Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation! Good laws for good apples.

Due to tax legislation that Congress passed in December 2015 (amending Section 5041(b)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code), cider —of modest alcoholic strength and bubbles— will soon be taxed at low rates similar to beer. Previously, cider could be taxed at much higher rates, at or exceeding those of wine.

These changes were contained in the CIDER Act, which had been originally introduced in the House of Representatives in 2013 by Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Chris Collins (as the Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation Act) as well as in the Senate by Senators Charles Schumer and Patrick Leahy (as the Cider Investment and Development through Excise Tax Reduction Act).

• Any cider with 7 percent alcohol-by-volume (abv) or up had been taxed at $1.17 per gallon, while any cider at 6.9 percent abv or lower had been taxed at $0.22. Now, with the passage of the CIDER Act, the upper abv limit, for the lower tax rate, will be 8.5%.


• Any cider containing 6.4 grams per liter of carbon dioxide or fewer (equivalent to 3.25 volumes of CO2, in other words, like a highly carbonated wheat beer or a lightly carbonated champagne) will now NOT be additionally taxed (which had been a nonsensical situation). Above that carbon dioxide level, however, cider will be taxed at $3.30 per gallon. (The prior limit had been much lower, 3.92 grams of CO2 per liter, equivalent to 2.0 volumes, in other words, like a lightly carbonated cask-conditioned ale.)


• As long as the abv of a pear cider (known as perry), is 8.5% or less, its tax rate will also be decreased, from the wine rate of $1.07 per gallon to the apple cider level of $0.226 per gallon. Above 8.5% abv: $1.17 per gallon. Carbonation will be untaxed, like cider, at or below a level of 6.4 grams CO2 per liter.

The changes take effect in December 2016.

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Cider and a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner.

Blue Bee is Virginia's first and only 'urban' cidery. Located within the city limits of Richmond, Virginia, in the city's Old Manchester neighborhood, Blue Bee is also one of the few such 'urban' cideries in the entire nation.

Charred Ordinary is one of Blue Bee's regular offerings, and the 'hard' cider I poured at this year's Thanksgiving meal.

An old-fashioned style of cider, Charred Ordinary is dry and assertively sour, with earthy aromas of hay, mushrooms, and bruised apples. A strong citrus and salt finish. 8.3% alcohol-by-volume (abv).

Me:
Charred Ordinary has apple-skin tartness and flavor, some earthy and smoky flavors, and a nice finishing slug of minerality.

From the 12 o'clock position:

• Blue Bee 'Charred Ordinary' Cider;
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts (with maple syrup dressing);
• Cranberry/Orange Relish;
• Gardein Holiday Roast ² with Stout-Mushroom Gravy;
• Potato Kugel.

P.S. There was a turkey served for the Thanksgiving carnivores (just not pictured here).

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Not your Nana's Kugel

Potato Kugel, an eastern European staple, has been historically plied with eggs, milk, and pork. Here, new-world, it's a kugel, cooked 'vegan': un-egged, un-cow'ed, un-pigged ... and served with 'hard' cider.

• 3 Russet potatoes, peeled
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 2/3 cup olive oil (or vegetable shortening)
• 2/3 - 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 TBSP Ener-G Egg Replacer ¹
• 3 TBSP matzo meal
• 1 TBSP Panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1. Preheat the oven to 380 °F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 shallow cake pan with oil.
• 2. Grate potatoes into thin strips. Keep the gratings submerged in water, with a dash of lemon juice. This prevents the kugel from turning gray.
• 3. Sautée diced onions in oil, over medium heat, until just soft. Add chopped garlic in the oil. Sautée until golden. Set aside, and cool.
• 4. In a bowl, mix together onions, garlic, grated potato (drained), olive oil, and spices until the oil just coats the potato mixture.
• 5. Add the stock.
• 6. Mix in the flour (+ baking powder + Ener-G) 1/4 cup at a time, until the 'batter' around the potato and onion becomes 'just' thick. Add more flour as needed.
• 7. Spoon into greased casserole dish, 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle top with Panko bread crumbs.
• 8. Set oven at 380 °F. Bake for 45-60 minutes, uncovered, or until the top of the kugel is brown and crisped.

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It's the 3rd annual Cider Week Virginia.

In 2010, there were only two cideries in Virginia.

In February 2011, the Virginia Senate passed a bill, sponsored by then Delegate David Englin, which raised the legal alcohol limit of 'hard' cider from seven to ten per cent. In 2012, then Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued a Virginia Cider Week Proclamation, which made Virginia the first state to have an officially proclaimed 'Cider Week.' ¹

Now, in 2014, there are eleven cideries in Virginia, one of which is an urban cidery, one of only a handful such in the nation. ²

All of this is being celebrated from 14-23 November 2014, during Cider Week Virginia 2014 (actually a 10 day 'week'), the third annual such event.

“Cider Week Virginia is a great opportunity to showcase this fast-growing industry in our state,” said Cider Week spokesperson Diane Flynt [owner of Foggy Ridge Cider]. “Similar to the wonderful wines of Virginia, fine hard cider is made from well-grown fruit, fermented carefully to create a balanced and flavorful beverage. Cider Week Virginia provides many opportunities to sample the best of Virginia's artisanal cider, carefully crafted from Virginia apples.”

