Cider is one of those things that I can drink during any time of the year. I love it on a brisk, autumn day when the sun is shining but the air is cold. Some of my sweetest memories drinking cider take place bundled around a campfire surrounded by those that I love. Jacob and I tried many local ciders during our time in Boston as we traveled and explored the quaint and picturesque New England countryside. We tried dry ones, sweet ones, and ones somewhere in between. We tried making our own once with a gallon of juice that we picked up at Whole Foods, and while it tasted more like champagne than cider, it was equally as delicious and perfect on those cold Boston nights.
While drinking cider during the fall might just be my favorite, I really can’t complain about a cold and tart brew in the middle of a warm summer. I like them dry, and not overly sweet, just the right blend to cool me down on a hot summer day.
Several weeks ago when the farmer’s market had just opened for the season, I found hundreds of pounds of beautiful local apples- all marked down to half price. They weren’t really good for eating, but were begging to be used in some way or another. I thought about buying some for pies or some other form of dessert, or maybe to make batches of juice or applesauce. I purchased 25, 25 pounds that is, and awkwardly made my way home. With a large bundle of lemongrass crammed in purse, and 25 pounds of apples filling my market bag, my half mile walk home was much more difficult than my leisurely walk there.
The hubs came home from fishing and could only laugh at my haul. “What will you do with all of those apples?,” he asked, “Maybe I will make some cider,” I replied. One week later on a cold and dreary Sunday afternoon, we juiced every one of those suckers and threw them in a jug with some yeast. On went the plug and there went our cider, hidden away in a cupboard, alone to do its magic.
Though we should have bottled over a week ago, it wasn’t until this week that we finally had the chance. Though flat and warm, we tasted our blend, and were pleasantly surprised by the results. Sour and sharp, just the way I like my summer ciders to taste. It’ll only improve with carbonation, and served up cold can only help its case. Now we sit, for two more weeks, waiting for a second taste.
About the time our cider finishes brewing, it’ll be time for us to start packing our bags. We have just over one month left in our sweet little home, and maybe only two left in this great little town. We will head to Austin in a few weeks to search for jobs and a new building to call home. I’m constantly surprised how quickly this journery has been. It feels just like last month that I was talking about visits to the market and the concoctions I was coming up with back then.There are still boxes in our apartment that have yet to be unpacked, but I can’t complain about that now as that’s one last thing to worry about when it’s time for our move. While our days have been incredibly busy, we are taking the time to enjoy the things in Arkansas that we both love to do. Fishing, canoeing, hiking and rock climbing; cookouts, camping, and in just two more weeks…cider with friends.
