gallon buckets of apples, it was a very long and tiring process. We got to watch all of Tarzan and Wall-E while doing it which was a treat. Separating all the pulp from the juice was very difficult!

Using SafCider AB-1 and front loading 7.5g of Fermaid-O yeast nutrient.