This will be the fourth Cider Summit produced by SBS & Seattle Beer Collective, having launched the concept in Seattle in September 2010 and expanding to Portland last year. The list of producers for the event includes many familiar brands; from larger producers like Woodchuck and Crispin to smaller producers like Finnriver, EZ Orchards and Wandering Aengus, its great to see so many friends of Farnum Hill showcasing what they do best.

We also found a nice article (and a video, too!) about Tieton Cider Works‘ newest ciders and the surging cider market in Washington State.  Savannah Tranchell of the Yakima Herald-Republic writes:

In the heart of Yakima’s wine country, a Tieton company is growing one of the state’s largest orchard of cider apples.

It’s about 20 acres.

Compare that to the more than 150,000 acres of apples growing throughout the rest of Washington.

Those 20 acres in Tieton, combined with a few more acres of cherries, apricots and pears — Tieton Cider Works boasts the nation’s largest orchard of Perry pears at about 7 acres — are the sole source of fruit for the 6-year-old company’s nine varieties of hard apple cider.

The artisan cider company is owned by Sharon and Craig Campbell. It is one of only seven cider makers in the state and has grown exponentially since its launch. This year, the cidery is on schedule to exceed 10,000 cases of cider, plus another 10,000 case-equivelents in kegs. In 2008, they made 144.

Growth in the cider market continues and we’re thrilled! 

We’ve been working with G Housen for a few years now, and it is always an adventure to sell a New Hampshire-made cider to our friends and neighbors in Vermont.  Sometimes I feel like Vermont and New Hampshire are siblings; close in age, resembling each other, but rivals too. So it was great to see some NH love from Corin Hirsh in Seven Days last week:

Poor New Hampshire. As Vermont steals much of the glory with its maple syrup, cheese and craft beer, the Granite State languishes in second-fiddledom, at least as far as food and drink are concerned. Sugarbushes, microbreweries, smokehouses, vineyards, farms and orchards blanket the state, but “Made in New Hampshire” on a label doesn’t confer the same shelf cachet as that magical “V” word.

Yet our eastern neighbor is turning out fine and often imaginative libations. Wineries such as Walpole Mountain View Winery and Zorvino Vineyards are elevating the reputation of New Hampshire vino, often by experimenting with more grapes than their western neighbors do. The names Smuttynose Brewing Company and White Birch Brewing are familiar to beer lovers, and, when it comes to spirits, New Hampshire now offers its own limoncello (Fabrizia) and vodka and gin distilled from apples (at Flag Hill Distillery in Lee).

A trio of newish releases offer a snapshot of the subdued creativity of the state’s brewers and fermenters.

Poverty Lane Orchards lies about a mile from the Vermont border in Lebanon, and its sparkling and still hard ciders — bottled under the name Farnum Hill Ciders — have become the benchmark against which other local artisanal ciders are measured.

The crew here sometimes ends up with a batch that doesn’t fit the flavor profiles of its established labels, and locals show up to fill growlers with whatever flows that day. Last summer, Farnum Hill began bottling these “funkier” ciders under the Dooryard Cider label. Batch Number 1137, which I picked up recently, costs about $8 for a 750-ml bottle and has a deep golden color. Its apricot-like nose belies a scrumptious, tart austerity of orange peel and soaked tea leaves, with mouth-filling acids. At 7.5 percent alcohol, it’s afternoon sippable, and its intense dryness lends it pairing versatility.

So look for our Dooryard #1137 in bottles around Vermont.  And cheers to you too, neighbor.

-Corrie

A really cool part of the visit was that one of the men, Martin (Austin Eastciders’ cider maker) had actually met Steve in England on one of Steve’s cider trips over the pond.  The cider world is growing, but is still small and very collegial. Here’s what they had to say about the visit:

Visiting Steve’s place was just like visiting a cider farm in Somerset. There was a relaxed, informal atmosphere, a plentiful supply of free flowing cider and an even more plentiful supply of entertaining anecdotes, cider-related and otherwise. It made me realise that with Austin Eastciders we shouldn’t just be focused on repopularising this incredible long lost drink, we should also be focused on recreating the magical atmosphere that has always gone with the places where it has been made. I sincerely hope people feel as welcome at our Austin location when it opens as we were made to feel at Farnum Hill.