According to the Cider Week Virginia website, cider styles can be dry or sweet, still or sparkling, simple or complex, or even funky (think leather, oak, mushrooms!). The variety of apple is crucial to the production of good cider. Apples are selected for tannins, acid, and sweetness. High tannin levels provide the structure and mouthfeel of a cider, acid, the balance, and sweetness, the 'fruitiness.' ³

There are ten cideries participating in Virginia Cider Week.

• Albemarle Ciderworks
  North Garden
• Blue Bee Cider
  Richmond
• Bold Rock Cider
  Nellysford
• Castle Hill Cider
  Keswick
• Cobbler Mountain Cellars
  Delaplane
• Corcoran Vineyards
  Waterford
• Foggy Ridge Cider
  Dugspur
• Old Hill Cider
  Timberville
• Potter’s Craft Cider
  Free Union
• Winchester Ciderworks
  Middletown

The eleventh cidery is Mount Defiance Cidery & Distillery, in Middleburg, Virginia.

If only a Virginia cidery were to produce an honest-to-goodness cask scrumpy. Now, that would be worth celebrating.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Pouring Blue Bee Cider

There are only a handful of American cideries found literally within a city's boundaries. Blue Bee Cider is one of those few. Located in Richmond, Virginia, it first opened in July 2013, and is the first —and still today only — 'urban' cidery in the state.

I visited Blue Bee nearly a year after it opened, at its small warehouse and tasting room, in Richmond's Old Manchester district, a partly gritty, partly revitalizing neighborhood, found across the James River from the city's downtown.

Our guide/host/pourer told me that Blue Bee grows most of its apples —winesap and others— in orchards leased in Nelson County, and on a few trees planted in an 'urban' orchard in Richmond itself. The apples are pressed —and the juice, fermented and bottled— on location at the cidery. Production is small but increasing: 2,500 cases of cider in 2013.

Above, she's poured Charred Ordinary. The winery —and that's what a cidery is. Apples are fruit, just as grapes are— describes this cider this way:

Hay, mushrooms, and bruised apple in the aroma. Dry and sharp with grapefruit and salt in the finish. Semi-sparkling. 0.5% residual sugar (RS), 8.4% alcohol-by-volume (abv)

Me: A slightly barnyardy and funky aroma, well-focused flavors of apple-skin and grapefruit (think New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but with great restraint), and a bracingly tart finish.

19 April 2014.

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Drinking, again. Jupiter's Legacy and the search for Virginia scrumpy.

I should entitle this post: Now that I've been to the Dorset scrumpy cask, how am I going to get back? Or ... oh , how I want to like American, made-from-locally-grown apples, cider.

WHEREAS, cider was a colonial beverage enjoyed by not only our forefathers such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and George Washington but the common farmer, lawyer, butcher, and soldier; 

and WHEREAS, orchards were planted by early settlers and colonials to provide apples to ferment for the production of cider; 

and WHEREAS, Virginia is currently the 6th largest apple producing state by acreage in the United States and cider is a value-added product of apples, supporting an existing industry in the state; 

and WHEREAS, agriculture in the Commonwealth is the state’s largest industry, with an economic impact of $55 billion annually; 

and WHEREAS, agritourism is a growing component of Virginia’s tourism industry; 

and WHEREAS, the cider industry in Virginia has experienced significant growth, with six cideries started since 2006 and three prospective cideries currently being planned; 

and WHEREAS, the sales of cider nationwide have increased over 20% in the last year; 

and WHEREAS, the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate passed House Joint Resolution 105 in 2012 to designate the full week before Thanksgiving as Virginia Cider Week in Virginia; 

and NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert F. McDonnell, do hereby [declare] November 11-17,2012 as VIRGINIA CIDER WEEK in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

Events for Virginia Cider Week were organized by Diane Flynt, proprietor of Foggy Ridge Cider. Her cidery is in southwest Virginia, but the celebration (extended to include nine days: 10-18 November) was state-wide: special tastings at shops and restaurants, as well as at cideries, of which there are eight in Virginia, or at least eight which participated in the event.

• Albemarle Ciderworks (North Garden)
• Blue Bee Cider (Richmond)
• Bold Rock Cider (Nellysford)
• Castle Hill Cider (Keswick) 
• Foggy Ridge Cider (Dugspur)
• Old Hill Cider (Timberville)
• Potter’s Craft Cider (Union)
• Winchester Ciderworks (Middletown)

To join in the fun, I went to a northern Virginia pub and ordered a pint of draft Bold Rock Cider (from Nelson County, Virginia, itself, home to several breweries). It was okay. Interesting. Sweet-tart. But I just didn't get complexity. As I drank it, I was looking with increasing envy at the draft Bells Best Brown that the gentleman next to me was drinking. That could have been just me. He was eyeing the Bold Rock, and, in fact, ordered that next.

