174: Beginner Cider Making Q & A | Part 1

174: Beginner Cider Making Q & A | Part 1

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist April 3, 2019 Duration: 47:59

A Question and Answer (Q & A) on Beginner Cider Making

with 5 panelists in the cider industry

Beginner Cider Maker Panel Q & A (ltor), Marcus Robert, Trey Godfrey, Eleanor Leger, Brent Myles, Ben Calvi.[/caption]

Pre-recorded at CiderCon2019 in Chicago

This is Part 1 or a 2 Part series on Beginner Cider Making questions answered by cider industry pros.

Audience Questions at CiderCon2019

Q & A topics:

  • What is cider?

"Fermented fruit juice of apples" says Eleanor Leger

  • Wish I knew then what I know now...
    • Marketing

"You are going to learn to make cider, but to be able to sell it…" Marcus Robert

  • Breweries getting into cider
  • Managing residual sugar in the bottle for packaging.
    • - a huge range of answers on this topic
  • Can you use sulfites?
  • The challenge for small cidermakers
  • The down fall of Potassium Sorbate in the natural market
  • Contract Fermenting to test product
  • Ice Cider - "if I use a freezer am I cheating?"
    • Stabilizing an ice cider
    • Yeast strain for ice ciders
  • Cryo concentration
    • Is using a freezer considered cheating 
      • In the US you can not label it as Ice Cider - it can be called "Iced Cider".

Find the full show notes for Episode 174 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/174-beginner-cider-making-part-one/
Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 If you love what you're hearing, please consider supporting Cider Chat.
Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.


There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 501

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
338: Audio Snap Shots from French Cider Tour | Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:24
Normandy to Brittany on the French Cider Tour The 2022 French Cider Tour that took travelers from across North America on a trip of a life time was a trip of a life time. Not only were the apple and pear trees laden with…
337:  Étienne Dupont on Tasting Calvados | Domaine Dupont [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:27
Calvados with Étienne Dupont | Domaine Dupont Étienne Dupont took over the Domaine Familial Etienne Dupont in the Pays d'Auge region of Normandy France from his father Louis and grandfather Jules in 1980. Episode 098: Jé…
336: Cider Yeast Choices with Fermentis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:47
Fermentis Offers 4 Cider Yeast for Makers Anne Flesch Regional Sales Manager and Technical Sales Support Manager at Fermentis helps us sort through the magical world of yeast and fermenting cider. And she also address 3…
335: Josiah Bartlett Apple Brandy | Flag Hill Winery & Distillery, NH [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:44
New Hampshire's Oldest Distillery | Flag Hill Brian Ferguson is a Pennsylvania native who came to Flag Hill via the Cayman Island and ever since both he and his wife Maggie have continued to transform what was once a far…
334: Laird's & Co. Apple Jack & Brandy Barrel Aging | Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:08
How the Laird Family honed the making of Apple Jack In Part 1 of this two part series on Laird's & Company, we met with 9th generation Lisa Laird Dunn. Lisa is the COO and Global Ambassador of this family business. In th…
333: Laird's Apple Distilling History 1698 - 2022 | Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:24
America's Oldest Distillery is Laird's & Company Lisa Laird Dunn and Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller had a sit down chat at the main offices of Laird's & Company in Scobyville, New Jersey. They met in what was once the Lair…
332: Cider Planet (2022) w/author Claude Jolicoeur [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:44
The inspiration behind Cider Planet With author Claude Jolicoeur on this newest book that is being released on September 23, 2022. Claude has authored to previous books on cider. Du pommier au cidre The New Cider Maker's…
331: Bodacious Ciders, Cookbook & Treats | Carr's Ciderhouse, MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:10
Nicole Blum of Carr's Ciderhouse will be one of 6 celebrated women in cider speaking at the November 5th Cider Dinner at Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center. Tickets for the Cider Dinner go live on September 3, 2022. S…
330: Let's Go To Apple Camp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:30
CiderDays 2.0 ~ November 4th & 5th, 2022 at Hawks and Reed Performing Art Center in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Sign up now for the eCiderNews to receive notifications to your in box on CiderDays 2.0 schedule of events an…
329: Cider Heroine Judith Maloney  | West County Cider, MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:23
CiderDays 2.0 Cider Dinner on November 5, 2022 with 6 outstanding women producers from the east coast at the Hawks and Reed Performing Art Center in Greenfield, Massashusetts. Dine with Judith Maloney of West County Cide…