what to call "ciders" made from fruit other than apples

[luke trollope]

I am making "ciders" from bananas and pineapples and am trying to research how to make them from other fruits the problem is what to search for I try "fruit beer" but that returns results for fruit infused beer. On the other side the results come up for fruit "wine" but it seems hard to find info on cider type drinks from fruit other than apples.

If anyone could let me know what to call them and or a good source for info on mixed fruit ciders I would appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[Maylar]

Wine. Except for pears, which is perry. If you're looking for lower alcohol than typical wine, don't add any extra sugar. If you want it carbonated, Google sparkling wine.

 

[madscientist451]

Banana beer? I had to look it up. Wonder when I can get some on draft?

 

[Yooper]

I make a ton of country wines- everything from a to z. That is, apples to zucchini. Beet wine, carrot wine, rose hips, lilac flowers, dandelions, cherries, etc. I also make cider but don't like it nearly as much as the other fruit wines.

I made a wine this fall of all of the bushy fruits in my yard- elderberry, chokeberry, blackberry, chokecherry, and black currants went into that one. It's really good at this point, as I tasted it when I racked in in December.

Generally, wines made from anything but grapes are called country wines, but just plain "wine" is also correct.

I make a banana wine that is much higher alcohol than what you are doing, and it's "hot" for a couple of years. If you want to take a look at the recipe (and just cut down the amount of sugar or leave it out to make a lower ABV wine), it's posted in the wine area of the recipe database.

 

[luke trollope]

Thanks for all your input I appreciate it.

What I am doing is boiling fruit (so far bananas and pineapple) straining it and using the liquid as the base then adding water and then adding enough sugar to get the alcohol to 5% ABV then letting it ferment out then bottle carbonating it.

So it is a carbonated fruit "beer?" or "cider?" or low alcohol sparkling wine? I want to try other fruits mainly tropical fruits as I live in the tropics but I can't find any info and am having problems with what to search for as mentioned.

I will look into country wines now thanks yooper and mad scientist that banana beer you got is what I am trying to do.

Thanks again and happy brewing to all!

 

[Maylar]

It's a low ABV carbonated country wine.

 

[Yooper]

Beer generally is brewed, with hops and malt. Wine is made with fruit.

 

[johnnyseko]

Banana beer? I had to look it up. Wonder when I can get some on draft?

Wells makes Banana Bread Beer. 5.2% I think it's delicious. Also heard 1/2 Banana 1/2 Youngs Double Chocolate Stout is good.

I know the Ocean Mist in Matunuck RI has the Banana Bread on tap, only because I go there quite often.

 

[luke trollope]

It's a low ABV carbonated country wine.

Thanks Maylar that is a good description. It is a bit of a mouthful though! I wonder if we could coin a new word for it something catchy.

I can't think of anything though...

 

[S-Met]

I'm mostly with Yooper on calling it (fruit) wine, but I thought that I read somewhere that cider can be correct depending on your country. No promise on the accuracy of the statement.

I sometimes use apple juice concentrate instead of sugar to boost my og. Loose definition, but using apple as part of the base sugar makes it a cider. Just make sure its preservative free. I've used Langers apple concentrate 12oz in the freezer section - its preservative free and fermentable. Doesn't have a lot of flavor to overpower your desired fruit.

But most importantly, call it what ever you like. Its your baby, you deserve to name it. Onl time you could be wrong is if you enter it in an official contest.

 

[S-Met]

Forgot to add, I usually just call it a cider when in public with non-beer nerds. I get tired of trying to explain the difference between cyser, mead, metheglin, braggot and all the other variants. Doesn't help that I can't remember the difference most of the time.

If someone expresses general interest and wants to learn, I gladly share that I hardly know what I'm doing. I just enjoy the process and the product.

 

[bernardsmith]

For what it's worth, while I am happy with the term "wine" when no heat (brewing) is involved and "beer" when the fruit or the plant extracts or juices are bolied Stephen Harrod Buhner in his now classic Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers : The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation refers to historical meads and all manner of plant sourced wines as "beers". Perhaps he thinks of wine only when the source is grape.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Stumbled across this old thread.

I stopped calling them "country wines" because the ones I make are really too low in ABV to be a wine (in my opinion). Also, I recently read in Modern Ciders, where Emma Christensen says that if a fermented drink is made using cider techniques, then it should probably be called cider no matter what the fruit.

I have been experimenting with these for the past several months, and am really enjoying this new direction in brewing. I've done raspberry cider, blackberry cider, fig cider, and white muscadine cider. Some of these include apple juice as a base, some do not. None have more than about 33% fermentables from from apples. And they were all 6-7% ABV. I really like them with a good carb, say 3 atmospheres.

These "ciders" have all been good quite good (except one bottle that had misfit cap and turned extremely sour). I just opened a 2 month old raspberry, and it was amazing! We are almost starting berry season, and I think I am going to exclusively make berry ciders this year.

 

[wasully]

Also, I recently read in Modern Ciders, where Emma Christensen says that if a fermented drink is made using cider techniques, then it should probably be called cider no matter what the fruit.
year.

Controversial and no doubt disavowed by the purists. But then, lots of things are.

But I kinda like that definition. Is it perfect? No.

Does, "Here, try some plum cider I made" work better than "Have you had my jerkum?"? Yeah, I think so.

Nothing wrong with general language. Pedantic fermenting jargon can wait.

 

[Maylar]

In the US, cider is made with apples. Perry is made with pears. Any other fruit is wine. In Italy, wine is made with grapes. Any other fruit is cider.
Go figure.

Technically, again in the US, cider becomes apple wine if it's above 8% ABV. I believe that's for tax purposes.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Your "Xyzzy Cider" description is fine. It clearly gets the point across to those unfamiliar, and anyone who knows/cares enough will ask for more details.

 

[lump42]

I'm with GeneDaniels1963 and wasully. I've always referred to them as "(insert fruit here) cider" when the alcohol is on the lower side. There may be more technically accurate terms, but the purpose of style names is to shorten the description. Most people will understand what is meant with various fruit cider names.

 

[S-Met]

In the US, cider is made with apples. Perry is made with pears. Any other fruit is wine. In Italy, wine is made with grapes. Any other fruit is cider.
Go figure.

Technically, again in the US, cider becomes apple wine if it's above 8% ABV. I believe that's for tax purposes.

While I am 100% 'Murican, I side with Italy on this. Arbitrarily, I support +8.0% could be wine and anything under 8% is cider.

Like myself and othets said earlier in this thread, I'll be more specific if talking with beer-nerds, but it's not worth wasting words explaining to the greater majority. I'm not EAC, I'll explain if you ask. But I'm not going to correct you if you ask for a cider but cyzer is on tap.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

But I kinda like that definition. Is it perfect? No.

Does, "Here, try some plum cider I made" work better than "Have you had my jerkum?"? Yeah, I think so.

Thats my thinking. And no matter what you call it, the stuff tastes good!

 

[madscientist451]

You're making it, you're drinking it, you can call it whatever you want to. If you were selling it, it would have to have to be made with apples to call it cider.

 

[Beer Nuts]

what to call "ciders" made from fruit other than apples . . .

an Experiment.