On rare occasions in the past, I've been fortunate enough to drink U.K. cask scrumpy here in the States: cloudy, un-carbonated, yeasty cider imported from the West Country area. Strong in alcohol (often in excess of 6.5%), dark orange or russet in color, and rich, chewy, tart, phenolic, and full-bodied. You don't know what cider can be (at least, I didn't) until you try this. Since it's present-use and perishable, it's usually not bottled. That's why we rarely get it here. Calling such a complex beverage scrumpy? Leave it to the British!

This week, there wasn't any scrumpy to be found. This was Virginia Cider Week, after all. So, to finish off the week, I opened a bottle of Jupiter's Legacy, from Albemarle CiderWorks. The back story, on the back label:

Two boys were born at Shadwell in 1743. Thomas Jefferson and Jupiter Evans, a slave and Jefferson's most trusted servant for years. When Jupiter died in 1800, Jefferson wrote "... he leaves a void in my domestic arrangements which cannot be filled." Among Jupiter's duties was the exacting task of bottling Monticello's cider. "Malt liquors and cyder are my table drink," Jefferson noted.

According to an article in Serious Eats:

The unifying thread of Virginia cider lies in [these] two native apples. The Virginia Winesap apple is crucial for adding body, complexity, and tannins to Virginia ciders while the Albemarle Pippin is the key to the structure, tartness, and distinct green apple skin flavor found in most Virginia ciders. Both apples also make for good eats on their own and, combined, a damn fine apple pie.

The author of the piece, Chris Lehaut, goes on to describe Jupiter's Legacy as pressed principally from Winesap and Albemarle Pippin apples but mixed with

a variety of over 30 heirloom apple varietals. The end product is layered with flavors of citrus peel, apple skin, and a bit of barnyard. It is a distinctly American cider and, perhaps, the quintessential Virginia cider.

Well, that seemed like a challenge that I had to accept.

Jupiter's Legacy is no scrumpy, but, boy, oh boy, is it a tasty cider. My notes. Strong: alcohol-by-volume of 9.3%. Light to medium bodied. Pale straw in color with nice carbonation, but scant champagne-like mousse, even when poured aggressively into a flute. Aromas of green apples, wet clay, and background suggestions of oranges and ripe bananas. The tastes follow through identical to the aromas, but with a hint of circus peanut candies: banana-flavored marshmallows.

Be forewarned: this is a very dry cider. I doubt that there is any residual sugar left in it after fermentation. Even tannic Cabernet Sauvingon red wines have some R.S., as un-fermented sugars are referred to in the wine-making trade. What's not in the finish of Jupiter's Legacy is a puckering, chewing-on-an-aspirin tannic bite. In fact, for such a dry cider, it's surprisingly smooth at and after the last sip.

This would be a wonderful food wine. That's right, wine, which is, after all, fermented fruit juice. Jupiter's Legacy at the Thanksgiving table anyone?

Is Virginia cider available in cask-conditioned form? Is there Virginia scrumpy? Will I become an acolyte of American apple cider? I don't know yet. I'll keep tasting.

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Just to be clear, the ciders I'm talking about here has very little to do with many imported English ciders (not all) and many American ciders (not all). Those are flavored alcoholic beverages. Check the ingredients list on the label.

Drinking , Again is a series of occasional reviews of beer (and wine and spirits ... and cider). No scores; only descriptions.

Graphic created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Pic(k) of the Week: Still Life with Cider & Cheese

Real cheese and real cider:

the product of fermenting fresh apple juice. The amount of apple juice which went into the final product must be between 85 and 100% and should be clearly stated on the container it is sold in or dispensed from. No artificial sweeteners, flavourings or colourings are permitted. ( For real perry, substitute pear juice.)

The cider:
Gwatkin Yarlington Mill Cider, pulled from a cask at Churchkey in Washington, D.C., 18 March 2010.

It was tart, with a tannic bite like an apple skin, and chewy, with background hints of barnyard funk and smoky phenolics. I remember the 2009 imported cask of this to have had a bit more of a cinnamon character (possibly from the choice of wood?) and to be of a darker reddish color. Gwatkin is the cidery, the 2009 Cider Maker of the Year in the UK. Yarlington Mill is the specific apple varietal. 7.5% alcohol by volume.

The cheeses (l-r):
Meadow Creek Grayson, from Virginia (raw cow's milk, washed rind, aka 'stinky.'); Tête de Moine, from Switzerland (raw cow's milk as well but a milder washed-rind than the Grayson); Monte Enebro, from Spain (pasteurized cow's milk; slightly tangy. Beautiful 'bloom' presentation. Its slight tang paired well with the cider).

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, usually posted on a Saturday, and often of a 'good fermentable' as subject.

Cider festival in Baltimore, Md.

Max's TapHouse in Baltimore, Maryland has a one-day Cider Festival on tap (and in bottle), Tuesday 28 July, at 6pm. Here's the line-up:

ON DRAFT:
E Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut 2006
E. Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut 2007

IN BOTTLES:

FRANCE
Domaine Christian Drouin Poire
Dupont Cidre Bouche 1998
Dupont Cidre Bouche 2002
Dupont Cidre Bouche 2003
Dupont Cidre Bouche 2004
Dupont Cidre Bouche 2005
Dupont Cidre Bouche 2006
Dupont Cidre Cuvee Colette 2006
Dupont Cidre Cuvee Colette 2007
Dupont Cidre De Givre 2006
Dupont Cidre De Givre 2007
Dupont Cidre Reserve 2008
Dupont Pommeau 1996
Dupont Pommeau 1998

SPAIN
Sarasola Saqardosa

ENGLAND
Aspall Dry Cider
Aspall Medium Cider
Aspall Organic Cider
Henneys Dry Cider
Henneys Sweet Cider
Henneys Vintage 2007 Cider
Olivers Blackeney Red
Olivers Herefordshire Dry
Olivers Bottle Conditioned

US
ÆppelTreow Winery Appely Brut (Wisconsin)
ÆppelTreow Winery Pommeaux (Wisconsin)
Farnum Hill Extra Dry (New Hampshire)
Farnum Hill Semi Dry (New Hampshire)
Farnum Hill Summer Cider (New Hampshire)
JK Scrumpys (Michigan)
Original Sin (New York)
West County Dry Baldwin (Wisconsin)
West County Kingston Black (Wisconsin)
West County Redfield (Wisconsin)

Real cask cider, pulled from a cask, at Rustico restaurant in Alexandria, Va. 2009.03.27. Gwatkin Yarlington single varietal cider from the UK. First time in USA since 2003.


In a manner reminiscent of good-wine drinkers shying from beer because they think all beer to be light lager, there are some good-beer drinkers who pass on real cider. They think of all cider as flavored alcohol cocktails.

But real cider is not that. It is indeed wine, but carbonated: simultaneously tart, tannic, phenolic, and juicy.

Cask cider from the UK --which will not be poured at this fest-- is often referred to as Real Cider, and is relatively strong at 7-8% alcohol by volume. [When I first posted, I unintentionally omitted the modifier "cask" before "cider". As listed above, bottled English cider will indeed be served at the fest. Also, see the comment from Alexander D Mitchell IV below. Some of the bottled English cider exported to the US may be tasty --excluding the flavored stuff-- but it is not nearly as remarkable as the casked variety.]

French cider, called cidre, is principally produced in Normandy. It's lower in alcohol than English cider, but it packs a tannic/phenolic punch, with a character like chewing on an apple skin.

There is a nascent cider revival in the US, but government regulations on taxes and procedures make a robust industry problematic.

• More on cider and cidre here.
• Caveat: I work for a beer/wine wholesaler in northern Virginia, one of whose products is Aspall Cider.

How an apple made me an Anorak.

It's been 6 years —that is, since October 2003— that real English cider has been available in cask in the US.

We are are talking Real Cider, folks, not carbonated flavored alcohol with apple juice added, as can be the case with many commercial so-called ciders. Real Cider, instead, is wine, fermented 100% from apples. From the Real Cider website, Real Cider is:

• Cider is made by fermenting the juice of apples.
  
• 100% fermented apple juice, with nothing added and nothing taken away.
  
• Any bottled or draught cider that contains live yeast.
  
• Cider that has not been pasteurised, carbonated, or concentrated.
  
• Locally sourced apples, pressed and fermented using traditonal cider production methods.
  
• Cider varies in alcohol content from less than 3% ABV in French cidre, up to 8.5% ABV in traditional English ciders.
  
• All real cider is suitable for a vegan and wheat free diet.
  
• Most cider is produced from a ‘blend’ of different apples; you can also get ‘single’ variety ciders.

Here's what the organization has to say about mass-produced apple-flavored beverages:

Instead of being made from all juice as a true cider would be, they’re made with a little bit of apple juice and a bunch of sugar-water. Mass produced cider sold in the UK is mostly made from imported apple concentrate,artificial colourings, sweeteners, and preservatives are added to make up for the apple character that isn’t there. The liquid is then filtered, pasteurised to kill the yeast, and kept and served under carbon dioxide pressure.

I visited Rustico Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, to try Gwatkin Yarlington cider. As it turns out, the only two outlets in the mid-Atlantic region to have this are Rustico and Max's TapHouse in Baltimore, Md. Not much was exported; so visit soon. (Rustico's is on cask now; Max's not yet, but soon.)

Yarlington is the apple varietal; Gwatkin is the winery, err, cidery. After apple harvest and pressing, the cider is fermented with the yeasts resident on the skins and is aged in oak barrels that had previously been used by Scotch whisky distillers for their liquid.

In appearance, the cider is cloudy and red/orange. Think of an aroma like Red Delicious apples, but with the flavor showing the full promise of that aroma. Toss in phenolic overtones —band-aids, in a good way. Then a burst of barnyard earthiness, oak, and what could best be described as liquid apple skins. The finish is a puckering combination of acidity and tannins, like chewing on an apple stem. It packs a sneaky kick: 7.5% alcohol-by-volume (abv).

The cider is only available in cask, not in bottles. In this case, the cask is merely a vessel: the cider is not cask-conditioned. It is racked still —that is non-carbonated— from an oaken whisky barrel into a stainless steel cask. (Serving it in a keg would add artificial carbonation, detracting from the flavor.)

By the way, an anorak is a hooded windbreaker popular in the UK. The word is also used as a reference to bird watchers, trainspotters, and beer tickers, many of whom wear anoraks. In another word: a geek. Today, I am indeed a Cider Anorak, blogging this post.