Steve Wood’s philosophy on cider making is very much the same as ours. If you want to make good cider you need the right kind of fruit, bittersweet and bittersharp cider apple varieties. When growing eating apples for the wholesale market started to look like an impossible way to make a living for a small operator, Steve took the plunge and turned his whole orchard over to cider apples and started making cider. This means he now has what is probably the largest cider apple orchard in the US. Though small in English terms, Steve’s orchard still produces enough fruit for him to cover his own hard cider production and also sell some small amounts to other cidermakers from time to time. Many of the varieties in Steve’s orchard are the classic apples you would find in an English cider apple orchard. He uses these to make bittersweet/bittersharp base blends, to which he may add single variety heirloom ciders to produce specific desired effects, like the ‘acid-bomb’ Wickson variety, a small but amazing little apple, very high in acid with a somewhat nutty aftertaste.

We tried numerous of Steve’s ciders over a long leisurely afternoon, at first joined by cider aficionado/writer Ben Watson who kindly gifted us a copy of his book Cider Hard & Sweet, which I highly recommend. The ciders were all excellent, very dry and very clean tasting, and the conversation was equally good, sharing stories of Somerset cider legends like Roger Wilkins and picking up some great tips on the characteristics of various American cider apple varieties. We left Farnum Hill weighed down with ciders gifted us by Steve, overflowing with invaluable advice to reflect on and with the feeling we had found a great ally in our efforts to advance the cause of real cider made from real cider apples.

So best of luck to Austin Eastciders.  We’ll stop in next time we’re two-steppin’ in Texas.

Lookin’ trendy in the bins.

When the weather service starts predicting overnight lows around 20-25 degrees F, harvest gets crazy. A few hours at around 22 degrees will destroy the cell walls within an apple. Most years, not much of the crop still hangs in the open air when hard-freeze scares begin. But in late October 2011, hundreds of bushels of cider apples were still sunning themselves on the trees. (A bushel weighs about 40lbs, makes about 3 gallons of juice.) Overnight lows around 20 were predicted for Friday, Saturday & Sunday before Halloween.  What to do?

FIRST: Pick as many as possible in the time available.

SECOND: Shake trees to bring down the rest. Earth cools more slowly than air. (Shaking down ruins fresh-market varieties, but dropped cider fruit is just fine, if it’s picked up soon enough.)

THIRD: Thank Fates for freak snows that made life so trying elsewhere. Down came a nice blanket for the little assets lying in the soft grass. Deeper, damaging snows fell south of here.

FOURTH: Pick up apples, haul to safety.

Sounds simple, yes? Yes and no. Up here, a dash of snow fell Thursday night, ahead of the Friday night freeze, & a day earlier than most places. So Friday Oct. 28th, a long long day of shaking, featured snow in the face, wet clothes, grumpy moods, no escape.

Then different slopes thawed at different times during Saturday, Sunday & Monday. Normally-cheerful people rushed to one field, stooped and scooped, filled bins (big 15-bushel stackable crates) rushed to the next. (Bins hold about 600 lbs of apples.) Also un-fun in snow: driving tractor to collect bins.

Hence the photos at left show no smiley faces ‘midst the sparkling sunshine & bright colors. Even work clothes look smashing here, but the models didn’t feel beautiful at the time. (Two and a half weeks later, the apples are all pressed, juice fermenting, job well done.) 11.17.11

Photos by Brenda L. Bailey

Cider media mentions usually peak in October, and the week just before Thanksgiving has historically been a great time to find cider stories.  But this year, press coverage began even earlier with Cider Week, a collaborative project for cider makers, apple growers, and consumers.  For more about Cider Week, check out the many events from this fall’s celebration.   Chris Lehault from Serious Eats/The Cider Press summarized the hype with this posting:

“Cider week is just one aspect of Glynwood’s Apple Project, an ongoing program to preserve Hudson Valley orchards through the production of cider and spirits. The project, spearheaded by Glynwood’s Sarah Grady, aims to celebrate regional orchards with a “cider route” through the Hudson Valley as well as encourage the growth and improvement of the cider industry through an exchange program with cider makers from Le Perche, France.

