Finnish Ciders

Thanks to my cousin, Sean Lecoultre, I had the opportunity to do a good sensory analysis of a wide variety of Finnish ciders. Interestingly enough Finland is the world's 4th largest cider producing and drinking country in the world.  I liked the UpCider and Oiva.  A bit sweet, but well balanced with a nice apple finish. Both come in well designed cans which is a great idea for any beverage you may want to take into a concert, on a float trip or for a day on the lake.  Thanks Sean!

Good cider coverage from Newsweek

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/28/hard-cider-drink-of-presidents-makes-a-comeback.html

My cider can only dream of being this sexy!

ACE Premium Hard Cider: Directors Cut from Luminary Creative on Vimeo.

Infographic!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/hard-cider_n_2091997.htm

 

Farnhum Hill Video

Me makes some good points!

And is good for a few laughs, if nothing else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5x46k23xCU

Cider Maker Job Description

Saw this job description the other day and it made me confident I may actually have what it takes!

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience in sanitation, blending and knowledge of chemistry

Familiarity with lab equipment and testing within manufacturing environment

Advanced math and problem solving knowledge

Strong organizational skills

Ability to train, manage and lead teams of production workers through effective communication

Demonstrate skills in manufacturing and improvement with a “lead by example” attitude.

Ability to be flexible and multi-task in a high speed environment

Mechanical aptitude

Computer skills: basic knowledge of word processing and spreadsheet programs.

Possess an excellent working knowledge of the processes within high speed production facilities

Written and spoken English essential, conversational Spanish important, technical French helpful

Good Basic Cider Recipe

I've had several friends request a good basic recipe for hard cider and apple wine.  Here's what I found.  Its nicely formatted in a Microsoft Word Document that is convenient to print!

www.lizfeaster.com/brew/Basic%20Hard%20Cider.doc

Flavored ciders are fastest growing segment

Do you think I should produce flavored hard ciders or remain a purist and use only apples and pears?
http://m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/11/fruit-flavoured-cider-sales-grow?cat=lifeandstyle&type=article

Americans rediscover the kick of hard cider: NPR

 Nice report from NPR.  They seem to be covering cider more and more often.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/11/08/164599735/americans-rediscover-the-kick-of-hard-cider

Cider Vinaigrette

Delicious, Healthy, Simple......

http://www.alive.com/recipes/view/197/quinoa_spring_salad_with_simple_cider_vinaigrette?cpage=1

My first vintage!

 

Here's my first shot at this age old art. They all need some time to mature, but so far no major faults. Especially interesting are the plum wine and perry! Now it's time to learn the art of blending. Anyone interested in being an official taster??? 

A Spectrum of Cider

Cooking with Cider

I'm making the "Apple Cider Pound Cake With Cider Caramel Sauce" for Thanksgiving! http://www.npr.org/2012/11/06/164344583/cider-house-jewels-get-creative-juices-flowing

Cider and Perry Making

Nice walkthrough of the whole process in a traditional British operation.

IAMCIDER

Great blog with excellent photos from the Pacific Northwest and Normandy France.
This is how cider should look!  http://iamcider.blogspot.com/

The beginning of the cider orchard

I made an order for a dozen cider and perry trees today as an early birthday gift to myself this year. Excited to get them in the ground next spring. Here's the list!

1. Butt Pear - Perry (AKA Pear Cider) variety.
2. Yellow Huffcap - "Plant pears for your heirs".
3. Coxs Orange Pippin - Supposed to be the best tasting apple in the world.
4. Esposus Spitzenberg - Thomas Jeffersons favorite (oh yeah, mine too)
5. Dabinett - British classic. Good tannins. This one is front and center.
6. WSU AxP Crabapple - Couldn't find a good source for Wickson. This is next best.
7. Kingston Black - The "perfect" English cider apple. Can be tricky to grow.
8. Foxwhelp - Namesake for Foxwhelp Cider in CA.  Can be a tricky one.
9. Golden Russet - This beautiful apple makes one delicious cider.
10. Ashmeads Kernel - Another British Classic.  Hope a get a lot of fruit from this guy.
11. Harrison - An American variety that was long thought to be lost.
12. Campfield - Origin 1817. New Jersey.
13. Gravenstein - Northern CA classic. All over Mendocino, etc. before wine took over.
14. Red Gravenstein -  This ones in the ground in the old orchard (1st one planted there since 1952).

