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Last night after we came back from trick-or-treating, the guests (family) had left, and the kids were in bed I was able to sit back and enjoy something I really like about this time of year:  real apple cider warmed in the slow cooker, with honey and some spices added.  I drank a two cups and promptly dozed off on the couch.

If I hadn't been so tired, because I'd awoke a 4:30AM yesterday and we had physical training with the Battalion Sergeant Major in the afternoon, I would have turned on the fireplace and put in a movie to watch.  As it is, I think that is my plan for tonight.  Either "The Unearthly" or "Black Sheep" (the killer mutant sheep one), a bit of hot apple cider with honey, and the fireplace going.

Hot cider is fantastic. Quite a popular fall and winter treat where I come from. Always a great accompaniment to an evening carol sing or tree-lighting ceremony, a complementary beverage at a couple of the local restaurants, and a holiday staple. Had a lot to do with it being Mennonite country, and one of the neighbouring towns having a cider mill and an annual festival dedicated to apple products (apple cider, apple butter, apple syrup, etc.), complete with mill tours. Quite a thing to watch cider being pressed.

Found a video from that particular mill. Just to explain, they stack up layers of apple pulp on the press between nylon plates with channels to direct the juice. The pulp comes down a chute from a hammer mill. Once enough layers get stacked up, they squeeze the whole thing under 120 tons. Not much apple left after that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1_-_QeQa_M

I like cider but prefer it cold.  I think for myself, and a lot of people, it brings back fond memories of good fall activities. 

A friend of mine did that same thing but with home-pressed grape juice.  IT was very good.

We have a large local orchard in my hometown, and they are big with peaches in the summer and apples in the fall.  So, I love old-fashioned apple cider like they sell there.  Murky, but plenty tasty, and I love it hot.  I probably drink more hot apple cider than hot chocolate during the winter.

Tried the instant cider one time, and it just wasn't the same.

I greatly prefer hot cider to cold anyday.   I've always found that it really helps me to drink hot cider when I have a really bad head cold in the winter.

Hot cider is good with a touch of rum, too.

I once had hot cider at a Baptist Halloween party and they melted Butter Rum Life Savers in the cider to keep everything Kosher... is that the right word?

Because I'm rather young and from Hesse, I like my Äppler in a Beschisserglas rather than the original one. The first Äppler of the year is usually a large Sauergespritzter in some Biergarten as soon as it gets warm enough outside, later in the year usually pure or (and I'm somewhat ashamed of it) some Süßgespritzter. In winter, hot Äppler is great and you usually recognize the pros because they carefully pour the sugar into the Äppler with a spoon instead of pouring it straight from the sugarpot which results in a great mess on the table.

Ahhh, Apfelwein!

Confused? looky here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelwein

Ah, the alcoholic cider. Very nice as well. It might be worth clarifying for our European friends that North American cider is a little different. What we in Canada and the US usually call apple cider is a non-fermented drink. It's basically apple juice, but made a little differently. It's darker, tangier and more full-bodied than typical apple juice. For fermented cider, we usually have to specify. "Hard cider" usually refers to the alcoholic variety.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_cider (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_cider)

I tasted the hot American style cider years ago and I actually liked it more than the cold alcoholic stuff we have over here. I can only stand to drink Wychwood's green goblin oak aged.

(http://www.greengoblincider.com/images/greengoblin_bottle_angle1_clear.gif)

"Very nice as well" - That quote may refer to the cidER one gets in Irish or English Pubs or the cidRE served in Bistros and Cafes around here, but I have never heard such nice things about the German (or rather Hessian) Applewine. Usually the first reactions to this beverage are more....harsh, let's say. It's a rather rough, sour, and wild drink not pleasing to everyone.

The equivalent to the US or Canadian cider over here must be "Most", basically fresh applejuice slowly building up the alcohol over time (we had these huge ballon-shaped bottles for this when I was a kid - and of course we were not allowed to drink it after some time which we of course did anyway).

Anyway, vive la difference - sounds all tasty to me.

We have an apple orchard right next door, so all winter long the kindly old grandmother next door is always giving us fresh cider. For the first 4 years it was great but after 7 years of drinking cider all winter out of kindness  I am about ready to start avoiding her this winter. Last yeas I swear i was p**sing hot cider by the end of the season. I love the stuff, but man it gets old fast  :drink:

I've had the English pub stuff, and I think it's pretty good and a nice change of pace if you're in a beer/ale mood. But if you want the real hot cider experience, it should be "mulled", cooked slowly with spices in it (stick cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg among other things). And real cider is definitely cloudy, made by pressing the whole apple.

HArd cider is my current favorite drink, its quite hard to come by in the US

True, it wasn't German applewine I've tried, but rather British cider. A couple of British friends introduced me to Strongbow a few years back. It's pretty easy to find in Canada. Most of the nicer bars carry it, as do the liquor stores. Amazing how many very different drinks you can get out of essentially the same fruit.

Slightly off-topic, but still on the subject of imported beverages, back when I was 18 or so, I used to get imported beers to drink at bush parties. I've always been up for trying something different, drink-wise, but this had another advantage. It was easy to identify, and most of the guys I hung out with were the sort who would turn up their noses at anything that wasn't Labatt's Blue or Molson Canadian. I'd show up with a cooler full of Newcastle Brown Ale or Dortmunder lager, and it would be essentially pilfer-proof.

You and I, sir, are on the same sheet of music.  I like my cider like I like my women:  hot, full of spice, and a little pulpy.

That's too funny. I needed a good laugh today.  and I agree with you as well. :thumbup: