I am fortunate enough to be up all night, enjoying my neighbors raging indoor / outdoor party. They are musicians, and love to play until the wee hours of the morning. I am so glad that they tuned in on my ability to survive without any sleep. What a bunch of good people.
It gives me time to write a little about our next batch. First off, it's gonna be small. We only received 2000 pounds of fruit. I know it sounds like a lot, and it is. That being said, it will only yield us 60-80 gallons, hopefully. Getting a large amount of fruit in April is tough.
The make up is pretty varied. We got a lot of Newton Pippen, Winesap, Granny Smith, and also got smaller quantities of Ambrosia, Sonata, Mutsu, Elstar, Golden Delicious, and even some dreaded Red Delicious. We got more varieties than last time, so it may end up being quite a bit different.
I am also planning on changing it up a bit. We are going to use a different yeast strain, and try fermenting at a colder temperature. I am hoping to bring the fruit out more, and experiment in making a slightly sweeter style.
All of the fruit is sitting behind our infamous fence, and we plan on starting up in a week or so. This will be our first production with our new grinder and press. The first press was entirely manual. We used our arm powered grinder to grind about 2700 pounds. About half way through, I was pretty sure my arms were going to fall off. I vowed to use the modern invention "electricity" for any further batches.
I look at being able to serve this new batch around July. Most of it will be pretty straight, but I plan on blending some more smoked cider, in addition to some other ideas I have.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Changes
As some of you may know, our little cidery is simply staffed. In the past, most of the time you would see me, with our good friend Josh on weekends. My wife Erin sneaks in on occasion to bring food and relieve me behind the bar. Thank god she does, or I would never eat.
Josh has moved on, as we always knew he would. He is starting a, what I am sure to be amazing, restaurant in NW. Once he is open, I'll pass it along to everyone. While he was with us, he made a lot of friends and future customers. I know I'll miss playing darts with him on those slow Mondays.
Luckily, we were able to hire someone that we not only trust, but really enjoy working with, Jennie. Jennie is a cider aficionado and has sampled nearly everything we stock. I knew she was good when she volunteered to help with our first, all manual, press. I knew she was really good when she actually showed up, and slaved away with us for a few days.
She started with us about a week or so ago full time. The idea is that I will bartend less, and make cider more. We would like to be able to distribute our kegs by the end of the year.
So, all luck to Josh, and welcome Jennie.
Josh has moved on, as we always knew he would. He is starting a, what I am sure to be amazing, restaurant in NW. Once he is open, I'll pass it along to everyone. While he was with us, he made a lot of friends and future customers. I know I'll miss playing darts with him on those slow Mondays.
Luckily, we were able to hire someone that we not only trust, but really enjoy working with, Jennie. Jennie is a cider aficionado and has sampled nearly everything we stock. I knew she was good when she volunteered to help with our first, all manual, press. I knew she was really good when she actually showed up, and slaved away with us for a few days.
She started with us about a week or so ago full time. The idea is that I will bartend less, and make cider more. We would like to be able to distribute our kegs by the end of the year.
So, all luck to Josh, and welcome Jennie.
Smoked Cider
The smoked cider keeps coming out. It’s a blend I am pretty happy with, and I am digging the response. Not everyone likes it, but I appreciate everyone that has tried it and given feedback. Besides practice and education, that’s another way I can learn. Though one person, and I do mean ONE person, did suggest I add a lot of sugar to it to sweeten it up, I probably will not be doing that.
I think a few things can improve it. More time to condition, a different yeast in the base batch, and a different base blend. Some said it was too smokey, and others that it was not smokey enough. My feeling was that the smoke level was fine, it just needed a tweak in other ways. Edelweiss did a fantastic job for me, as I am sure they will again do in the future.
Jason Coatney, “the muralist”, and I are also working on a label for it, as I think it would be fun to bottle it at some point.
I think a few things can improve it. More time to condition, a different yeast in the base batch, and a different base blend. Some said it was too smokey, and others that it was not smokey enough. My feeling was that the smoke level was fine, it just needed a tweak in other ways. Edelweiss did a fantastic job for me, as I am sure they will again do in the future.
Jason Coatney, “the muralist”, and I are also working on a label for it, as I think it would be fun to bottle it at some point.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Six months in review
Tonight was our six-month anniversary...and I still don't completely know how to use the cash register.
Smoked Cider release
Tonight we had our smoked cider release, which also coincided with our six month anniversary.
The idea for a smoked cider came innocently enough, but like some of my ideas (like starting a cider bar) it actually took hold and I obsessed about it. I have yet to find any mention of it anywhere, so I'll assume this is the first.
The apples smoked were a blend of Red Delicious, Newtown Pippens, and Golden Delicious. I gave little thought to what apples were used, as I figured the smoke would overwhelm what ever nuances of flavor each apple offered. The smoke did not let down.
I pressed what fruit I had, and only ended up with about 1/4 gallon. I could blend two ways. A light blend would ensure the smoke would come through, while a heavy blend would allow me to end up with more volume, but sacrifice the point. I blended light, and only ended up with two gallons. But....the flavor was there.