A little comic relief for the blog

I couldn't resist posting this one! What do you think of "Little Brown Jug" for one of my labels?

Perry Pears!

What is perry, you might ask.  Fermented Pear Juice.  The champagne of England!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Interesting Apples

A couple photos of apples I took while working on the washing line down at Tieton Cider Works last week.  What an amazing opportunity to hold, smell and taste so many varieties I had previously only seen in books.  Thanks again to everyone at the Tieton family for giving me the opportunity to visit.

I wonder if the cider would be red too?

No, those are not Rainier cherries

The Siamese Apple (only one stem)

Big Thank You to Tieton Cider Works

Had an amazing week in Tieton, Washington with the crew at the local cider works there! A special thanks to Dave Tegtmeier for inviting me down and answering my seemingly endless questions. Their operation really gives me something to aspire to. All that stainless steel makes me drool!

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Botany of Desire Video

Great explanation of cider from one of the experts!

Watch Bringing Back Hard Cider on PBS. See more from Botany of Desire.

Free SO2 Test Lab

This is the part of the operation where my garage starts to look like a meth lab.  Could make for interesting new drama series somewhere along the lines of "Breaking Bad".  Former gov't employee busted with suspicious looking carboys of amber liquid.....(you fill in the blanks). 

Cider Video from England

Definitely one of the better videos on cider out there.  Enjoy!

Forget Diamond White 'cider' concoctions. You can practically taste the orchard in a bottle of real cider. Small Somerset farms like Sheppy's have been making real cider for almost two hundred years. This short film follows the farm through their year's work of pruning, growing, harvesting, fermenting and bottling. The narration is by James Crowden who has been described, quite rightly, as the 'Poet Laureate of Cider'.

 

This stuff tastes terrible.  Smells OK.  I guess if Icould make one positive comment - "Gluten Free"

Central Market (in Shoreline, WA) has a pretty nice selection of cider.  The French

Cidre Bouché was an incredible value.

 

 

 

 What do you think of this for a half liter serving suggestion?  I like it better than a wine bottle!

I have to admit, the guys at Angry Orchards (ahem, I mean Sam Adams Beer) are on to something.  Bitter, Sweet.  Really sweet for the American palate.  I hope they spend a lot on good advertising.

I HOPE THIS REALLY ISN'T WHAT PEOPLE THINK CIDER IS!  EDUCATION IS KEY.

Carry Nation

Crazy zealot that wielded an axe each time she entered a cider bar! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_Nation

My first batch - #81012

Pressed about 200 lbs of early Yellow Transparent apples from gramma's house in Saint Maries, Idaho (these are beautiful old trees) into about 10 gallons of cider.  Pitched Montrachet and EC-1118 yeast and the next day I had the beginnings of my first batch of cider.  In August, no less.  The beginning of what I hope to be a long and successful journey to becoming a cidermaker.  Not just as a hobby, but as my livelihood.  I will take many steps, but these first ones are some of the best!

Cider Bars and Markets

Asturias, Spain has been the most impressive thus far.  Oviedo has a strip of Siderias that must compete with anywhere in the world.  And the culture to match it.  Food pairings, traditional sidra drinking songs, old taps.  This is the the stuff that an inspiring cider maker dreams of!

Really looking forward to seeing some of the cider bars popping up around the west coast.  So far, I know of a couple in the Bay Area and Portland, Oregon that I plan on visiting soon.

Fabada

Perfect match for a glass of cider (or sidra if you're really in the right spot!)

http://spanishfood.about.com/od/maincourses/r/fabada.htm

Principles of Cider Course

Learned a ton, but only the beginning. Great opportunity to taste a wide variety of new ciders!

Asturias, Spain

What a great opportunity to visit one of the centers for cider in the world.  Thanks to Begonia and the rest of the Asturianas who showed me and my family around.  Now this is what "hard cider" is all about.  History, Culture, Food, Music, Good people and Good times!

My goals

Don't think (too much).  Don't drink (anything except good cider).  Create a "minimum viable product" (you know, keep it simple) that brings people together.  Grow a sustainable business!

Note:  Idaho only has a big logo over it as of 2012!