Hard ciders are a favorite alcoholic beverage of many and while the most famous hard ciders are made from apple juice, it’s not always the case.
When I started brewing hard ciders, I experimented with store-bought apple juice and various apple types, only to discover that allowing some creativity to kick in could result in amazing unusual cider recipes.
In this article, I’ll mention what fruits can you use to make ciders at home along with apples but I’ll also give you a few recommendations on how different apple sorts can yield different results.
What fruit is best for hard cider?
Apple
Yeah, I know, the apples are the king of hard ciders and that’s why I can’t put them at the bottom of the list.
I won’t make it too long about apples because we are all aware of how common they are in making hard ciders, but what homebrewers sometimes forget is that there isn’t only one type of apple out there.
For instance, if you have been using only sweet apples, try the other, bitter or tart varieties because the results may vary greatly.
Sharp apples ( Granny Smith, Bramley’s Seedling, Spartan)
These apples are high in acidity and have a lower sugar content and this is exactly what can make the hard cider amazing. While it’s true that the lack of sugar in these apples means less alcohol and a tart taste which some people are not keen on, you can always add more sugars later to sweeten it and neutralize the tart taste or increase alcohol.
Bittersweet apples (Kingston Black, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill)
Bittersweet apples have high amounts of sugar and low acidity just like regular sweet apples, but these apples are full of tannins which create a tingling sensation in the mouth.
Maybe this is exactly the type of apple that’s going to make the hard cider of your preference.
Bittersharp apples (Harry Masters Jersey, Brown Stout, Foxwhelp)
Bittersharp apples are high acidity, medium sugar, and high tannins apple variety that is likely to make a great hard cider as it’s the apple variety that balances the best of other apple varieties.
Sweet apples (Jonathan, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious)
Your typical sweet apple is a classic as its high sugar content, low acidity and lack of tannins make a predictably good hard cider.
I have nothing against sweet apples and I believe there are popular for a reason, yet I’d always mix them with some other fruit or other apple variety to bring more complexity to the story.
Pear
I have two fruit trees in the garden, one is an apple tree and the other is a pear tree.
Pears are probably my favorite fruit for making ciders as they are similar to apples in terms of sugar and acidity profile, but have a distinctive influence on hard ciders, making them less boring (in my taste).
This is my personal opinion because I easily get bored of all the apple ciders I drink and pear is a refreshment, but I am sure if you like hard apple ciders you’ll also find pear hard ciders as a wonderful change.
Most of my friends and family enjoy apples above any other fruit, so unfortunately I must stick with an apple most of the time because when I brew 5 gallons of a hard cider, I certainly need a help consuming it.
Quince
Quince is a weird fruit as it’s neither an apple nor a pear but something in between. However, its weirdness doesn’t bother us as quince can be used for making delicious hard ciders that taste like a combination of apples and pears with pronounced astringent, tart, and earthy notes.
It’s important to mention how quince differs from apples and pears in terms of sugar content and they are sourer by nature, so you might need to make up for it with back sweetening if you find the tart, astringent influence too harsh on your palate.
To me, this tart taste is beautiful when combined with high Co2 levels as it tingles the tongue like nothing else.
Peach
We all know how wonderful peach juice is, and you can turn it into a hard cider as well.
Peaches are less sweet than apples and they produce more of a tart, but strong aromatic taste in ciders which could become your favorite hard cider if you are naturally a fan of peaches.
Peach hard cider can be enjoyed anywhere from medium to high carbonation levels depending on your preference.
Cherry
Cherry offers a nice balance between sweetness and tart flavor, and strong red color in hard ciders.
Cherry hard ciders are some’s favorite ciders and others’ least preferred ciders.
To me, cherry wasn’t ever an ingredient I’d like in a beer or a cider, while I can tolerate cherry in meads.
Thus, you should first try a cherry cider to see what can you expect before you decide to brew 5 gallons of hard cherry cider at home.
Pineapple
Pineapple creates the most unusual hard cider compared to other fruits on the list, and I love it!
Hard cider from pineapple is sweet and flavorful and leaves a very enjoyable tart note behind.
Pineapple might surprise you the most in terms of how well the hard cider will end up as its obvious tropical characteristics must be appreciated.
What I also have in my mind is adding pineapple to an apple-based hard cider as this will give complexity to a standard apple cider and may be a cheaper alternative than brewing a whole batch just from pineapple juice.
Berries
Blackberry, Raspberry, and blueberry are all the berries that make for a great hard cider.
Berries are sweet, refreshing, and super flavorful which are all the qualities that make berries a great choice for making hard ciders.
You can combine them to create an optimal balance as blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry have a strong sweet and tangy flavor but each berry has its distinctive taste which can be enjoyed alone or mixed with others for a more complex profile in hard ciders.
Pick your favorite berries and make a hard cider out of it, I am sure you’ll love the results and it’s not any more difficult than making a classic apple hard cider.
Final take on
There are many fruits that can be used for making hard ciders and it’s always fun to experiment with uncommon recipes, just don’t brew a 5-gallon batch before you are certain you’ll like it!
You can try and create a batch of standard hard apple cider and then add some of the mentioned fruits from the list at top of the already fermented cider.
Simply, rack the apple hard cider in the secondary fermenter when the fermentation is finished and add juice from some of the mentioned fruits.
If you have multiple small containers you can use for a secondary fermentation you could experiment with all fruits from the list and then see which combination you like the most.
Once you know what’s your favorite fruit for flavoring you can either brew another big batch of the same recipe or perhaps brew an entire batch with just that particular fruit without apples.