CiderCon Part 2 including Heritage Cider Tasting with Foggy Ridge, Eve's Cidery, Castle Hill, and Dragon's Head Cider

Before I get into the rest of my CiderCon highlights, I do want to share a few facts I've learned about this year's event. Baltimore's convention hosted 1100 people from 12 countries and 41 states. Wow! That's fantastic attendance, and the number one thing that shocks people when they ask me about CiderCon. No one expects it to be this populated. I think folks must under-estimate the devotion cider inspires!

Also, if you haven't read Part 1: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-con-2018-pt-1-eden-specialty.html

My Friday started with an amazing panel, “Heritage Cider: Keys to Success in this Next Growth Category.” Diane Flint of Foggy Ridge Cider (https://foggyridgecider.com/) led this talk with verve, humor, and a compelling argument. Flint used pictures of her home state of Virginia to start in on the connection of land to cider, but soon used what at first seemed like a little local color with pictures of church signs to make her largest point. One sign said “Repent,” and Flint took us on a little etymological journey about the word. The takeaway was that to repent means to think again.

Flint used this theme to discuss several facets of heritage cider: orchards, format, style, and sales. What I appreciate is that she didn't just bring her own perspective as a talented cidermaker and business owner, but also brought on folks affiliated with on and off premise sales as well as Autumn Stoscheck of Eve's Cidery. Stoscheck has been growing her We also tasted a few heritage ciders

Eve's Cidery: Autumn's Gold

https://www.evescidery.com/

Three significant cider apples adding to this blend include Ellis, Dabinette, and Yarlington Mill. This cider was generous with smoky and overripe apple aromatics. Autumn's gold is a champagne style cider that has undergone two fermentations, spent nine months on the lees, and was finished with hand disgorgement. Like many Finger Lakes Ciders, much of the mouth feel comes from the double impression of high acids and medium to high tannins. The lingering finish on this cider totally wows me.

Castle Hill's Levity

https://www.castlehillcider.com/

The heritage fruit in the Levity includes Yarlington Mill, Golden Hornet, Dabinette and Albemarle Pippin. This cider spents time underground fermenting in amphora. Whatever they did, the resulting cider had more sparkling champagne-esque bubbles than anything in the champagne-style cider tasting the day before. Mesmerizing! I found it floral balanced with grassy. My primary experience was the duelling excitement of really strong bubbles with lippy, grippy tannins. There are almost no ciders in the world that do this tense and exciting combination like the Levity does.

Dragon's Head Cider Traditional Cider

http://www.dragonsheadcider.com/

This is an estate bittersweet cider. I enjoyed how it is a little yeasty and wild in its aromas. The most like an English cider in style, I found the Traditional astringent, bitter, and leathery. It is full of big big flavors and substantial body. It did have some excellent bubble in the mouthfeel. It's earthy, funky, with medium high acidity and wowza levels of tannins. This cider was a lot less fruity than the others in the tasting.

Hearing from not only cider producers but also from folks selling heritage cider both on and off premise made this panel well-rounded and persuasive. It had to be a highlight of the conference for certain!

Friday afternoon centered around the events planning and management panel: “Let's Get this Cider Party Started” with Jenn Smith, Eric Foster and Mattie Beason. In addition to having that adorable name and greeting us with cans of wonderful cider, this panel covered a hot topic of the conference.

This was a fantastic panel that packed the room with folks passionately eager to learn how to run events with their cideries. It said to me that if there's one area I think next year's Cider Con could meaningfully expand upon its this! One panel gave the audience a lot of help, but we were hungry for even more. Our speakers brough a pleasing variety of event experience to the stage including events large and small, for individual cideries, groups, and focuses that range, including, education, food and drink pairings, music, fund raising, and just enlivening slow week nights at a taproom.

Panelists gave answers to moderator questions that started out with the basics but included lots of real life stories and even got into some of the tricky stuff. How does one estimate how many people will show up for an even the first, second, or third time it happens. Audience members shared questions and got thoughtful answers that really showed the usefully different perspectives represented. It really makes me want to run some fun cider events up in the Finger Lakes!

