Time to get boozy with this season’s crop of hard cider.
Cider Week returns to New York City beginning Friday, Oct. 24 and lasting until Nov. 2. The annual fest celebrates regionally produced cider with a series of drinking events, free tastings, special cocktails and classes at local venues.
A list of events can be found at https://ciderweeknyc.com.
Don’t know anything about hard cider? Here are five things you should know:
1.) It’s fermented like wine, not brewed like beer: Cider is produced from the juice of apples often pressed in cider mills. Fermentation can happen once or more times during production. Champagne yeast is sometimes added to make it bubbly; but it is also common without the sparkle.
2.) There are many styles: Different varieties of apples can be combined to produce different styles of cider, for instance to bring out natural tannins for bitterness or to balance out acidity.
3.) It has a long history in North America: Although it seems novel these days to be drinking hard cider, it wasn’t always. Aficionados say cider was popular in colonial America and for decades was among the top alcoholic beverages in the country. But Prohibition dried up the market.
4.) Fall harvest: Apples are plucked from orchards in the autumn, ground or crushed and then the fruit pressed in a cider mill to extract the juice. However, because the cider makers are working sometimes a season ahead, this year’s cider may have been made from last year’s apples.
5.) Pair it: Because cider can be as complex as wine, different varieties can be paired with the right meats and dishes.
