@ApiaryandAviary I don't think I would use those little red crabapples in cider Lol. I have heard they are good sweet pickled and canned. There is many varieties of crab some produce big apples. Mine are a hair smaller than a golfball and yellow, yellow inside also like a Yukon gold potato. I've never heard of making straight crabapple cider but I'm sure it could be done. It is recommended to add crabapples to your mix if all you have is sweet apples to give it some sourness, tang, pizzaz to give it more balance especially if brewed to high alcohol content. Mine runs around 18%, I use good champagne yeast and add sugar. The apples I use are more 'authentic cider apples' some are sweet some are sour, a good mix. During the beginning of the US apple varieties were for making hard cider, Washington, Jefferson, days cider was the most popular alcoholic beverage, grain was to hard to come by and expensive. Nowdays apple growers and varieties are more for eating then making a good cider. Most of the old varieties have been lost. There is still some available, Orange Pippen, Greening, can't think of the others.
Northern Spy makes great cider. Have a huge one growing on the inlaws land big red tart apples.