Cider Con ended with a “New Zealand Cidermakers Panel” that led directly into the “Grand Tasting and Commencement Toast”. Here our guest cider makers from New Zealand answered questions from Ciderologist Gabe Cook (http://www.theciderologist.com) and from the audience.

 

My favorite of these was Wild all the Way by Peckhams Cider(https://peckhams.co.nz/). This cider is a bit non-traditional in that a third of the juice is from Comice pears. All of the New Zealand ciders showed some real stylistic differences from other cider regions; this was great for me to learn as I went into Cider Con 2018 with virtuall no knowledge of a New Zealand cider culture. I didn't even know what I was missing.

The evening continued with generous sharing and good times. I spent it at a Hawaiian fusion restaurant with cider friends old and new eating coconut milk lobster bisque and vegetable tempura. Delightful!

What's next you might, ask. The Gathering of the Farm Cideries in Albany!

https://www.facebook.com/events/327649811084399

At this sold out event, 17 New York State Cideries will be sampling there wares under one roof! I'll be on the scene with some beverage industry friends to scope and sip and tell you all about it!

Cider Con 2018 Pt 1: Eden Specialty Ciders, Eve's Cidery, Redbyrd Orchard Cider, Snowdrift Cider Co.

CiderCon has to be one of my favorite events in the cider year! I get to catch up with friends from all over the country (and some from even further afield), attend professional workshops and classes, meet new cider folks, and taste ciders I would never ordinarily have access to. Pure pomme bliss.

For reference, and a trip down memory lane, here are a few posts from my previous CiderCons from 2015 through last year.

2017

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/02/cider-con-2017-part-1-industry-growing.html

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/02/cider-con-part-2-panels-workshops-and.html

2016

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/02/cider-con-2016-my-personal-highlights.html

2015

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/03/cidercon-2015-sensory-analysis-training.html

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/03/cidercon-2015-usacm-business-meeting.html

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/03/cider-con-2015-thursday-clicker-session.html

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/04/cidercon-2015-friday-and-wrap-up.html

My CiderCon 2018 started on Wednesday almost immediately after I arrived. I rushed through check in and on to the Media Meet and Greet where members of the media got an introduction to all of the United States Association of Cider Makers'(USACM) board members. Not only that, we got to taste some of their ciders.

I want to introduce two of our hosts in particular here, because they have been so active in USACM in 2017.

Michelle McGrath: Executive Director. This is Michelle's second CiderCon and her first as a drinker, because she spent last year's CiderCon 5 months pregnant! Michelle has been an inexhaustible force for organization, consensus building, and a juggernaut of of achievement in her tenure thus far as our Executive Director, working with the group to achieve legislation changes, put out the USACM Style Guide, funding academic research grants on cider, and working actively with Nielson to get the valuable cider sales data that tells us how the cider market is functioning.

Bruce Nissen: President and Owner of Jester and Judge Cider. Bruce has been part of Cider Con and USACM before they were official events or organizations. This quote from Bruce's letter in our program really does capture the spirit of CiderCon for me, “There are few industries where you have a chance to cross paths with the founders, the legends, and the upstarts in such a relaxed and open conference.” I find that to be absolutely true, as someone who came into this scene as a fan five years ago.

A major tradition at CiderCon that always gets people talking and tasting together is our Cider Share. Cideries apply to have a table and share some of their ciders with members of the media, other cider and beverage industry professionals, and CiderCon attendees.

The best part for me is how broad the CiderShare is. I had ciders that I cannot buy because they aren't sold in New York and don't yet ship. Two highlights for me were ciders from Estonia  made by Jaanihans (http://www.jaanihanso.ee/our-cider/) and from Treehorn out of Atlanta, Georgia (http://www.treehorncider.com/).

Part of what USACM is doing with CiderCon is using this event to anchor cider within the host city, and this year that meant sponsoring the inaugural Cider Week Baltimore!

