‘Cider is for girls’ and Other Cider Myths BUSTED by McKeown Cider

‘Cider is for girls’ and other cider myths BUSTED by our friends at McKeown, our choice #supportlocal cider maker in Quebec!

Usually, what we depict as drinks for girls are cocktails loaded with sugar with some kind of alcohol taste, often having artificial flavors added to them. On the other hand cider has a lot to offer as far as variety and style goes. There are 5 main types of ciders : Still cider, sparkling cider, rosé cider, ice cider and fire cider.

We at McKeown focus on sparkling ciders and produce many different flavours that range from dry and fresh to sweet and fruity (but not as sweet as the cocktails we were talking about previously). We target both genders with an even 50/50 customer base. Our McKeown ciders are a great alternative to beer. You will fully appreciate the true apple taste at the core of all ciders as well as the complexity that comes from the different flavors we offer.

Cider is always sweet – Cider Myths #1

The process to make cider may vary from one producer to another, but basically during fermentation, the sugar that comes from the apples and other fruits we may add gets transformed into alcohol. We may decide to let the fermentation go all the way and end up with no residual sugar like our Bone Dry ciders or we may decide to stop fermentation before the end and keep some residual sugar for natural sweetness like our Pear cider.

From driest to sweetest, you will find the Bone Dry, Bone Dry Gingembre, Crazy Cricket, Rosé, Orignal Draft,
Cranberry, Pear and Zero, and from this list, the first three has less than 1g of residual sugar per cans (it’s actually very close to zero).

Cider is an alcoholic apple juice – Cider Myths #2

In Quebec, all the ciders you find in the market are produced from 90% Québec ingredients and the main ones always contain apples to pass quality control as a “cider”. So of course when you drink cider it should taste like apples but it shouldn’t taste like sweet apple juice made from concentrate.

The fermentation process brings complexity and other flavours are created. When drinking McKeown cider you taste the seasoned flavors from our freshly pressed apples with a good balance of acidity and alcohol. It will make you feel like you are drinking an adult drink and not a kid’s beverage. If you prefer dryer drinks, our bone dry collection will suit you just fine. In many cases, they have less sugar than beer.

Cider is easy to produce – Cider Myths #3

The basic process of fermentation isn’t a hard one and anyone, with the proper tools can start a small batch of fruit fermentation at home. What makes it harder, is to make quality cider that tastes the same batch after batch. The yeast that ferments the sugar contained in the juice is a living organism and it may not always want to cooperate. And then there are other micro-organisms that may want to attend the party as well. Results will vary and could end up as vinegar or really bad cider.

Where McKeown stands out is that every time you drink one of our ciders it will always taste the same, no matter when it was produced (apples don’t necessarily taste exactly the same every year) and that’s the hardest part in producing quality cider. The outside weather during harvest, as well as the fermenting temperatures, will make it challenging to get it right each time.

We have really high-quality standards and we follow a well-established protocol of control over our production to make sure that when you open a McKeown cider, you know exactly what to expect!

All ciders taste the same? Cider Myths #4

That’s the biggest myth of all. There are so many components and processes that can alter the taste of the cider. First of all, the apple you choose makes a huge difference in the taste and cider makers don’t all use the same variety of apples. Then it also depends on the yeast which will impact flavours and finally other ingredients that may be used such as other fruits or hop or even spices.

We mainly use delicious McIntosh, Spartan, and Cortland apples to make our ciders and the way we ferment it (the temperature and speed at which it is fermented) makes it unique and very tasty. Our apples are harvested from our orchards in Rougemont (Quebec).

#Supportlocal and crack open a can of Quebec Made McKeown cider at your next picnic or BBQ! Remember that by socializing outside, you are helping flatten the curve. If you need the ideal Montreal picnic hot spots, we have them covered here. IF you like liquor myth busting, Bold Vodka busted a few good ones!