# In which I pit hard cider. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102 "2003-11-03T05:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ego\_Mk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Ego\_Mk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ego_Mk2)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/21 "2003-11-03T18:04:23Z")
**yojimbo** I have a sidetrack question for you, or anyone else who may know what I’m asking about When I took the ferry from england to Ireland they were serving a particular beer/lager/ale called “McEwans” As far as I know it is unavailable in the States. It’s not McEwan’s Export or the Ale that all the Americans will try to claim that it is. It was amber-ish, lightly sweet, and very yummy. I’ve had all THREE and the one on the ferry was completely different from the other two. Anyway, is there a name I can put to it besides McEwans or is it like Amstel, which you can only get it in Amstel-land? (As opposed to Amstel Light which is crap in a bottle.) PS I’m a fan of hard ciders. Dry white wine brings out the “I just drank acid” reaction in me. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/22 "2003-11-03T18:21:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ego\_Mk2 \* > When I took the ferry from england to Ireland they were serving a particular beer/lager/ale called “McEwans” As far as I know it is unavailable in the States. It’s not McEwan’s Export or the Ale that all the Americans will try to claim that it is. It was amber-ish, lightly sweet, and very yummy. I’ve had all THREE and the one on the ferry was completely different from the other two. Sounds like either McEwan’s Pale Ale or [McEwan’s India Pale Ale](http://www.beerpal.com/beerinfo.asp?ID=841). > [@](#): > > …or is it like Amstel, which you can only get it in Amstel-land? (As opposed to Amstel Light which is crap in a bottle.) You don’t need to be in Amsterdam to get Amstel, it’s widely available throughout Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/23 "2003-11-03T18:52:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ego\_Mk2 \* > \*\*When I took the ferry from england to Ireland they were serving a particular beer/lager/ale called “McEwans” \*\* Their I.P.A; Indian Pale Ale. So called because it was first made for export to said subcontinent. There’s a number of brewers who do these, I’m sure there must be some available in the States. My favourite is [Deuchars IPA](http://www.caledonian-brewery.co.uk/deuchars/). Click on the link for a photo! ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/24 "2003-11-03T19:30:31Z")
It might have been McEwan’s No. 1 Champion Ale. I was lucky enough to sample some in Scotland and it was excellent. Unfortunately I haven’t seen it in the States. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/25 "2003-11-04T11:08:17Z")
I stand corrected. Cheers **everton**. All the ads over here leave you with the impression it’s a Irish company. Good cider though. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/26 "2003-11-04T11:29:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by yojimbo \* > \*\* All the ads over here leave you with the impression it’s a Irish company._\* Except they all appear to have been filmed in Provence. Anyway, the OP is better off without it. It’s booze for kids. It’s the diarreah of Satan. With added sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/27 "2003-11-05T00:06:40Z")
Cider tastes good to me ('specially peach cider) but I can’t drink it. Gives me headaches every time! ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/28 "2003-11-05T00:13:35Z")
Your mention of tej has me drooling. By all that is holy I love that stuff. Why it isn’t served in every restaurant in America I will never know. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/29 "2003-11-05T01:21:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*Hard cider was actually a fairly widespread drink in Colonial days. … \*\* Johnny Appleseed wasn’t just eating them apples. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/30 "2003-11-05T01:40:01Z")
I fact, apples grown from seed are almost invariably good only for making cider. Apples don’t breed true from seed. Every eating variety of apple is a grafted clone of an unusually sweet or delicious apple. There was only one red delicious apple tree, every other red delicious apple tree is a clone of that tree. Same with every other named variety. Johnny Appleseed might never have EATEN an apple in his life. The lush. ---
**Author:** ![jujuju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jujuju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jujuju)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/31 "2003-11-05T03:57:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GaWd \* > \*\*WHat brand was this? Most “ciders” are malt liquor, not truly a fermented fruit drink. > > Sam \*\* woodchuck is fermented, as is hardcore, and woodpecker. i can’t provide cites cause i’m at work and for some reason they are forbidden (bad, bad juju!, no cider cites for you!) oh, one i got to: [woodchuck](http://www.woodchuck.com/aboutus_history.html) ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/32 "2003-11-05T04:08:28Z")
I like Blackthorn cider but Strongbow is my favorite, when I was in England I made it a point to try every beer that I ran across but I ended up going back to Strongbow regulary (but I can only get it canned here and the draft is better). yay cider! unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/33 "2003-11-05T04:24:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jujuju \* > **woodchuck is fermented, as is hardcore, and woodpecker.