My Tuesday evening was taking advantage of Cider Week Baltimore by going to the La Cuchara and Black Twig Txotx Cider Tasting at La Cuchara. Black Twig (http://www.blacktwigciderhouse.com/) is a cider focused restaurant and tap house in Durham, North Carolina. They specialize in Spanish style cider's poured from barrels called Txotx. Co-owner Mattie Beason was on hand to share the cider and help us get the hang of those long Sidra pours straight from the barrel.

But the event wasn't just cider. La Cuchara (https://www.lacucharabaltimore.com/) brought an array of pintxos, tray after tray of delectable basque-inspired bites. My favorite had to be the pimientos del piquillo rellenos de atún (roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna), but the egg tortas, Pan con tomate and little chocolate cakes made for some stiff competition.

One of the most awesome parts of this year's Cider Con is the Heritage Cider Track along with tastings.This is a whole schedule of events focused on cider made from heritage and cider specific fruit. Other terms for it include fine cider and orchard cider. Where I live in the Finger Lakes, we make a lot of it, so I feel like this is highlighting a type of cider I know well and love to drink. These workshops address orcharding, cider production, marketing, sales, and the very ethos of what Heritage Cider means.

The first of these that I attended was the Champagne Method Cider panel with Cider Tasting. I was super excited about this one because so many of my favorite ciders are naturally sparkling and this talk and tasting got into the deep dark details of Pet Nat vs Method Charmat vs Method Ancestrale. This is why I come to CiderCon!

Eden Specialty Ciders: Unreleased Brut Nature
https://www.edenciders.com/
This cider has no label yet. It's made with 50% bittersweet cider apples and a second batch of cider. No dosage and no tirage. It spent seven months on the lees (residual yeast in the bottle). I found this cider extremely aromatic! I loved its spicy notes, full body, and long finish. When this gets its official release, I cannot wait to get some.

Eve's Cidery Darling Creek
https://www.evescidery.com/
This is an 80/20 blend, relying strongly on estate fruit, meaning all of the fruit was grown on the orchards belonging to Eve's Cidery as well as fermentation, bottling, and disgorgement. It smells wonderfully of homemade applesauce. The taste is dominated by searing acidity. It has a lot of tannic action. It is sweeter than many of Eve's Cidery releases but its other qualities keep that in pleasing balance

Redbyrd Orchard Cider Celeste Sur Lie 2015
https://redbyrdorchardcider.com/
This is a blend with bittersweet apples, heritage apples, and crabapples. It was aged on the lees for 8-12 months with a batonage treatment to stir the lees once a week during that time. Check out the 10% ABV. This has a bit more of a clean yeasty aroma. It was super gorgeously tart. And its round body is beautifully balanced. 

Snowdrift Cider Cidermaker's Reserve 2014
http://www.snowdriftcider.com/
The sweetest and fullest body of anything we tasted had to be the Cidermaker's Reserve by Snowdrift. The dosage for this cider is cane sugar. It also features an apple spirit to boost the cider's body, which is definitely something hefty and substantial in this cider. I love the floral, berry, and raisin aromas that are so strong in this cider. I don't know how to articulate all the ways in which this one was remarkable and different, but it was and excitingly so.

That's all for Part 1! Stay tuned for the rest of my Cider Con Experience next week with  more sessions, more learning, and more cider!

Cider Review: Number 12 Cider House's Chestnut Semi-Dry

Good morning! This is my last review before CiderCon 2018 in Baltimore. I want to taste a cider I got to know because of CiderCon last year. I ran into one of the owners, and he shared a bottle of their newest cider with me: The Chestnut Semi-Dry.

Number 12 Cider House is based in Buffalo, Minnesota and has been making ciders since 2011. They have a tap room and three year round cider styles.

Read about the company on the website: http://www.number12ciderhouse.com/home.html

Or find them on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/number12ciderhouse/

I've reviewed a few ciders by Number 12 Cider House before.

I first reviewed the Sparkling Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/06/cider-review-number-12-cider-house.html

It made it into my Top 10 Favorite Ciders of 2016 as number 4: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/12/my-10-favorite-ciders-of-2016.html

The Black Currant Dry was one of my cider recommendations for Thanksgiving in 2016:

My suggestions: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/pick-cider-for-thanksgiving-and-my.html

My description of the experience: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/happy-to-pickcider-for-thanksgiving.html

Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on their Chestnut Semi-dry Cider.

