So I decided to try out hard cider on my own. I like beer, but cider seemed more local, natural, and historic to me. In the early days of our country, hops and barley weren’t easy to get but apples grew all over the place, meaning cider was the drink of choice.

Brewing seems to be something you can do casually or spend years scientifically perfecting. For cider, the recipes range from “leave a jug of apple juice alone for a few months” to complex and experimental. Some variables include:

- The kind of cider you use (makes a huge difference)
- The use of chemicals like pectic acid, Campden tablets, yeast nutrient, etc.
- Supplementing with sugars, honey, fruit, etc.
- Length of time of fermentation
- The type of yeast (also a big factor)
- Adding sweeteners after the fermenting process
- Method of stopping fermentation – cold crashing, racking, pasteurization, or a combination?
- Bottling with sugar to add extra carbonization

There’s others too, it’s quite a science even just for cider. Since it’s my first time, I read a lot and decided to go semi-pro. I used four separate gallons of cider so if I messed up one it wouldn’t mess up my whole batch. I used Nottingham Ale yeast, some pectic acid, and pre-treated with one Campden tablet per gallon. My friend Nick brought me all of that from the store plus some rubber stoppers and valve thingys, some sanitizer, and a hydrometer.

Much of this stuff is above my head yet, but the beauty of brewing seems to be that even an absolute amateur can end up with a delicious result if you follow a recipe. Maybe I’ll experiment if this batch comes out great.

Some materials needed

Campden tablets preparing cider for yeast pitch

Now I wait a week or two for fermentation to finish!

Some of the things we were very attracted to because we’ve been thinking a lot lately about community living. The Amish seem to have a lot of the qualities we admire in people or are actively striving to assimilate, such as:

1) They place the community above themselves. They work together and have fun doing it. They try to avoid everything that leads to selfishness and pride. It’s like what communism is supposed to be like!

2) The Amish are simple and don’t need computers, TV, internet, cell phones, cars, radios, or even electricity to have fun. This is done intentionally to avoid becoming too worldly. Despite this, most of them interact with the world a lot, use phones, public transportation, and other machines. They just choose to avoid being wrapped up in them at home.

3) They worship God in their homes/barns and don’t have special, expensive church buildings. Neat.

4) They really, really care about each other. If a barn burns down, the community will have one up – the next day. They are really nice, loving people who would drop everything if a neighbor needs something.

5) They try to live out principles from the Bible. Sure, other Christians may find fault with some of their interpretations and methods. But they live out their convictions generation after generation. Do we?

Their lifestyle reminds me of this verse:

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands…” -1 Thessalonians 4:11

Alice has been enjoying these summer days! Her head can just about fit into the cute little hats she has.

We enjoyed a trip to the Bolton Fair. It was fun, but very sunny so we didn't stay too long.

She also has become more interactive with smiles. She loves to watch her dad and even watch funny movie clips with him!

And she spends lots of time with her Mum. Only one more week to finish up at work, then we will both be home to frolic together!

Starting to giggle now, too! Mom works hard to get giggles, but dad seems to score them effortlessly! All good