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• More information is available at the importer's (B. United) website.
  
• Mor information on real Cider at the Real Cider website, based in the UK.
  
• Here's how a brewpub in Savannah, Georgia makes its cider (and addresses the topic of the taxation of cider vs. beer.)
  

Cider in Savannah

From John Pinkerton, I received a lengthy response to my blog post on real cider for Thanksgiving.

John is not only a real cider aficionado; he is a professional ciderist.

John Pinkerton of Moon River Brewing (r) with
2008 Hickory Hops Festival organizer Bobby Bush (l)
and Jamie Bartholomaus of Foot Hills Brewing (c).
John is the brewmaster and co-owner of Moon River Brewing Company in Savannah, Georgia. He produces real cider there for sale at his brewpub.

Here are his comments (gently redacted):

In Georgia, Hard Cider is treated like beer up to 6% alcohol. I would assume that if a given cider had the requisite amount of malt sugar and hops (negligible) it could be brewed up to 14% as a "malt beverage".

For Moon River's Road Trip Hard Cider, we aim to keep it at or below 6% abv for the sake of keeping it in the 'session' range, although that can be a challenge depending on the variety of apples used.

At Moon River we've always leaned heavily towards the late season, tart varieties, because I believe the acidity makes for a more dynamic flavor profile.

From Mercier Orchards in north Georgia, we use a blend of Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Gold Rush. In previous years we've supplemented the mix with sweeter varieties to bump up the sugar, but with the addition of Gold Rush, this is unnecessary. Gold Rush had the acidity of a Granny, the tannin of some of the old heirloom varietals and the sweetness of a Splendor. We've seen the Brix of Gold Rush as high as 19... By itself could get you to almost 10% with no additional sugar!

We drive up to North Georgia each year sometime in late October to early November in a Ryder truck loaded up with ten, 55 gallon food-grade plastic drums.

We usually stay in Atlanta on a Saturday night to dine and drink in some of the finer Beer/ Culinary haunts of the Southeast. This year Beeramerica.tv was on board to film a nice segment at the Sandy Springs location of Five Seasons Restaurant and Brewery. The food, beer and company were spectacular to say the least. We'll post the segment sometime around New Year, and we'll also be posting a separate segment which chronicles the whole Road Trip Hard Cider

The next morning, we drag ourselves the rest of the way up to Blue Ridge, Georgia, where the Merciers are cheerfully waiting to press our 550 gallons of fresh, juicy goodness, while we wait.

After the pressing, which is a Willy Wonka spectacle to behold, we load up for the long trip back to Savannah. The weather in North Georgia is usually quite chilly that time of year; our juice stays quite cold.

In fact, even after we pump the cider from the drums into the fermenter, it often takes several days for the temperature to come up enough to get our house strain of English-style ale yeast up and running. We use the same strain of yeast that ferments our IPA, Porter and many others, though we always manage the schedule so the yeast pitched into the cider can be dumped after fermentation.

There is, of course, plenty of wild yeast and bacteria that come from the orchards, playing a role in the over all character of the finished cider. Despite this, we have very little concern for the long term stability of the cider, for a number of reasons. Our hard cider is only served in house, so it remains cold through out its life span and I believe the alcohol combined with the fairly high acidity help it keep for a long time.

Just the same, I've actually tasted cider that had been sitting in kegs in an out door boneyard in Savannah, Georgia for several years that tasted remarkably unspoiled, albeit a bit oxidized.

As for cross- contamination w/in the brewery, we treat our tanks and lines to the same aggressive cleaning regime that we use for any of our Barrel-aged, brettanomyces, and bacteria beers. We have a whole set of clamp gaskets that we only use for these type of fermentations and since we only do "wild stuff" once or twice a year, we also take the opportunity to outfit the tank with all new gaskets, just to be safe.

We have not had any issues with line taint. We have a pretty solid program for cleaning our lines. Also, the main run of our draft lines is barrier tubing with some polyvinyl on the ends for restriction, which get changed out every few years. As for flavor taint... the only thing that's ever given me a real problem was [a commercial] cheap apple based cider with a really tenacious and, IMO, seriously overdosed pear extract. That stuff is like rootbeer!

We filter loosely through a pad filter, though truth be told, it is usually a huge pain in the arse. I assume pectins are the culprit. We have for the last few years utilized a general pectinase to help, although the normal dose last year didn't do a whole lot for us.

We force carbonate.

While I haven't done a yeast-on-skins fermentation with our cider, I'd like to play with that some day, even if just a portion of the whole batch. We currently have plans to barrel age a portion of the batch that is working now. We have a Mondavi Red Wine Bbl full of our Dixie Cristal - Belgian-style Trippel, that is about ready to be racked... my plan is to refill it with our Cider and see what happens. The Trippelbrett-y witch hazel and juicy fruit characters evolving, so I have high hopes for the cider.

I'm not aware of any other brewpubs doing cider, but I'm sure some one out there is probably doing something similar.

We only do this once a year [in apple season], so I don't consider myself an expert, but my experience leads me to believe that cider is pretty darn simple... as it should be.

With beer, there is so much nuance with the process itself to create good beer. With the cider, I don't feel like I can take much credit... it's pretty much nature's goodness.