The official description reads, “Number 12 Chestnut Semi-Dry combines 5 local apple varieties with toasted French Oak. It features the Chestnut Crabapple, developed and introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1946. Hints of orchard honey and crisp apple come alive against a light sparkle and subtle tannins. This cider is approachable, balanced and delicious!” ABV 7.4%

I love crab apples, and I've really enjoyed everything by Number12 Cider House I've had before, so I am doubly curious about this cider.

Appearance: tea, hazy, many bubbles

The Number 12 Cider House Chestnut Semi-Dry looks like a spicy fruity tea. Mine poured hazy with some sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Aromas: homemade applesauce, barrel,

Oh wow! As soon as I popped open this cider, I knew I was in for a treat. The aromas greeted me enthusiastically, giving me a few of my favorite anticipatory clues. When a cider smells like homemade applesauce smell and barrel, I start to expect some level of tannic presence and some acidity. We'll see if I'm right. 

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

The Chesnut Semi-dry does exactly what it promises in terms of sweetness/dryness. This is a textbook semi-dry cider. There's enough sweetness to open up the taste profile, but most of the flavors come from other qualities within this cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: Overripe apples, peach flesh, pear, acid

The Chestnut Semi-Dry introduces itself with a lovely roll of overripe cider apples. There are tons of other pomme fruit flavors including fleshy pear and peach notes. Though its very fruity and even juicy, the off dry to semi-dry character of the cider keeps things in shape. All of the fruits taste transformed by fermentation rather than exactly like fresh fruit from the orchard. The flavors strike me as mature and well-balanced.

I can definitely taste what the oak spirals bring to the picture and that's warm barnwood notes. There's also lots of crab apple character, bringing some seriously fun acid into the tasting experience. My tasting companion described it as fresh, clean, and crisp. The acid levels are high, perhaps affecting how I perceive the sweetness of the cider.

The mouthfeel is pleasurably middle of the road: neither zippily light nor profoundly weighty. What weight it has comes from the higher than average ABV. That can affect mouthfeel very directly. I don't taste any fermentation flaws; this cider is clean and appealing. I don't get any funk, sourness, or farmy notes. At the same time though, the cleanliness isn't sterility or over-simplicity. The use of both crab apples and wood-aging techniques makes this a cider worth real consideration.

I had mine with a simple winter supper that included asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes followed by two episodes of West World (yes, I know I'm super behind in the world of television). It would also go well with a hard-core aged cheddar and a new album. Whatever you do, don't rush. This is a cider that deserves some time and space to just enjoy. 

Cider Review Descendant Cider Company's Succession and CiderCon!

I've been meaning to review Descendant Cider Company for as long as long as I've known about them. Founded in 2013 under New York's Farm Cidery License, Descendant is New York's first Urban Cidery. I encountered them at my first Gathering of the Farm Cideries in Albany (the next one is February 17: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nine-pin-cider-presents-the-4th-annual-gathering-of-the-farm-cideries-tickets-41710246470).

New York is the perfect place for an urban cidery in that they good access to a wide variety of orchards not far from the city, a wonderful network for fermentation education, hospitality industry knowledge, and a significant cider audience. Descendant has been slowly increasing their offerings and experimenting with different styles. The Succession is their first and flagship cider.

Find out all about the company on the website: http://www.descendantcider.com

Or connect with them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/descendantcider/

Here's the official Description: "Succession Sparkling Semi-Dry 5.5% ABV. Our first commercial cider is "Succession". It's a crisp, off dry cider designed with session-ability in mind. It's a blend of 6 apple varieties fermented to dryness and then sweetened with a blend of fresh pressed apple juice to balance the acidity. This cider is a GLINTCAP silver medalist."

This isn't a very high ABV, and I don't see much about which apple varieties make up that blend of 6.

Appearance: brilliant, bright popcorn kernel, few bubbles

Though the cider is sparkling, I don't see many bubbles in the Succession. What I do see is a beautifully brilliant cider. It simply shines. 