I am very happy with the result. Was it perfect? No. I was glad it wasn't, a perfect batch is boring. I got an amazing amount of feed back from the customers that got some tonight.
I heard that it:
: needed to be served with cheese
: tasted like bacon
: tasted better when blended with JK Scrumpy
: was too strong
: was not strong enough
: was kick ass
: would go well with salami
: would blend well with Rum
: was interesting.......
That was the best I could of heard...it was interesting. For me that is the best compliment I can hear.
The next batch will be bigger, tweaked a tad, and more.......interesting. Different wood, different smoker, and aged longer.
Any maybe the next one will last longer than 45 minutes after it's tapped.
The idea for a smoked cider came innocently enough, but like some of my ideas (like starting a cider bar) it actually took hold and I obsessed about it. I have yet to find any mention of it anywhere, so I'll assume this is the first.
The apples smoked were a blend of Red Delicious, Newtown Pippens, and Golden Delicious. I gave little thought to what apples were used, as I figured the smoke would overwhelm what ever nuances of flavor each apple offered. The smoke did not let down.
I pressed what fruit I had, and only ended up with about 1/4 gallon. I could blend two ways. A light blend would ensure the smoke would come through, while a heavy blend would allow me to end up with more volume, but sacrifice the point. I blended light, and only ended up with two gallons. But....the flavor was there.
I am very happy with the result. Was it perfect? No. I was glad it wasn't, a perfect batch is boring. I got an amazing amount of feed back from the customers that got some tonight.
I heard that it:
: needed to be served with cheese
: tasted like bacon
: tasted better when blended with JK Scrumpy
: was too strong
: was not strong enough
: was kick ass
: would go well with salami
: would blend well with Rum
: was interesting.......
That was the best I could of heard...it was interesting. For me that is the best compliment I can hear.
The next batch will be bigger, tweaked a tad, and more.......interesting. Different wood, different smoker, and aged longer.
Any maybe the next one will last longer than 45 minutes after it's tapped.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
TV or no TV???
When it was a little slow the other night, Erin and I sat around the bar and played some cribbage. Here and there, we had people enjoying some conversation, reading, and playing darts.
We had originally planned on having a TV for Timbers matches. We thought it would be a lot of fun, and a great way to support our local favorite team. That was the original plan. Plans have a funny way of changing.
I think adding a TV to our little cider bar would be a mistake, and we aren't going to do it. It is hard to go out, and find a place without TV. I don't necessarily think TVs in certain bars are bad, I just do not think one here would be wise. I think it would ruin the vibe that we have.
I know some bars that I avoid for one reason or another, and some of those reasons include "having the big game" on. I think it not only distracts from conversation, but more often than not distracts the bartender from doing what they are supposed to be doing, tending the bar. I also think a big crowd here, for the big game, would turn off some of our clientele that we have worked hard building up over the past few months.
So, long blog short, no TV.
We had originally planned on having a TV for Timbers matches. We thought it would be a lot of fun, and a great way to support our local favorite team. That was the original plan. Plans have a funny way of changing.
I think adding a TV to our little cider bar would be a mistake, and we aren't going to do it. It is hard to go out, and find a place without TV. I don't necessarily think TVs in certain bars are bad, I just do not think one here would be wise. I think it would ruin the vibe that we have.
I know some bars that I avoid for one reason or another, and some of those reasons include "having the big game" on. I think it not only distracts from conversation, but more often than not distracts the bartender from doing what they are supposed to be doing, tending the bar. I also think a big crowd here, for the big game, would turn off some of our clientele that we have worked hard building up over the past few months.
So, long blog short, no TV.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Cider, Beer, and getting sick into a sink.
A question I often get asked is how I got into cider. So, I figure a brief history of my alcohol history is in order.
I was born in Oregon, Roseburg to be specific. I am proud to be an Oregonian. In the shop, we have old pictures of logging, an Oregon only wine selection, books and maps, and the cider we make uses only Oregon fruit. I cherish a picture of me as a small child, with a posed pic of me on my Mom's knee with an Olympia can in my hands. Questionable parenting aside (just kidding) I love that pic. It also explains my obsession with the famous Tumwater river made brew. I count it as my first move into the wonderful world of alcohol.
When I was about 10 or so, we moved to Illinois. My parents still regret the move to this day. My experience with the midwest was, to be kind, dismal at best. I was the only one in my graduating class of 42 to ever have seen the ocean, much less my homeland of Oregon. If you didn't raise hogs or have a few hundred acres of soybeans, you were the outsider. My classmates teased me about my parents weird hippy car ( a perfectly normal 1974 VW Beetle). The town had no traffic lights, alcohol, or restaurants, but did have six churches.
I spent the night at my buddies house when I was 16. it was a birthday party. Someone scored what would become my first beer to get me completely drunk. No one went for quality, because it was impossible to find. Quality beer was, and still is, as rare as a summer without 100% humidity and constant tornado warnings. My first beer I got drunk, sick, and hungover on was Old English 800, the premier drink of choice for us. I quickly moved to Red Wolf, then Hooch. Hooch was an alcoholic lemon aid drink if you don't remember. ......it was all shit. But it got better..sort of. I discovered Hornsby's.