When I was last in Savannah on business, I had stopped in at Moon River. But I didn't try the cider. So, a road trip might be called for.

Happy Apple Thanksgiving

Turkey, who needs a turkey?

For me, the Thanksgiving meal is the culminating celebration of a mid-Atlantic bounty of vegetables and fruit. Beginning with the shoots of spring, this feast continues through summer (real tomatoes!), and finishes now with all those wonderful apples, and gourds and root vegetables.

Of course, most Americans will be enjoying turkey tomorrow. But it's those side dishes that seem to foment bibulous consternation: What wine to serve that can stand up to those flavorful foods yet not overpower the bird.

And, as if to add to the annual angst, a legion of epicures has appeared in the last decade or so, advocating not wine but beer at the table. Count me as one of that horde.

Even though wines such as cru Beaujolais (not insipid Beaujolais Nouveau) or Gruner Veltliner or Champagne (or slightly fruitier Prosecco) can be fine wine accompaniments, it is beers —with their flavors derived from roasting, toasting, sprouting, and cooking— that are natural complements to the meal.

As beer writer Lew Bryson put it:

with Thanksgiving you've got a variety of traditional foods on the table, usually simple, and generally not sourced from wine-country cuisine.

In a 2003 piece I wrote, entitled —surprise— Turkey and Beer, my recommendations were saison and Flemish sour reds. I'll stand with those tomorrow.

But beer writer Stephen Beaumont suggests:

Ordinarily, I enjoy Champagne with turkey. On the beer front, I'd probably side with that wine's close cousin and select a firm, dry gueuze.

I'm a dedicated fan of gueuze and unsweetend lambics. But the intense sourness of gueuze, and its lactic and gamey aromas (though appropriate to the meal), may be too much for some diners.

So I'll offer one more recommendation.

Writing in the winter issue of BEER, the house magazine of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), Dylan Jones —editor of GQ Magazine (!)— said this:

just a few months ago, I had one of my very rare epiphanies, sitting in the River Café in Glasbury-on-Wye. Studying the drinks menu and looking for something that would successfully accompany a gargantuan portion of the (very good) food they serve there, I spied something called Westons Vintage Special, an 8.2 per cent proof cider. <...> My experience with with Westons has made me completely change my attitude towards the drink. Not only have I recently sought out two local ciders in France (one in Brittany and one near Banyuls), but I have started paying more attention to real British organic ciders. <...> Simply put, I've been converted.

Being from the British Isles, Mr. Jones did not link real cider to Thanksgiving. I will.

Real cider is not sweet flavored alcoholic apple juice. Very different in production and flavor, it bursts with phenolic complexity, tannic structure, sharp effervescence, and refreshing acidity.

And although real cider lacks the cooking-flavor hooks of beer, its inherent character and seasonality makes it an appropriate mate for the entire Thanksgiving meal.



The Washington Post recently ran a piece on cider in the Spirits column: It's Time Cider Got Some Good Press.

In the early years of America, most apples ended up in the cider barrel. Cider was the beverage of choice in those days, mainly because apples were cheaper and easier to come by than the grains and grapes with which Europeans made their liquor [and beer and wine]. By the 17th century, cider often was being substituted for water, which was considered to be unsafe.

Cider ruled until the end of the 19th century, when temperance-movement zealots began chopping down entire apple orchards, "unable to conceive of any other use for the fruit except spirits," according to "Laird's Applejack Cookbook." That resulted in one of the saddest and least-acknowledged culinary legacies of the temperance movement and Prohibition: the loss of acres and acres of American cider apple varieties.

As to real cider suggestions, stay away from what you see on supermarket shelves and on tap at many bars. Those ciders are merely sweet, flavored, artificially carbonated apple juice with alcohol added. Rather, the Post's Jason Wilson recommends

the clean, refreshing notes of the British cider Aspall; the dry, champagne-like elegance of french products such as Eric Bordelet Sydre Argelette; the crisp, sappy Farnum Hill's Extra dry, which hits some of the same notes as, say, a New Zealand sauvignon blanc. <...> A cider such as Etienne Dupont, my other favorite, has tiny, sparkling bubbles, a yeasty and ripe fruit aroma, an intense yet round apple flavor, and a lightness that makes it very drinkable.

Real ciders —or 'cidre' as the Brittany French refer to them— are often packaged in 500-ml or 750-ml bottles. They can run, price-wise, the same as cheap wine, but as Wilson notes, at 6% to 9% alcohol, they make for tasty replacements over mediocre white wine.

In the U.K., real cider is usually served fresh from casks like real ale. More here.

Whatever your food choice, and whatever your libation choice, enjoy a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Caveat: I work for a beer and wine wholesaler in northern Virginia —Select Wines— which sells Aspall Cider.

Maryland malt tax on hold, maybe

Rick Lyke—at his otherwise informative blog—recently got it partly wrong when he noted that a bill had passed the Maryland Senate that would allow grocery and convenience stores to sell hard cider and malternatives (sweet soda-pop-like alcohol products such as Mike's Hard Lemonade or Smirnoff Ice).

