Cleaning and Sanitizing 101One of the most important aspects of any fermentation is keeping your equipment sanitary. This article outlines the basic steps and products for keeping it clean.
Cidermaking Equipment ListA complete hobbyist's list of equipment needed to produce juice, ferment and bottle cider, along with a list of mandatory and optional ingredients.
Preserving Fresh JuiceUn-fermented apple juice can also be kept as a sweet treat for future enjoyment. Consider your options for how to preserve it.
Making Hard Apple CiderThe Beverage People's detailed instructions for making hard apple cider or hard pear cider from start to finish - in the New World style.
Key Components in CiderThere are three main elements that are important for making quality cider---sugar, acidity, and tannins.
Cider Harvest by the NumbersGet prepared for cider season by estimating your apple crop, vessel volumes needed, understand units of measure, and other harvest and cider calculations you might need.
Cider Yeast OptionsA comprehensive guide that covers the most important specifications of the yeast strains we stock for cider and perry.
Use and Test Free SO2 in WineThis article has been our go-to reference at The Beverage People for understanding and making additions of SO2 in wine or cider. It will help you understand how to use campden tablets or other sources of Free SO2, and know how much potassium metabisulfite per gallon of wine is needed.
Sonoma County Apple VarietiesGravenstein is by far the most common and the earliest, along with Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonathan and Pink Lady. Some varieties, due to their sugar, acid and tannin content, are better suited to making into hard cider than others.
Cider Bottlings InstructionsThere are four basic options for bottling cider. Most beginning cidermakers will choose the most popular choice of bottling the cider with carbonation but no residual sugar. But the choice is yours and the end product will be quite different in each bottling scenario.
Practical Guide to Cider StylesLearn how to make apple cider in both the modern and heritage European and US traditions. The discussion also includes step-by-step instructions to follow for your own homemade apple cider, so you can recreate either New World, New England style, or heritage European style cider for yourself!
Making CyserApple juice and honey combine to make a wonderful fermented beverage called Cyser. Learn to Make this Apple Cider Mead with The Beverage People's Apple Cyser Recipe.
Small Batch Hard CiderSmall cider batches give you the opportunity to try out different yeast strains, juice blends, enhancement products and ingredients (honey, fruit, oak, hops...etc.) to determine their contributions before applying them to larger volumes.
The Beverage People can help you make more than Beer and Wine. Cider is popular here in Sonoma County, home to both commercial cider companies and a growing number of home cider makers. The Beverage People is proud to offer a complete line of cider-making necessities and expert advice for anyone interested in making great cider.