![\"Hard](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/09\/20180827ng-Sturges07-4.jpg?ssl=1\" "\\"Moraine")
<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> \u201cI ferment cider all fall and winter,\u201d he says. \u201cI blend and bottle all year. I press cider all year as well. My challenge is time in the growing season to make it since I usually sell out during the summer months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most apples aren\u2019t ready until late summer or fall. Mr. Sturges says he likes to pick them at night, for no other reason than he has enough other work to do under the hot sun for the other tree fruits and vegetables he grows.<\/p>\n
The apples go into a power washer and then a power chopper, where they\u2019re turned into a saucy \u201cpomice\u201d that gets layered between sheets of fabrics and then is pressed so that the juice escapes without the solids. <\/p>\n
They add sulfites to kill all the natural yeasts, which are too wild to consistently work with, and then the next day add a French yeast that they know, from trial and error, works very well.<\/p>\n
As Mr. Sturges puts it, \u201cI like the way it finishes. I like the way it keeps. It behaves well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, they have cider that\u2019s about 7 percent alcohol by volume, some of which they adjust to a lower alcohol volume of just over 4 percent. Those are their only two varieties. \u201cI like to store it for three months to let it mellow out,\u201d but consumer demand sometimes precludes that. <\/p>\n
They sell it for $20 for a 950-milliliter amber glass jug. <\/p>\n
But this fall, they will be experimenting with new blends, using new apples that are just starting to produce, such as Kingston Black and Jouveaux. \u201cIt\u2019s all about the apple,\u201d says Mr. Sturges.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re growing some 40 varieties. \u201cThat\u2019s ballpark. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s more,\u201d he says. \u201cThe [cider] is not the same product we started out with three years ago.\u201d <\/p>\n
Truth be told, he says, hard cider isn\u2019t that hard to make. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge. How does that sound?\u201d <\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t carbonate his cider, doesn\u2019t sell it to bars and restaurants, and doesn\u2019t plan to bottle or can it for mass distribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep it simple,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m an apple grower. That\u2019s who I am.\u201d <\/p>\n
You can find Sturges Orchards from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays on 18th Street in the Strip District, as well at various farmers markets, including Bellevue\u2019s (3-7 p.m. Wednesdays). Sturges also sells at the Market Square Farmers Market, Downtown, on the first Wednesday of each month and other days as invited. <\/p>\n
Sturges Orchards is at 868 Route 288, Fombell (16123). For more information, visit its Facebook page or call 724-624-0383. <\/p>\n
\r\nOther sources of local cider\r\n<\/h3>\n
Arsenal Cider House and Wine Cellar <\/strong><\/p>\n The first post-Prohibition cidery in the region opened in 2010 in Lawrenceville and now has satellite locations at Soergel Orchards in Franklin Park and Trax Farms in Finleyville. 300 39th St., Lawrenceville (15201) www.arsenalciderhouse.com<\/a><\/p>\n Knockin Noggin<\/strong><\/p>\n Part of the Nova Destinations trail of drinks destinations across Lawrence County. 600 Main St., Volant (16156) www.knockinnoggin.com<\/a><\/p>\n Stonewall Cider House and Meadery<\/strong> <\/p>\n You may have seen Joshua Niece\u2019s table at the Verona Farmers Market. He\u2019s set to open any day now at 723 Allegheny River Blvd., Verona (15247) www.facebook.com\/stonewallciderhouse<\/a><\/p>\n Threadbare Cider House and Meadery<\/strong><\/p>\n This sister business to Wigle Whiskey opened in 2017 in Spring Garden. 1254 Voskamp St., North Side (15212) www.threadbarecider.com<\/a><\/p>\n Volant Winery<\/strong><\/p>\n Makes traditional ciders named for Ben Franklin and George Washington. 1229 Main St., Volant (16156) www.volantmillwinery.com<\/a><\/p>\n A Few Bad Apples<\/strong><\/p>\n Mike Sturges (no relation to Sturges Orchard) and friends make cider with foraged apples and other ingredients in and around the city and with other cider makers. He\u2019s planning collaborations with Stonewall. His main event is the fourth A Few Bad Apples Ciderfest on Saturday, Oct. 27, in the WBU event space at Spring Hill Brewing. Tickets are $20. \u201cIt\u2019s a fundraiser for Allegheny CleanWays and we use it as a platform to talk about sustainability, food security and community-building and to share our cider with attendees,\u201d he says. Learn more and buy tickets at https:\/\/afewbadapples.brownpapertickets.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n www.jackshardcider.com\/something-good-from-a-few-bad-apples-jacks-collaborations-with-mike-sturges<\/a><\/p>\n Find other producers via the Pennsylvania Cider Guild at www.paciderguild.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com<\/a>, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some people call it hard cider because of the alcohol content. But all cider is hard to make, considering that you have to plant and graft and prune the trees, protect them from all sorts of weather and pests, pick and press the apples, ferment it, and then blend and bottle it. Aaron Sturges loves… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"coauthors":[15],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/09\/20180827ng-Standalone04-3.jpg?fit=1500%2C1003&ssl=1","wps_subtitle":"Sturges Orchards in Fombell, Beaver County, is making more and better hard cider to sell at several of the region\u2019s farmers markets. ","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9EDbT-8S","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":630,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}