Cider Bin Display Rack

Here's my first shot at a handmade cherry display rack for my cider at farmers markets and other outdoor venues.  What do you think?  Should I go with it or is it too old-fashioned?

What a beautiful cidery they built at Virtue

There's a unique quality to cider makers that sets them apart from brewers, and you can see it in their eyes — it's the connection to the land. The many cider makers I've met over the years have a relationship with their ingredients akin to farmers and wine makers.

http://goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2013/1/7/iewufhiweuhfoiweuhrf

 "Cider, for us is about locality & terroir. Part of the fun, like with grapes or wild yeast, is exploring the regional component parts. Cider from MI made with MI apples is going to taste totally different that NY cider made from NY apples."

NY Times article on cider from 1997

Not many people were writing about cider in the 1990s. Good article! http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/29/garden/apple-juice-with-grown-up-fizz.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

See if you can spot me (or my hands) in this video...

Cider for a cold winters night.....

Wild Dollar's Mulled Cider

(makes approx 8 pints/20 wine glasses)

Spices:

• 2 Star Anise
• 3 All -Spice berries 
• 3 Cardamon pods
• 4 teaspoons Ginger powder
• a half teaspoon Mace
• a ‘pinch’ Nutmeg
• 5 teaspoons Cinnamon powder
• 2 Cloves (whole)
• 6 black Peppercorns (whole)
• 2 Bay leaves (ripped in half)
• 8 dessertspoons Muscovado sugar     *(could use honey))
• 2 Oranges (1 zested & both juiced)     *(could use 7 Clementines)
• 1 Lemon (juiced)

• approx 1 imperial gallon/4.5 litres medium traditional farmhouse Cider

• 80ml Cider Brandy*  (Brandy if you have to, or Rum if you’re really desperate)                 *which works out at 10ml per pint or 4ml per wine glass)

Equipment:

• Pestle & Mortar
• Large saucepan with a lid
• small Jug/ladle
• tea strainer
• glasses to serve

To make:

Firstly, coarsely crush the Star Anise, Cardomon and All-Spice berries then along with the powdered spices (Ginger, Cinnamon, Mace & Nutmeg) place into a warm saucepan (on a medium heat) and mix in with the whole spices (Bay leaves, Peppercorns & Cloves) and sugar. After a two minutes of heating together, add a pint of cider to dissolve the sugar and infuse, increase temperature until simmering.

When simmering, add the orange zest & juice, lemon and the rest of the cider, allow it all to heat up then turn down the heat to low. Heating the cider will remove some of the alcohol (if you boil it most of it will go) so I get it all up to about 70C/150f then turn it down really low to sit and mull for at least 30 minutes (that should retain most of the booze if you keep the lid on!)

Serving it is generally a sticky, messy business so be sure to have a small, clean jug (or a ladle) to hand that you can scoop out from the saucepan to minimise the mess. Just before serving is a good time to add the Cider Brandy to the saucepan or, as I tend to prefer, proportionally into each glass ahead of the brew.

Pour into the serving vessels via a tea strainer and place any collected spices back into the saucepan as you go. I favour thick glass or ceramic mugs with a handles as they tend to preserve the temperature and protect my sensitive, arty hands.

Drink Real Cider

Article showing how involved the macros have already gotten in the cider market.  Looks like they don't plan to let this one slip right past them, like craft brews did in the 90's.  Buy local, real cider!

Angry Orchard = Boston Beer Co (Sam Adams)
Woodchuck = C and C Group (Irish)
Hornsbys = E &J Gallo (Wine Behemoth)
Ultra Light = InBev (Budweiser)
Crispin = MolsonCoors (Oohh, Coors)

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11814118/1/5-seemingly-small-hard-ciders-and-their-big-corporate-owners.html

Infographic!

http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2013/01/14/infographic-cider-is-the-new-beer.html

Old Advice I Recently Heard

Qui a bon cave, qui fait bon cidre. 

Who has a good cellar will make good cider.

That's why I am holding my shop at 10C or 50F all winter!

Curious about sulfites?

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the use of sulfites in cider and wine production.  This article has the best explanation of the use of S02 as not only a preservative, but as tool to ensure the quality of your product and even influence the style of your cider or wine.

http://www.practicalwinery.com/janfeb09/page1.htm

All of 'em

Here are the 68 cider producer in these United States

Who will be 69?

http://www.americanhardcider.com/

Cider in Idaho

"Clearly it's time for patriotic Idahoans to take a cue from America's elder statesmen and bring hard cider back to the table. We've got the climate, the culture and the expertise. A perfect cider storm?"

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/cider-the-hard-truth/Content?oid=2008264

Make sure and try that second glass!

3^rd SIP AND YOU ARE INSPIRED

"I had supposed, like most first-time cider sippers, that cider would be simply another sort of wine, which it is not.... cider requires its own neural pathway into gastronomic memory.  It must be taken altogether on its own terms, its own emotions, its own colors, its own strengths and liabilities....

I began to find my cider mouth after the third swallow, a progression I've noticed wherever I've served ciders to the uninitiated.  A few take to it on the first taste.  Most, however, expecting a variation on wine or beer, express polite confusion or disappointment.  But I always make sure to pour a second glass.  By the third or fourth swallow, if the cider has any merit at all, they set aside their initial expectations and begin to explore the taste, feel, and aroma more freely.

-Frank Browning, Apples

The hard cider buzz!

Nice article in Food and Wine.

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-hard-cider-buzz