Aromas: ripe apples, orange peel, spices

Strong lovely smell. It reminds me of good farmhouse bread but also crisp white wine. I get notes of ripe luscious juicy apples, green grapes, orange peel very distinctly, but there's more to it than just fruit. This cider smells intense somehow; its nearly ecclesiastical with it spice, smoke, wood and wax notes. I'm also getting a salivary response, so I'm anticipating some acid.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

Though the acid is medium high, this cider definitely registers as semi-sweet to me. Its a very fruity sort of sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: tropical fruits, white chocolate, vanilla

The Successtion tastes like white chocolate, tropical fruit, and vanilla. I can tell that Descendant used dessert fruit for their apples. There's a hint of something malty. As I said, the cider offers up medium high acid, semi-sweetness, and low tannins. The acid lingers in a nice mouth-affecting way—it's got such a loooong finish. The mouthfeel is just a little sticky. In a small sip is pleasant and sweetly tame. Taking bigger sips doesn't add much, just a touch of warming booziness. After a few sips, one of my recurring thoughts: is it really only 5.5% ABV?

This is a perfect choice for their flagship cider. Its approachable, well-balanced, and fun. It strikes me as versatile for pairing. I had mine with a brown rice bowl covered in broccoli, bell peppers, with a hefty sprinkling of chopped peanuts. I could also imagine enjoying this cider with a wintery stew.

And I'd just like to end with a shout out that I am getting ridiculously excited for CiderCon in Baltimore! We'll be learning, teaching, tasting, and trading from January 30^th through February 2^nd.

Find out more about Cider Con 2018 here:

https://ciderassociation.org/cidercon2018/

And one of the coolest parts is that when cider makers come to town, we bring the party. Concurrent with Cider Con, we're running Cider Week Baltimore! This means tastings, pairing dinners, tap takeovers and more!

Find out all about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2044481322459905/

Cider Review: Alpenfire Cider's Flame

This week's review is something a little different and a little special. Every year at CiderCon, I meet all sorts of folks who are just as obsessed with cider as I am. Its amazing. During CiderCon 2016, I was chatting with a new friend about super dry ciders when he pulls a bottle out of his backpack to send home with me. It was one of the last of a batch made a while earlier. 

I stored the cider in my cellar (dry basement) until this past winter. Now, with long days and warm temperatures, I feel the need to return to that winter night and Alpenfire Cider's Flame.

But before we get into the cider itself, I'd love to share a bit about Alpenfire. This is a small organic cidery out of Washington state and one with more history than many. Founders Nancy and Steve Bishop planted their orchard in 2003 and started harvesting organic apples in 2008, though the owners had dreamt of cider making for much longer. 

Find out more at the website: http://alpenfirecider.com

Today's review is of Flame. This is how it is described,"A true 'Methode Champenoise' cider. Made Primarily with Fox-whelp and Muscadet de Dieppe apples. We use Champagne traditions to develop a crackling carbonation with bright acidity and dryness."

Right now, this cider isn't available as it hasn't been made in a few years, but take heart. It's coming back in September. The bottles are currently awaiting riddling and disgorging. As any fan of champagne or champagne style ciders knows; there are a tremendous number of touches and steps necessary to make this style of beverage. 

I wrote back and forth with Nancy; she encouraged me to consider the age of the cider, and I think she's completely correct. Most ciders, even method champenoise, aren't meant to be aged. We don't have a ton of data about cider aging, so please keep that in mind and try the new one when it comes out!

Appearance: warm straw, brilliant, bubbly

The Flame looks bubbly like a champagne when poured

Aromas: ripe apples, boozy, wood

The aromas of this cider remind me of warmed or even cooked apples, lots of yeasty fermented notes, and some wood. The smells are also a bit caramelized and softened, like apple pie but both fresh and boozy rather than sweet

Sweetness/dryness: Brut indeed

The flame is so very very dry, it says extra brut and they're not lying. This is the sort of dryness that I get excited about!

