great Cider is just about the most perfect drink. It's a whisper of apples, but almost like a memory. It has a most passing sweetness, quickly opening up to a dry, tart bubble with mouth scrubbing tannins. The lasting impression is something like a walk in an old orchard, crisp fall air, a wet footfall, warm sunshine. Those are the ciders we want to make – ones that will stay on your mind and tweak your imagination.
TRADITIONAL CIDER APPLES are growing in our orchard. Collectively called spitters for their bitterness, they have eccentric names like Yarlington Mill and Bulmers Norman. They bring important acid and sugar needed for cider, a tannic structure, and desirable complexity, adding flavors that range from wet wood and mushroom to bright green apple and strawberry. For some ciders we also blend in heritage and dessert apples – traditional eating apples that are both sweet and tart – from nearby Gorge orchards. Ours is a farmhouse cider, made with the crop that we produce year to year, the flavors varying with sun, rain, and soil. We’re committed to sourcing everything that isn’t on our farm from locales within a few miles.
We DO IT THE OLD SCHOOL WAY by hand-picking our apples, washing them in plain water, running the apples through the mill, and pressing in our cider barn. Fresh juice is fermented and aged mostly in barrels or in stainless, depending on the style of cider we are making.* Final blends put each cider in proper balance, and we finish with a natural effervescence in the bottle, keg or cask.
* Always aged, because aging does make a difference!
Light of the Moon
750ml bottles, $15
Light of the Moon is our flagship cider -- a crisp and wine-like blend of cider variety apples with heritage apples, including Newtown Pippins. It is a dry cider yet retains a natural sweetness, with structure provided by tannins and time. Naturally sparkled in the bottle.
Cherry Twang
750ml bottles, $15
We make Cherry Twang from our neighbor's sweet cherries, picked fresh and dried mid-summer. They are fermented along with fresh apple juice in the fall, giving this cider its "twang." The cherry comes through in deep notes of stone fruit -- a subtle hint of dark cherry sweetness though this cider is dry. Naturally sparkled in the bottle.
Old Hoot
750ml bottles, $15
Old Hoot is our version of an English cider, with all the funk and personality of cider apples showing through. It is unfiltered and rustic, yet light and quaffable. We'd call it a scrumpy but it really has time and sophistication on its side, just like you'd expect from an Old Hoot. Naturally sparkled in the bottle.
Black Currant Twang
Black currant purée, with a touch of local honey and rosemary. Seasonal, by the growler at the Cider Stand
Peach Twang
Fresh peaches with a hint of thyme. Seasonal, by the growler at the Cider Stand
Hop, Y'all
Our cider lightly flavored for nose and palate with Citra, Crystal and Amarillo whole cone hops.
Now in bottles!
Bergamot-Oak
Our newest kegged cider - the beautiful citrus notes of bergamot with vanilla oak flavors, infused with a light hand
Toasty Pear
Seasonal winter cider made by infusion of fresh pears that have been baked with cinnamon, cardamom, clove and maple syrup
Crab Nebula
750ml bottles, $15
Crab Nebula is a a blend of 3 varieties of cider crabapples: John Downie, Virginia Hewes and Dolgo. To that we've added Newtown Pippins and several other heritage apples and fermented to dry. Crab apples are sweet bombs with high acidity, and the high skin to flesh ratio provides good tannins, structure, and refreshment. Naturally sparkled in the bottle.
Twelve Quince
750ml bottles, $15
Fresh shredded quince is fermented along with apples in the fall to bring their tannins and aroma to this cider. Quince is an apple relative and an unusual fruit -- when cooked it turns pink! In cider it is refreshing and different, with a distinct floral aroma. Naturally sparkled in the bottle.