| Spanish heritage cider is much different than any of the other cider styles, both New World and Heritage. They often contain relatively high levels of volatile acidity (VA) which provides a notably pungent, tart character. Spanish cider covers a range of regional ciders in Spain, with two main traditions---Basque and Asturian. | | Making Hard Homemade Apple Cider in the Spanish Heritage StyleHard heritage cider is typically made with crab apples or apples with high tannins. Heritage Ciders are further divided into style by country of origin, such as English, French, New England, or Spanish. These are traditional styles of cider making that evolved before modern times. They differ greatly from country to country, and even from region to region within a country. Heritage ciders are traditionally made with one hundred percent crab apples local to the area. Spanish heritage cider is much different than any of the other cider styles, both New World and Heritage. They often contain relatively high levels of volatile acidity (VA) which provides a notably pungent, tart character. Spanish cider covers a range of regional ciders in Spain, with two main traditions---Basque and Asturian. Basque Spanish ciders tend to have earthy, leathery, and woody notes, along with strong sourness and tannin content. They are not particularly fruity. Alternatively, Asturian Spanish ciders tend to be less tannic, less acidic and more fruity and floral in character. Traditional products can be cloudy and unfiltered. Some Spanish ciders are bottled before the fermentation has completed, as in the ‘petillant naturel’ (AKA Pet Nat) sparkling wine tradition. To make Spanish ciders, use whatever apples you have available. If the apples are low acid and low tannin, add some grape tannin powder, as well as enough malic or tartaric acid to bring the titratable acidity up to at least 0.5% TA. The key to this style is the complete abandonment of modern techniques and sanitation practices. If you want some wood profile in your cider, you can add light toasted oak to the fermenter. If you want to try your hand at ‘Sidra Natural‘, the tradition in which only natural juice fermentation is used to provide carbonation, be sure to use strong Champagne bottles to avoid exploding bottles. Bottle the cider, actively fermenting, when the sugar level has reached 0 – 0.5 Brix, and no higher! | You will need to start with apples, not store bought juice. Refer to our guide on Turning Apples into Juice. Our previous advice about taking caution with fallen apples can be disregarded. In this style, fallen apples are more likely to be covered in wild and funky organisms. Avoid dirt and any material other than apples. While we recommend using sulfite as a best practice for all other cider styles, it won’t help you with Spanish cider. You should skip all use of sulfite---but, be aware that this style is not known for a long shelf life, so you might want to stick with small batch sizes. Funnel the collected juice into sealed containers that can accept an airlock. Only fill them three-quarters full.
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