No grocery stores or convenience stores in Maryland may sell liquor; and only one store per any particular grocery chain in the state may sell beer and wine.

The proposed law is a tax thing. It would maintain the rate on malternatives at the same level as on beer, rather than increasing it to that of distilled spirits.

Most malternatives begin as beers of 4-6% alcohol by volume, then are filtered to the nth degree and dosed with artificial flavorings. Many ciders, often flavored as well, fall into the same alcohol range.

Here's what occurred, as reported in the Baltimore Sun today:

A number of lawmakers and county public health directors also opposed the measure [taxing malternatives at the same rate as beer], saying the products are marketed to teens and should not be afforded the wide distribution or lower taxes of beer. Supporters noted that most other states allowed this classification and that the products had roughly the same percentage of alcohol as beer.

The bill passed in the Senate, 36-10, and is scheduled to be heard Tuesday by a House committee.

If the tax on malternatives were to be increased, wouldn't then beer become relatively more affordable? The real issue is, of course, the sale of any alcohol to minors. Enforcement, penalties, and education are the solutions. (For this argument, I'll leave aside any discussion of the value—or not—of small amounts of beer or wine at the family table.)

And while I'm at it, isn't someone, who misrepresents his or her age when attempting to purchase alcohol, committing fraud? Shouldn't penalties be divided between the seller and the buyer?

real cider, real close

Alexander D. Mitchell, a columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News provided with more information on the fine hard cider I sampled at the Real Ale Festival in Baltimore on Saturday:
Reid's Hard Cider.

The cider is a project-in-development by a major orchard near Orrtanna, Pa. that now has a winery license. Reid's Orchard is at the Saturday farmer's market at Waverly and the Sunday market under the JFX. Dave Reid looks like your older farmer. He has the pick of apples (grows about 100 heirloom varietals) and has cooperage. He's also doing fruit wines--blueberry, strawberry, etc.--and might even try mead.

Reid's Hard Cider wasn't at the flavor level of the wonderful phenolic biting-into-an-apple-skin cidres of Normandy or the lush, wildly complex hard ciders of Dorset in the UK, but it was tasty, and it was a surprise to find. Poured from an un-hip plastic bucket, this was definitely not the run-of-the-mill alcoholic soda pop that passes for cider in the US (and some major UK imports as well).

Cider: We have a problem!

"We've got a problem."

It was several years ago and I had coordinated a beer dinner at a downtown D.C. French-fare restaurant. Then, only a few days beforehand, the manager was calling me to complain about one of the beers. Well, it wasn't actually a beer, but a cidre - a vintage-dated cider of elegant finesse, produced in France. The remaining beers were from French-speaking Wallonia, the southern division of Belgium.

The manager explained the problem: The restaurant's owner hailed from Paris. The cidre was from Normandy. That was an untenable situation, and the cidre would not be allowed in the front door.

Even after the passage of more than a thousand years, the Viking invasion of northern France still rankled.

Fast forward to this year.

Some of the younger warehouse/packaging staff were relaxing after a long day, out back on the loading dock of Clipper City Brewing Company. I overheard one to say, "I don't like beer as much as cider." That piqued my interest - after all he was working at a brewery!

But more so, because I had once been involved in the cider business, at least tangentially. For a brief time in 2003, a Maryland wholesaler, for whom I worked, had been distributing fresh cider imported from the U.K.

The cider may have been packaged in grungy brown plastic polypins, but the liquid inside was different - almost in kind rather than simply degree - from what we call cider in the US. It was unfiltered, 8% alcohol, complexly flavored, and even chewey.

Real cider is the product of fermenting fresh apple juice. The amount of apple juice which went into the final product must be between 85 and 100% and should be clearly stated on the container it is sold in or dispensed from. No artificial sweeteners, flavourings or colourings are permitted. ( For real perry, substitute pear juice.)

And

Ah, well you see, it's a bit like this: It's a lot easier to define what it isn't rather than what it is.

Industrialised cider is ... made out of a limited amount of apple concentrate to which corn syrup or other cheap ingredients are added, to provide a high alcohol long drink, marketed as an alternative to "lager" and with a nearly neutral taste and lots of fizz. Served out of pressurized kegs in pubs or large plastic bottles in supermarkets and off-licenses, it is clearly aimed at the youth and "cheap alcohol" markets.

But those of us brought up in the west country know this isn't the real thing at all. Old rural traditions in Devon, Herefordshire, Dorset and Somerset made farm cider the local tipple, rather than beer. In fact, cider production owes more to wine making than it does to brewing, and the apple orchards tended to be planted in Northern Europe where vine growing is problematic.

From UK Cider

French cidre can occasionally be found here in the US. I was fortunate enough to sample some on tap last week at Aromas Wine Bar in Athens, GA. Delicious, tart, like drinking a liquid apple-skin.

But you'll have to visit the UK for its real cider, because that is no longer exported to the US.

Those boys on the Clipper City dock were, of course, discussing US (and even some Brit imports) fizzy alco-pop. Check the label: it's flavoring and juice.

But there is something creative to be done with such cider. Check out this video of local bartender Bill Arthur. He tends to his taps and his customers at one of my favorite bars in the area: Galaxy Hut. Low-key, friendly, unpretentious, and very supportive to local music acts.