Cider Week is a seven day celebration of apple fermentables featuring tastings, pairings, and seminars throughout New York City. Local cideries such as Farnum Hill, West County, Eve’s Cidery, Foggy Ridge, Slyboro and Bellwether will be featured alongside some of the finest international ciders from France and Spain at shops and restaurants throughout the city. “

Check out Chris’ cider musings on the web at Serious Eats: The Cider Press.

At Bon Appetit, Andrew Knowlton featured cider in their October 2011 issue.  And after tasting 50 US ciders, they recommended Dooryard as a top choice. Food and Wine got on the cider bandwagon too this fall, mentioning ciders from around the country, our own Dooryard, and a n(ice) shout-out to our colleagues in northern VT, Eden Ice.

And then right in time for Thanksgiving, we were thrilled to see Farnum Hill on Eric Asimov’s blog and in TimeOut New York.  Both recommended Farnum Hill’s Extra Dry Sparkling for the day of feasting, football and family.

Plus, for the super-geeky among you, there are two interesting stories in the broader cider market — first, the UK company C&C (they’re the folks behind Magners and Bulmers) bought Gallo’s Hornsby cider brand.  Also, Woodchuck Cider launches its “Farmhouse Select” cider this month, with apples grown from Champlain Orchards in Vermont.

Watch this space for the next edition of “As the Cider World Turns.”

-Corrie

October 14th, 2011:  Phew! The Dooryard batches in all their variation are proving that regional cider drinkers are ready to taste first, judge after, and shed predictability. The stuff is streaming out as fast as we can make it.  Next amazing development: the first New Jersey Dooryard is in the works. Don’t try to figure it out.  All will be revealed pretty soon, when all is revealed.

September 3, 2011: Click for Steve’s note on DY #1125, all in kegs, most headed for NY and VT.

August 28, 2011: Dooryard blends are making friends all over the place, especially near home where we can offer the small small batches. Mind you, loud lip-smacking noises ring across the Northeast as#1108 and #1120 work their magic in NY, MA, RI and VT.

We’re out of #1120 kegs and #1121 kegs at the farm, but a few are still flowing locally.

A few dozen #1123 kegs still stand at the farm, for NH accounts and Growler Day. #1123 is on draft at Salt hill Leb and Ramunto’s Leb, moving right along.

June 30, 2011: Dooryard bottles and kegs recently began leaving the Hill, offering to cheer sweaty citizens in NH, MA, RI and soon in NY. We’ve sent out some Independence-Dayish signs and shelf cards to nudge people back/forward toward pouring cider in hot weather, like the rest of the apple-friendly world. The current Dooryard batches are #1108 and #1120. Both deliver stronger tannic and acidic whacks than many Farnum Hill drinkers will yet have met. They’re 7.5% alcohol by volume, bracingly funky, fruity, and surprising, we think.

Though we avoid linking our stuff to any existing ‘style’ — new American cidermaking still seems too unformed  to justify that sort of talk — the #1108 does offer a gentler version of the tannic grip found in many traditional West-of-England ciders. Please send your comments if you have the time.

May 20, 2011: Various bold bars in N.H., Massachusetts and New York are serving Farnum Hill ‘Dooryard,’ and reordering. So far, the bittersweet-dense Dooryard batches we’ve sent out are finding a welcome. Next step: bottles. The first lots are filled already. When the new labels come in from the printer, we’ll stick them on and call the truckers.

So far we have sent out modest herds of kegs from four batches #1108, #1101,#1409 and #1011.  By now, both #1409 and #1011 have been drunk down with pleasure. Phew!

As of May 19, we also have a couple of local-only kegs going, #910 ( Kingston Black) and #309 (our first decent perry).

1. Farmstand: Unbelievably wet days chained together during much of September, rain coming down like the bars of a cage, particularly during the traditionally apple-mad weekend at the end of the month. But people have poured into the orchards during the drier times and trooped in pretty

Having a clean moment

steadily during the soggy bits. The most annoying effect for customers has been that we’ve had to suspend weekend trailer rides through the orchards. When the ground is this soft, the carefully-maintained grass that supports the “orchard floor” (true orchardspeak)  can get ripped and rutted, not to mention the modest layers of gravel on tractor roads between the fields. Newton the amphibious Labrador has been in mud heaven, so not everyone is miffed.

