California-style Fire Cider/Cidre de Feu

Fire cider is similar to ice cider and is sometimes produced by the same cideries in Quebec. The goal is to concentrate the juice, but instead of freezing and thawing, it is concentrated by boiling. The method is similar to maple syrup production, but it’s much more manageable since the starting gravity of apple juice is higher than that of maple sap. Apples like Spartan, Cortland, and McIntosh are traditionally used in Quebec’s ice- and fire-cider production.

First, I pressed 90 lb. of apples to yield 6 gallons of juice at 1.065 (15.9°Bx) starting gravity. I then placed this juice into a pot on a gas stove, slowly brought it to a boil, and continued boiling on low heat. It took approximately 4.5 hours to boil down from 6 gallons to 2.5 gallons with a gravity of about 1.160 (36.2°Bx). The concentrated juice was left overnight to chill to room temperature.

At this point, I added the 3 tsp. pectic enzymes and divided the 2.5 gal. into two batches of 1.25 gal. each, which I fermented at 60˚F (16˚C) with DV10 (Champagne) and 71B-1122 (Narbonne) yeasts. I added 2 tsp. Fermaid O to each batch on the first day, and fermentation took approximately 4 weeks. The 71B batch finished at 1.080 (19.3°Bx), while the DV10 batch finished at 1.073 (17.7°Bx).

After aging the ciders for two years, I re-assessed both batches. The 71B batch turned out fruitier (estery), while the DV10 batch turned out more apply (neutral fermentation). After playing with blends, I settled on a straight 50/50 ratio, which yielded the best profile. The finishing gravity of the blended cider was approximately 1.077 (18.7°Bx) with 11% ABV. Ciders were clarified with Super-Kleer K.C. and blended before bottling. This cider can be bottle conditioned. The oldest commercial fire cider I’ve seen was 11 years old.

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