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Don't overthink it. And don't be afraid to blend different batches together before bottling. You can take small samples of each and taste and mix. It's part of the fun. If some comes out too sharp, let it age and it may become much better later. Some people don't drink last year's cider till...

Lucky to have so many different cider apples available to you without having to grow them yourself! Depending on how many fermenters you have and how much juice you end up with, I'd try fermenting them all as single varietals so you can see what each apple contributes and then blend from there...

I have never added anything when drying fruit as the process itself actually preserves them, no Camden tablets should be necessary. But I read somewhere that Camden tablets were originally developed for this purpose actually, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. No idea how much is needed. I...

I don't know much about pixie crunch apples and how they would do in cider, but wouldn't hurt to try. Might end up liking it. But most really good ciders are a blend of apples. Not many are really great on their own, but there are a few. Do your apples have a lot of sugar? If so, might make a...

A little different from what you are thinking, but Big fish cider co makes a cider called "fireside" where they boil the juice down a bit over a fire to concentrate it before fermenting for a product that sounds similar to ice cider. Never tried it so let us know how it tastes if you do.

Are you more interested in having the trees, or having fruit? If you plant the seeds, you will probably end up with a standard size tree (25 ft plus). If your goal is to have 10' trees that grow straight up to line your fence, you are better off buying a grafted tree. I have also see "columnar"...

I would avoid cooking them. If you have the freezer space, the apples will soften up after being frozen for a couple days then thawed. This will yield a clear juice. If you want to go a more traditional method and aren't in a rush to press them, you may also have good results storing them for a...

Crab apples is kind of a generic term to me. But usually people refer to any apple varieties very small in size as crabs. Yes, and many crab apples are wild species native to different parts of the world, but some are also cultivated and are fine for eating or cider, like Dolgo, Wickson or...

All I have heard about Tom Putts is that they are early season apples with late season characteristics, and that they don't ripen all at once. Golden Russets, I understand, are more of a late season variety. I have a golden russet tree, but it's too young to bear, so no experience there yet. But...

I would juice the crab apples if I were you, not add them in a bag. If you don't have an apple mill and press or juicer, what I have done in the past is freeze and smash into a pulp, or cut into small pieces and run through a blender a bit till you have pulp. Then you put the pulp in a muslin...

Not sure about the wild yeasts surviving the freeze thaw process, but I just want to add that there are also yeasts contributing to fermentation coming from places other than the fruit itself. Saccharomyces can be found on your press, equipment and in the room where you are making cider, etc. It...