Flavors and drinking experience: complex woody flavors, high tannins, high acid

The Flame wows the drinker right away with lots of lingering complex woody flavors, both green and smoky, hence the flame name perhaps. This cider offers up medium high acidity and very high tannins. I can certainly taste those special cider apples! At this age, the cider remains bubbly but not so much as it probably was a year or two ago.

Flame exhibits a nice wet mouthfeel that plays well with the cider's dryness. I found it a little acetic but that was more than balanced out with lots of minerals. I can certainly taste that 8% ABV. It is a boozy cider.

Eating dark chocolate mint cake with this dry tannic pleaser goes shockingly well. I'd not necessarily have predicted that particular pairing but it was lovely.

Cider Con 2017 Part 1: An Industry Growing Up

The United States Association of Cider Makers and the Big Picture 

Every year that I've attended, CiderCon feels like an event hosted by a developing organization. The United States Association of Cider Makers improves and challenges itself to learn more and do more each year. I remember some of the goals from last year, and we've achieved them. And when I think about CiderCon's maturation, it isn't just the parent organization, its how the whole industry approaches having a national meeting. We are learning to make the most of this time: not just to see friends and attend workshops, but to boost cider through timed releases, special events, collaborations and more.

Our hotel even had swank elevator wraps and quizzes

Most notably of the achievements of 2016 for the USACM is Michelle McGrath's hire as Executive Director. It took a long and arduous search but everyone is so happy that they found her. Bruce Nissen, our new USACM president and founder of Jester and Judge Cider (http://jesterandjudge.com/)described the search as a thorough narrowing from an initial applicant pool of 1300 people down to just one. And after seeing Michelle throughout the weekend, I am completely impressed with her energy and organization. 

I want to show a bit more of the evidence I observed that CiderCon is maturing.

I appreciated excellent coordination as shown by the programs with maps, external work with organizations outside of USACM not only with Cider Summit Chicago but Cider Week Chicago, multiple cider releases timed to coincide with the conference, an organized press briefing, on and off site portfolio tastings, and best of all a strategic plan for USACM that covers their goals for the next three years. I've always felt like folks are trying to make the best of our time together at CiderCon, but some of these developments just blew me away.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a press briefing on the gearing up day of the conference. At this meeting each of the United States Association Board Member introduced themselves and their cidery. Each region and scale is represented on this board. The current board members are: Bruce Nissen, Dan Wilson, Eleanor Leger, Trevor Baker, Ryan Burk, Paul Vander Heide, Ben Calvi, Marcus Tieton, Brian Shanks, Dan Young and Eric Foster. As they each introduced themselves, they said a little bit about their cideries.

Board members also poured samples of their ciders; this is the tip of that iceberg

Michelle led the meeting and introduced us to what USACM is doing. The organization actively represents cider to the government to improve legislation of the industry. This is the year that the CIDER act goes into effect which reduces the tax burden on many cideries, particularly those making a sparkling cider.

The next legislative push is for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act which you can read about here: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/statement-on-introduction-of-craft-beverage-modernization-and-tax-reform-act.

Another major project of the USACM includes developing labelling for cider that will allow consumers to have a better idea of what they are purchasing. Though this is not yet developed early comparisons use the Riesling Taste Profile from the International Riesling Foundation as a potentially useful model.

Still on the subject of cider education, we got an update on the Cider Certification Program from Paul Vander Heide of Vandermill Cider. The first level of the CCP is now available to study and take online, with reduced pricing for USACM members. I was part of the inaugural class of CCP takers last February and vouch for the quality of information used for the test and training. The program is designed for everyone who wants to learn about cider in a serious way but is especially well suited to folks working in the hospitality industry or interacting with the public about cider. Learn more at the website: http://www.ciderassociation.org/Certification.

Another significant goal for the USACM is the comissioning of third party economic data that's more granular than what's available through Nielsen and more inclusive of local and regional producers. The industry needs better coverage of cider's “long tail” when such a large proportion of our businesses are very small and often very young.

