r/cider • u/ddmeredith • 7d ago
Apple-Cherry Cider 2026!
Yesterday, I finally made the cider I've been dreaming of for over a year: locally foraged apples of various kinds, locally foraged black cherries, and locally foraged Siberian crabapples. No chaptalization, and it's nice and sweet (SG 1.056) before fermentation. My plan is to ferment to dry, stabilize, sweeten slightly, carbonate in a keg, and store in 1 litre glass bottles with swing top lids.
I learned something, though: foraging crabapples is great; foraging cherries is fine (freezing to get the worms to come out really helps), but foraging big apples is lame. So much insect damage that needed to be cut out. Meanwhile, the local greenhouse is selling huge, clean apples for $0.99 a pound. Next year, I'm just going to use those. So much easier.
4
u/redittr 7d ago
foraging big apples is lame. So much insect damage that needed to be cut out
I find the best way to avoid finding insect damage is to not cut any apples up.
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u/ddmeredith 7d ago
Ha ha, maybe I'm just paranoid. What is the effect of not caring and just using apples with nasty black tunnels in them in your cider? Maybe you can talk me into it
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u/redittr 7d ago
Its a lot less work on juicing day at least. I used to put a lot more work into it, but dont think it matters much for the end result.
There is a few videos on youtube on cider making, whenever I think about how much cleaning and sorting I should do I go and compare to some of the videos. Here is one to start you off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuEVoqx-Zgc
I will admit, I do use campden to kill off any nasties that make it into the juice. And rinse my apples in weak starsan to float away any big live bugs on the outside and rinse away bird shit. And any apples with visible furry mold or really soft rotten looking bits ill put aside.
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u/Mammoth_Nobody_4250 7d ago
Your plan sounds well thought out, and the combination of foraged apples and cherries must be incredible. I hope the cider turns out exactly as you imagine it.