Pouring Apple Cider

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Freshly squeezed cider flows into a steel tank where it is chilled and stored. Hard ciders and apple wines, meanwhile, are fermented – first in a steel tank for four to six weeks, after which the cider is transferred to oak barrels for up to a year. “This year’s sweet cider is next year’s hard cider,” Monk says.

No preservatives are added, but the juice is pasteurized at 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds – a process started in 1999. The cider’s taste is not altered because it’s not boiled, Monk says. “If my grandfather can’t taste the difference, then no one can taste the difference,” she says with a laugh.

Monk’s grandfather, Jack Bucklyn, took over the business in 1948 from his grandmother, Abby Clyde, the wife of founder Benjamin Franklin Clyde, who died in 1927.

All about cider

The story of apple cider in America dates back to Colonial days, when cider was one of the most popular alcoholic beverages. It was often more readily available than beer, since apples were plentiful. “Sweet cider wasn’t a common thing because they didn’t have refrigeration,” Monk says. “For the most part, all farmers had small cider presses, and cider was something they could make on their own.”

In addition to traditional hard cider, Clyde’s produces varieties including apple blackberry hard cider, apple raspberry, apple peach, apple cranberry, apple cherry and even spiced apple hard cider. Raisins are added to make what’s called Blackout Hard Cider. Adding raisins makes the cider a little smoother so it’s not as tart.

Monk, whose parents took over the business in 1997, says the Clyde family’s youngest generation is now stepping up to the challenge.

“My kids are the sixth generation, and they love it – they’re working here already,” she says. “My daughter is 8 and runs the cash register. My son is 7 and stocks shelves.

“We started in 1881, and it’s been going ever since. And we’ll keep on going.”

For more information, contact Clyde’s Cider Mill by writing to 129 North Stonington Road, Mystic, CT 06355, or by calling (860) 536-3354.

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