For the sixth book review here at Cider Says (see here for the first five):  “Craft Cider – How to Turn Apples Into Alcohol”, by Jeff Smith, published September 2015, with a suggested price of $17.95.  Jeff Smith is the one who started Bushwhacker Cider in Portland OR, a cider bar and cidery.  I suggested that my local library add this book to their collection, and they bought it for me to borrow!  I think libraries are great to check out a book to see if you may want to purchase it.

I always like reading about cider, and this was a nice quick weekend vacation read.

This book includes the following Chapters:

• The World of Cider (the cider industry & some cider history)
• Styles of Cider (English, Spanish, French, American, German, Irish, Scandinavian, Ice, & Pommeau)
• Sourcing Fruit and Juice (Farmer’s Markets, Local Orchards, Grocery Stores, Juice, Neighbors, What Makes a Cider Apple Different?, and Apple Varieties)
• A Cider Maker’s Necessary Equipment (Fermentation Vessel, Sourcing and Using Wood Barrels, Hydrometer, Wine Thief, Thermometer, pH Meter and pH Strips, Airlocks and Bungs, Cleaning Chemicals, Sanitizer, Siphons, Bottling Equipment, Kegging Equipment, More About Kegging)
• Step by Step (process of making cider)
• So You Want to Press Your Own Apples? (Presses, Basic Overview)
• Recipes (Basic Dry, Bushwhacker Smoked, New England Style, Lingonberry, Local Cyser, Scrumpy, Cherry, Ginger, Pear Cider and Perry, Dry Oaked, Spanish-Style, Cranberry, High Gravity, Bushwhacker Italian Plum, Spiced, Sweet, Bushwhacker Alice, Forgotten Trail)
• How to Taste Cider (Tasting at Home, Setting up a Tasting, Cellaring Ciders, Terms)
• Cooking with Cider (Bushwhacker Cider Vinaigrette, Apple Coleslaw, Pulled Pork Butt, Cider House Fondue)
• Cider Cocktails (Pommeau Manhattan, Bushwhacker G&T, Apply Brandy “Cide-Car”, Cherry 88, Cider Mule, Forgetful Rob, Basque-Tini, Cider Dark & Stormy, Cider Julep, Apple Cosmo, Big Apple Iced Tea)
• Resources (Blogs, Organizations, Events, Country-Specific Cider Terms, Cider-Making Terms)

My favorite parts were those which were unique to this book, such as about using wood barrels, pros & cons of kegging, and cellaring cider.

Overall this book isn’t a bad choice for a newbie to cider, especially one who wants to get into making their own cider, but for others like me, they may not get much out of it.  I also didn’t like how often the book mentioned the author’s cider bar & cidery, Bushwhacker (it literally seemed like almost every page), and its language was almost too informal (didn’t seem like it had much editing).  I’m glad I got to get it from the library, but its not something I see the need to buy for my own collection.