** mmmm, hardcore, my favorite. I missed trying hard cider for the longest time because I thought it would be overly sweet, like apple juice. But it isn’t – it has a crisp, clean taste that to my mind gives a better, stronger apple taste than soft cider or apple juice. :::Goes down to fridge to get bottle of hardcore::: yowzah! that’s the stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Freiheit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e8c25b/32.png) [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/34 "2003-11-05T04:36:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*Put about 10 gallons of cider into an appropriately sized barrel, pour in five pounds of honey, seal it up and let it sit for six months to a year. What comes out will definitely get you snockered. \*\* Curious. Everything else I’ve heard about fermentation says that it’s a complicated process (to make it tasty, anyway) and therefore beer is hard to make. I guess this is simpler. Hmm… how does the honey help the fermentation process? Or is it just for flavor? Must the combination be mixed periodically? Does it have to be a barrel? Would the length of the process be changed with differing quantities? How does the home-made compare to the professionally done? Do I have to be careful about an unopened gallon forgotten in the back of the fridge? ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/35 "2003-11-05T15:12:23Z")
Well fermentation is rather like nuclear fusion: it’s controlling it that’s a problem, not getting is started. Essentially, if you take anything packed full of sugar in an airtight container and stick in the sun for a few hours, it will produce alcohol. Animals sometimes get drunk on fermented fruit. A great favourite of the French equivalent of trailer trash is _marquisette_: take a plastic five litre jerrycan-like container of cheap white wine (available for bugger-all money from your local branch of Carrefour or Intermarché). Pour a load of white sugar in it and shake it about until dissolved. Leave it in the sun on your campsite for a few hours, and invite people round for an apéritif in the late afternoon. It will get you absolutely shit-faced and give you a very nasty hangover. I’m never touching that crap again, it’s loopy-juice. ---
**Author:** ![Freiheit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e8c25b/32.png) [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/36 "2003-11-07T05:35:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\* seal it up and let it sit for six months to a year. \*\* Sounds quite long to me, are you sure that’s right? ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/37 "2003-11-07T05:48:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > \*\*Well fermentation is rather like nuclear fusion: it’s controlling it that’s a problem, not getting is started. \*\* Please tell me you don’t work someplace where a security clearance is required. I’ve often been happy that, for most people, nuclear fusion is a problem to get started. I am, by the way, fully recovered from the cider incident, and looking forward to consulting with **lieu** on a co-authored thread where I explain what happens when I eat shrimp. I don’t mind about the cider, but I really miss shrimp. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/38 "2003-11-07T08:11:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freiheit \* > **Curious. Everything else I’ve heard about fermentation says that it’s a complicated process (to make it tasty, anyway) and therefore beer is hard to make.** Nonsense. Beer is ludicrously easy to make. (The ancient ancestors of beer were made by accident.) Just boil some malt and hops in water for a while, throw it in a fermenter, and add yeast after it cools a bit. Wait a week or two, and bam! It’s beer. Yeah, making _good_ beer is a tad more complicated, but it’s still not that difficult. (Making decent chilli is harder, IMO.) > [@](#): > > **Hmm… how does the honey help the fermentation process? Or is it just for flavor?** I don’t actually know much about making cider, although it’s probably not too different from making beer, which I do know…anyway, honey is often added to beer. It ferments very completely, so it basically adds to alcohol content without doing much to the character of the beer. Honey does contain wild yeasts and such, so if you didn’t boil it, as in the recipe you quoted, it probably would help fermentation, although the quality would likely be extremely variable. (And usually not very good, I would guess.) > [@](#): > > \*\*Do I have to be careful about an unopened gallon forgotten in the back of the fridge? \*\* Yes. When I was a kid, we used to get cider from the local farmers market in the winter. If you left it in the fridge for a while, it would start to ferment. We always threw it out at that point, but I suppose it was drinkable. Probably the alcohol content was quite low, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102.md?page=1)