Why indeed, I’m a beer lover and so is my wife, so why on earth would we want to make hard cider? The reasons we discovered the secret art of cider making has to do with religion, and wheat.

It was many years ago when I first introduced my wife to real ale. It was a hot sunny day in the south of England; we had just spent a few hours hiking in the rolling hills of Hampshire. On our way home we did what most English people do, we stopped at a pub. English country pubs have a unique atmosphere that is at once sociable and calming. Not the sports bar environment so prevalent in the U.S. but more of a cross between a Starbucks and someone’s front room.

As we entered the pub we were greeted by a pleasant beer and hop smell, we were hot, pleasantly exercised and ready to relax. I watched as the barmen poured my pint of chilled real ale. This was not I should point out, cryogenically frozen to minus eight million degrees below zero and irradiated to remove all traces of life, it was not so to speak "American beer". As the amber nectar flowed gurgling into the glass my wife hesitated, clearly she could order her usual glass of white wine but somehow this just didn’t seem to fit the occasion, she needed a long drink.

"Go on, have a pint", I prompted. She hesitated not having really enjoyed it the last time she had what she considered "a beer" some time ago, actually it was a lager. I handed her my pint; she held it studying it dubiously. Both I and the barman stared at her, wondering what was going to happen next. In fact the whole pub went very quiet; everyone seemed to hold their collective breaths. English pubs really are that intimate. An older couple, sitting at a big wooden bench, their dog lying by their feet nodded in our direction. The dog’s ears pricked up noticing a change in the room.

The ale was crystal clear and was just beginning to develop a little frosting from the humidity as it hung in the air. As she put it to her lips I could see it was her intention to sip it as one would a glass of wine, then it happened.

Once the first mouthful washed in and down, her eyes widened and there was simply no stopping the rush. Within three seconds the pint was gone and with a sigh she put the now empty glass back onto the bar. Without so much as a pause the barman inquired "another"? "Yes", she nodded; the rest so to speak, is history.

I should explain, English real ale is flat, as in not carbonated. That is one of the reasons it is called ‘real’ ale, it is brewed in a similar way to how it was brewed hundreds of years ago, long before the time of carbon dioxide pressure systems. It is also non-pasteurized, it is a living drink. You cannot buy this stuff in cans or bottles. The evil elixirs they put in these containers are in no way equivalent to the real thing, not even close. This is why she was able to down the pint with such ease, no gas and no brain freeze!

In recent years much has changed with our personal circumstances. We have relocated to Utah in the U.S. and my wife has discovered that she is allergic to Gluten. She has plenty of company as a sufferer of this malady, it is estimated that around 1 in 133 Americans suffer from Celiac Disease (Gluten intolerance).

So here we are in LDS land, Utah! Utah’s unique licensing laws and gluten intolerance combine to make most beers undrinkable. What’s a girl to do? The answer my wife discovered is to make cider! Or more accurately, make hard cider.

Before I get into this I should point out that it is possible (technically) to purchase gluten free beer, and if you are the kind of person who will drink anything as long as the word beer is printed on the bottle and someone else is paying the inflated prices to boot I suggest you go ahead. For the rest of us, gluten free beer is a non-starter.

So, what’s so good about making and drinking hard cider? For starters, it’s easy and has no gluten. This is because it’s just apples. So what ingredients do you need to make cider? Get your pen out, find a large clean sheet of paper, at the top write carefully "INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE HARD CIDER" and under it write "Apples" and you are done!

There are other sound reasons it is a good idea to make hard cider. First hard cider tastes good, second is that hard cider tastes very good. Third, it can be made sweet or dry, strong or mild. So when I say it tastes good I mean it because you can make hard cider to your taste! For those people who prefer not to be able to stand up at the end of an evening 10%+ alcohol content is easy to achieve, for the less adventurous, a mild and warming 3% is probably the most appropriate and just happens to be quickest and easiest hard cider to produce. For those that have a sweet tooth, no problem, on the other hand if you like a dryer tangy flavor this is easy to achieve too.

Hard cider can also be made flat, just like real ale, it can be naturally bubblefied or it can be artificially carbonated. The only limit to the variations in the taste of your hard cider is your imagination. You can blend different types of apples together; this alone produces surprisingly different results. You can blend different juices together anything from pear, to lemon to orange. You can add honey, cinnamon, spices or raisins to your hard cider brew to get really unique and sophisticated results.

You can use store bought apple juice, press your own apples with an apple press, learn the process and buy your own fermenting equipment or if you are just starting, a good way to make the process easy is to use a complete hard cider kit.

Another great reason it’s a good idea to make and drink hard cider is it’s made from apples! Apples are good for you. It is thought that apples may protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Apples have no fat, cholesterol or sodium, but they contain potassium. Many studies associate heart health and decreased blood pressure with apple consumption in part thanks to the potassium. Also low potassium is thought to cause muscle cramps, so hard cider can assist there too.

Bottom line, you really can say "I’m just taking my daily medicine"!

For all these reasons this web site is dedicated not just to the art of making hard cider but to make hard cider easy!

Discover the secret art of cider making. Packed with tips, tricks and expert advice this is an essential guide that could help you turn your hobby into a thriving business in one of the fastest growing segments of the beverage industry. Want an advantage in a down economy? Get your copy today!

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