Wine and Beer ... together. Oh my!

Open since mid-December of 2003, Grand Cru is a wine - and beer - bar in an upscale food market near to Baltimore's historic Senator theater.

Grand Cru pours a fascinating and changing daily lineup of wines - 30 by the glass - and a small but healthy selection of good beer, bottled and draft. There are occasional evening wine and occasional beer tastings, often with the producers themselves.

Recent draft selections were Bitburger, Red Tail Ale, Dogfish Head Brown, Lancaster Milk Stout, Degroen's Rauchbock, and Chimay ... and an artisinal British scrumpy - farmhouse strong cider - Yarlington Mill Cider (7% abv) from a polypin.

Grand Cru doubles as a take-home retail wine, beer, and liquor store with a well-thought-out selection including the beer.

For light fare, the shop prepares small platters of artisinal cheeses, smoked foods, and the like. One can also bring in food from the market's fish monger, sushi counter, delis, Italian market, baker, and gourmet food shops.

The bar seats 15 with much additional seating at small high-top tables placed throughout the store and al fresco.

On one visit, manager Otto served me a small wedge of Oka - a Canadian 'Trappist' style cheese - with a glass of Yarlington Mill scrumpy. Delightful!

On another, I had DeGroen's Rauchbock [2005 update on brewery] paired with some smoked tofu from Neopol in the market. Firm malt, freshly smoked wood bouquet. Scantest of a veil. Good head retention. Nice sweet malt backbone and an insistent yet restrained Canadian bacon flavor. What a wonderful afternoon repast.

Owner Nelson Carey recommended pairing this with smoked mussels or a hangar steak panino from next door upscale Italian market Ceriello.

And as to wines: any bar that pours French Roses (several), Italian Prosecco, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, and Beaujolais Moulin-a-Vent, all by the glass - affordably - is a special place for me.

Ron Fischer and his apples

October 7, 2003. It was a small yet attentive crowd that gathered at Max's on Broadway in Baltimore, Tuesday evening for the regular weekly "Beer Social".

This evening, it wasn't beer that brought them, but Ron Fischer and his apples.

Affectionately know as "Cellarmaster Ron", Fischer is the cask ale buyer for import house B. United, International. He is recognized nationally as an authority on cask-conditioned ales.

Several times a year, Fischer will travel to the UK to contract with breweries for their cask ales, usually winners at the Great British Beer Festival. He arranges for the complex, time-critical, and temperature sensitive transportation of the casks here to the US.

Once the casks arrive, Fischer brings them into condition: allowing for completion of the secondary fermentation, assuring for proper carbonation levels, and clarifying the ale by adding finings to gently remove yeast from suspension.

Fischer informed the attendees that, this year, in addition to casks of real ale, B. United would be importing casks of English "real cider" into the United States. All would be from Gwatkin Cider, found just south of Hereford, close to the Welsh border. Fischer said that the shipment had been slightly delayed but that he expected it stateside in early November.

Fischer told the attendees that "real cider" is nothing like the sweetened, filtered, pasteurized alco-pop often sold as cider. In fact, it's just the opposite: naturally fermented, unfiltered, relatively low in sulfites, unsweetened, and unpasteurized. In its cask form, it is known as "scrumpy" and its sister, fermented pear, as "perry".

Fermentation is conducted solely by yeasts found naturally on the apple skins, Fischer said, adding that these wild yeasts are very distinctive to each cider-making area, defining the character of the ciders produced there. Terroir is also important for the quality and characteristics of the fruit, he said. Some of the areas known for their high quality cider and perry are Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset, and Devon.

Fischer noted that, traditionally, the cider is aged in either rum or whiskey casks, imparting further complexity, Its high final alcohol levels of 7- 8%, its low residual sugar, and its wine-like acidity all act as natural preservatives for long shelf life after tapping.

Fischer then described the three varieties that
B. United will import this year.

1) Yarlington Mill single varietal cider is from the bittersweet apple of the same name: a honeyed palate of dark fruit and spirit with pleasant tannins at the finish. Some phenols add structure to the fruitiness. This received a gold at the 2002 CAMRA National Cider and Perry Championships.

2) A blend of several varietals for a slightly higher residual sugar content, maybe a bit closer to the 'American' palate, yet still complex and dry.

3) Blakeny Red, a single varietal perry from the pear of that name. Fischer notes that this is fragrant and perfumey, medium sweet, with slight acids and tannins on the finish. Blakeney Red received first in the perry class.

Apologizing that there was no scrumpy or perry to taste that evening. Fischer instead poured Normandy cider, or "cidre", from Etienne Dupont, the French house which is known for its apple brandy - Calvados.

The attendees didn't seem to mind, in fact enjoying the complex and delicious 2002 vintage of French hard cider - unfiltered, low in sulfites, unpasteurized - so different from the majority of cider sold in the United States. And, as contrast, Fischer poured small samples of Pommeau, a bottled blend of Dupont's Calvados and mout (unfermented cider).

Host Casey Hard of Max's was also pouring draft St. Georgenbrau, a Bamberg, Germany keller bier, awarded 4 stars by Michael Jackson and imported into the US by B. United.