Opening Session

This year we also played host to some very special visitors from two cider making regions of France: Brittany and Normandy. Ghisilaine Davy from Cidrerie Daufresne to share his Poire(Perry), Dominique Le Brun from Cidres Le Brun to discuss keeving as a fermentation technique, and Guilliaume Drouin from Christian Drouin, bringing his Calvados and cidre.
At the opening session, we heard (via video) from Oregon lawmaker Representative Earl Blumenauer about continuing bipartisan efforts to improve the regulations and taxation that govern cider as a beverage. He's a charming speaker who championed the CIDER Act that already promises to give some producers a number of beneficial legal changes.

Another highlight of the opening session for me was our welcome video. This includes cideries from all over the country and a few sly jokes if you know the personalities and companies involved. Even without these little hidden gems, the video is a fun window into the quirkiness of cider makers.

https://vimeo.com/203243082

The most exciting part of the opening session though was finding out about next year's location for CiderCon. In 2018, we'll convene in Baltimore. I anticipate lots of seafood pairings and events that show me a city I've never seen.

Our opening panel discussion

Up next, I'll share my experiences at the panels, workshops, and tastings of CiderCon 2017.

Wednesday evening Cider Share

Cider Review: Citizen Cider's Barrel-Aged Cider & Chicago Cider Week

Usually, I start with my review and then share any cider news, but I want to make sure Chicago area cider lovers know that this event is already happening! Chicago Cider Week runs from February 3-11 with a plethora of cider opportunities for sipping, pairing, and learning!

Tons of fabulous cider things happen at The Northman (http://www.thenorthman.com/) and this week is anything but an exception. We can meet Pete Brown (cider and beer author), Ria Windcaller(of Cider Chat: http://ciderchat.com/), and some super start cider makers.   

Pairing dinners and tap takeovers are also happening all over town! Check out the event list:

http://www.chicagociderweek.com/p/events.html

And as a way of transition, today's review is a cider by Citizen Cider out of Burlington, Vermont. They have already started a full series of cider events just by themselves this week for both Cider Week and Cider Con. 

I reviewed the bRose in 2014: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/02/cider-review-citizen-cider-brose.html

More recently, I stopped at their taproom and production facility in Burlington this past summer as part of my Cider Tour: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html

To learn a bit more about Citizen Cider, please check out their website: http://www.citizencider.com/

Today's review is of their Barrel-Aged Cider. I'll share the official description, but here's a spoiler, I'm not going to pair it with steak. : )

This cider is aged in reclaimed oak bourbon barrels. We take our finest cider blends, let them sit in these American oak barrels, and while they get to know each other, a beautiful relationship emerges. Best enjoyed with a big steak and a friend.

Reclaimed American Oak Bourbon Barrels are going to impart a lot of flavor, and I bet it will smell and taste boozier than its 6.9% ABV, but there's only one way to find out.

Citizen Cider was kind enough to list some additional pairing options. Here's the list, "Pairings: Lamb Stew, Veal Ossobuco, Pumpkin Pie, Dark Chocolate Souffle, Blue Cheese and Smoked Blue Fish." There aren't a ton of vegetarian options in there, but I'm never going to argue with dark chocolate souffle or pumpkin pie.

Appearance: brilliant, lots of visible bubbles, medium straw 

Like all of Citizen's ciders, this has a perfect sparkling brilliance. Its easy to see lots of active bubbles throughout the glass. I'd call the color medium straw, neither particularly light nor dark.

Aromas: almond, cherry, apple, barrel

The cider smells intensely of barrel, but that's far from the only note. I can also get wisps of apple, cherry, and almond. It smells rather like pastries altogether, but I'm guessing it will be less sweet than it smells. 

Sweetness/dryness: semi-dry

I get a bit of initial sweetness but the cider tastes dryer as the tasting experience goes on; its like many barrel-aged ciders in this way.

 

Flavors and drinking experience: vanilla, cooked apples, bourbon, buttered toast

Let me say first that this cider has a lot going on in terms of flavor intensity! The best part is that all of these flavors go together beautifully. I tasted this first when I toured the facility in August; my thought then was that this cider would be perfect for winter. So, I bought a bottle and saved it until the beginning of February. And I don't disagree with past Meredith. What a brilliant winter cider.