2. Field Work: Our Fall VIP’s, the picking crew, are doing delicate work in rough conditions, bringing in Uncommon Apples to fill orders from NYC. (Cider apples are easier, since they’re headed for the press rather than for tastefully-lit produce displays.) Some day soon we’ll put up a proper tribute to the guys who show up in September, exert their dazzling powers for ten weeks or so, then head off home. This operation would be doomed without them.

3. Cider “Press” – Ink – Publicity: Stunning to all of us who remember the early, lonely years.  No time to list all the mentions, links, signs of enthusiasm for the American cider enterprise, new cidermakers, new surges in public taste: Search the Web for:  “Cider Week NYC,” “Farnum Hill Ciders,” “cider makers.”  “Dooryard” is finding more friends than we dreamed. (LDS)

4. UPDATE November 17th: Farnum Hill Exclusive New Jersey Dooryard rolled off to the Garden State, soon followed by Corrie Wolosin who introduced it, to great acclaim, in various gracious retail settings. Our prized allies at Hunterdon Brewers, who thought this all up, report with satisfaction that Dooryard #1131NJ is running out fast.

P.S. From the Cider Is Interesting Dept: Before and throughout Prohibition, New Jersey produced perhaps the finest and best-known ciders in the country. In the mid-19th century, about half the bottles labeled and sold here as imported Champagne were filled with — yes — cider made in the Garden State. In the “dry” years, a famous fluid called Jersey Lightning, distilled from — yes — Jersey cider, did much to address popular demand and undermine law. Jersey farm ciders could rise again: plenty of unpaved ground in the Garden State. We’d love to see that. (LDS)

First, a huge congratulations and shout out to the Northwest Cider Association.  They keep West Coast Cider front and center with a full schedule of activities including cider sampling, classes, festivals, and Cider Summits in both Portland and Seattle.

Closer to home, just after we open for the 2011 pick-your-own season, Bill Bradshaw and Pete Brown will be visiting.  This duo, a photographer (Bill) and author (Pete), both from England, are putting together a book about cider around the world.  Their fall trip to the US, dubbed “Bill and Pete’s Excellent Adventure,”  was recently featured on IAMCIDER, Bill Bradshaw’s blog:

“Back in June, the morning after my wedding, the very trustworthy and American sounding treasurer of the formidable Great Lakes Cider & Perry Association USA, mister Mike Beck, got in touch to invite my sore-headed self and iPhone-drowning author Pete Brown on a whirlwind 8 day trip to document the cider scene in the area at the top of the States between New England and the Great Lakes.

Stage 1: A roadtrip around the beautiful New England area to get the low down on cidermaking there. We start by visiting Steve Wood of Farnum Hill Cider (NH) and then head out to meet a few more likely types including Eden Ice Cider (VT), Slyboro Ciderhouse (NY), West County Cider (MA), and Green Mountain/Woodchuck Cider (VT.)

Stage 2: We’re then flying over to Detroit to meet up with Mike Beck and attend the Great Lakes Cider Festival at Uncle John’s Cider Mill in Michigan. (I know nothing about Michigan other than it gets very cold up there in winter, there is wildlife that can eat you and its full of interesting settler type history.) The following day we head right up to the very northern part of Michigan for a very special cider dinner hosted by Tandem Ciders. Then south to Muskegon on the western part of the Lower Peninsula to tour Vandermill Cider with the whole trip culminating in a ferry trip over a massive lake to visit  AEppelTreow cider in Wisconsin (another state I also know less than nothing about) to finally arrive back to earth with a slump as we crawl vaguely towards Chicago to find an airport home.”

And finally, get ready for the first ever New York City Cider Week! From October 16 – 22, New York restaurants, retailers and bars will join together to explore cider.  The planning for this collaborative effort between Hudson River Valley agricultural non-profit Glynwood, cider producers, wholesalers, and apple growers began last May, and the Cider Week schedule will be finalized soon.  Expect chances to taste, learn about and enjoy cider — and we’re hoping that the cider enthusiasm we’ve seen recently will help make this an annual event.

PRUNING at POVERTY LANE ORCHARDS