This is so vanilla, bourbon, almond, buttered toast good. All of the flavors really do cascade together over the tongue. The apple flavor is soft like the apple has been cooked or pressed into pomace. This helps the overall impression of unity I get from the flavors. 

In terms of texture, the Barrel-Aged Cider offers up great strong bubbles in bountiful quantities.  The cider also features great retro-nasal aromas: weird to say but great to experience.

I noticed when looking around online that this cider has made a few lists of ciders that beer aficionados could enjoy, and I agree. This is a particularly emphatic and well balanced cider with cohesive flavor and real verve. I'd heartily recommend it to beer and cider drinkers alike. I had mine with local cheese and Miche bread: no steak anywhere in sight, and it was totally delightful.

Cider Review: Embark Craft Ciderworks' American Hopped Cider also CiderCon 2017 is coming!

Back to summer cider notes once more this week. I tasted this cider on my back porch in July, and I've had it several times again since then. My review is therefore overdue. I was reminded of this cider when I had it recent at The Watershed (http://www.thewatershedithaca.com/).

Embark has only appeared in this blog as the creators of Cider Fest 2016 which was part of Finger Lakes Cider Week last year. I guest poured there and had a fabulous time.  

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-round-up-of-finger-lakes-cider-week.html

Embark Craft Ciderworks describes the people behind their company as, "As farmers first and foremost." The cidery has grown out of Lagoner Farms just outside of Rochester, New York. The cidermakers, Jake and Chris, both come from local agricultural backgrounds. They write about local food, the importance of apples, and their growing orchard filled with apple varieties chosen for the qualities they bring to cider. 

Theyalso have a taproom you can visit on the farm. 

You can read more about Embark Ciderworks on the website: https://embarkcraftciderworks.com

And keep up to date with events and recent developments on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/embarkcraftciderworks/

But for now, let's turn to the American Hopped Cider. This is how it is described by the folks at Embark:

Estate grown Autumn Crisp apples fermented and then dry-hopped with Cascade, Centennial, & Columbus hops that we sourced from a neighboring farm. A brillantly balanced cider with just a touch of sweetness and hop aromatics that add to the complexity of an already complex cider.

Appearance: brilliant, creamed honey color, lots of visible bubbles

The American Hopped pours with a head that doesn't vanish as quickly as some. I would describe the color as creamed honey. This cider has plenty of very fine visible bubbles. It makes my mouth water to look at it. This picture doesn't show how brilliant this cider is because of the condensation on the glass, but rest assured, you could read through it.

aromas: fresh apple, hops, mint

Immediately, I can smell fresh apples from the cider. Because it is often sold in cans, I'd recommend pouring it into a different vessel if you want to enjoy the full aroma. The particular type of hop smell that accompanies the apple is a clean and herby one with secondary citrus characteristics. The smells meld together such that my notes are cold apple and mint as well as hops. Very summery.

Sweetness/dryness: semi-sweet

The American Hopped Cider is unambiguously semi-sweet and accurately labelled as such on the back of the can. Great job, guys, accurate labelling is surprisingly rare.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, balanced, easy drinking

As strange as it sounds today, this cider is perfect for a hot day, but its also lovely when in a warm and bright place. The semi-sweetness is balanced by its high acid. The hops and apples work brilliantly in concert to make a unified taste experience that doesn't drown out either element. Cheers, this is my number one goal for a hopped cider! I did find the hop flavor to be piney, citrusy, and a little sweaty, but oh so pleasantly so. The citrus struck me in a particuarly lemony way.

As for pairing, I paired this with relaxing on the porch in summer and just watching my back yard. Most recently I paired it with local bakery bread, tomato garlic dipping oil, and unwinding with the best coworkers on the planet at The Watershed. Both worked brilliantly, and I predict it the cider would also work well with a corn and potato chowder and warm afternoon at home. 

Also, don't forget we are now less than a month away from Cider Con in Chicago!! 

There you will find multiple tracks of the best cider education, business planning, operations help, tasting, socializing and general cider merriment. I've attended twice, and I now look forward to it all year. Join us!

The link for registration is tinyurl.com/CiderCon2017