Once I moved out I graduated to Michelob, with my dad dropping off his favorite, Coors for an occasional treat. Michelob was about the best beer you could get in our little town. I drank a ton of it. Until I got hooked on Vodka, then Vodka and Lemonade. I drank a ton of that. It was quick, easy, and in Illinois you can get a six pack of beer, pack of smokes, fifth of Vodka, and a bag of Doritos all in the same place. This leads to my next big event, the first time getting violently ill in front of a lot of people off of hard alcohol. I got sick in my kitchen sink at a party I had at my house. Not my best moment in my life, but oddly enough, not my worst. Something told me, at the tender age of 20, I was too old to act like that much longer.
I moved back to Oregon in 2001. I loved drinking Olympia and Rainier. The now California brewed beer brought back a lot of nostalgia and allowed me to ponder on the NW beer legacy. Then at some point I discovered the greatness of micro brews. I absorbed it all, beer tours, books, mix 6-packs, tastings, and obsessively collecting bottles, which I still do. I really wanted to make beer, but never quite had the extra cash or time to do so. A friend and I decided to make cider, it was cheaper and easier at that level. The first batch was simply a plastic bucket, champagne yeast, 5 gallons of Tree Top, and 5 cups of white sugar. It was about 9.5ABV if I remember right. It was awful, but we loved it. I was hooked.
I made it for about 6 months, then stopped for about a year or so. I was in a funk, completely being miserable in a job that drove me near insanity. Things changed and I started making it again. I started making it a lot again, letting more and more people try it. I was honestly shocked how many people seemed to enjoy it, and the unbelievably high ABV.
The hatred of my job, marrying Erin, discretionary income and the eagerness to make the best cider I could all combined in 2009. I got serious, and enrolled in Peter Mitchell's cider class, offered through the extension office at WSU in Mt.Vernon, WA. At that time, I had no real plans for going pro.
Then I took the second class, in December. At that point, with that much time and money invested, it was time to make the decision to start our own place. Plus, I was having constant fantasies of getting rammed by a semi-truck on my way to work so I could get the day off.
Market research was swift. No cider around=More cider needed. The original idea was for the planned, small bottle shop to help pay for the production side until we could release our own cider. We thought we would have 40 or so ciders, then maybe scale it back when our own stuff came out.
Things now have changed. The bottle shop/bar side has really taken off. As of today we have 90 ciders from all of the world. I am obsessed with not only our own cider, but also having the best selection of cider I can possibly offer.
From drinking Michelob only about 10 years ago to now owning a cidery, and in my off nights doing vertical tastings of Upright's Billy the Mountain, things have changed. I left out a lot, cause it's all kind of boring probably. I can only stress that a love of cider is not the only thing that has put us into this business. A passion for self improvement, an immense hate of my previous job, and the support of a good woman has all been equally needed to get as far as we have.
I love our business, and feel fortunate to be where we are right now. Sure, 2 more tanks and 6 more taps would be great, but for now we are pretty damn happy.
I was born in Oregon, Roseburg to be specific. I am proud to be an Oregonian. In the shop, we have old pictures of logging, an Oregon only wine selection, books and maps, and the cider we make uses only Oregon fruit. I cherish a picture of me as a small child, with a posed pic of me on my Mom's knee with an Olympia can in my hands. Questionable parenting aside (just kidding) I love that pic. It also explains my obsession with the famous Tumwater river made brew. I count it as my first move into the wonderful world of alcohol.
When I was about 10 or so, we moved to Illinois. My parents still regret the move to this day. My experience with the midwest was, to be kind, dismal at best. I was the only one in my graduating class of 42 to ever have seen the ocean, much less my homeland of Oregon. If you didn't raise hogs or have a few hundred acres of soybeans, you were the outsider. My classmates teased me about my parents weird hippy car ( a perfectly normal 1974 VW Beetle). The town had no traffic lights, alcohol, or restaurants, but did have six churches.
I spent the night at my buddies house when I was 16. it was a birthday party. Someone scored what would become my first beer to get me completely drunk. No one went for quality, because it was impossible to find. Quality beer was, and still is, as rare as a summer without 100% humidity and constant tornado warnings. My first beer I got drunk, sick, and hungover on was Old English 800, the premier drink of choice for us. I quickly moved to Red Wolf, then Hooch. Hooch was an alcoholic lemon aid drink if you don't remember. ......it was all shit. But it got better..sort of. I discovered Hornsby's.
Once I moved out I graduated to Michelob, with my dad dropping off his favorite, Coors for an occasional treat. Michelob was about the best beer you could get in our little town. I drank a ton of it. Until I got hooked on Vodka, then Vodka and Lemonade. I drank a ton of that. It was quick, easy, and in Illinois you can get a six pack of beer, pack of smokes, fifth of Vodka, and a bag of Doritos all in the same place. This leads to my next big event, the first time getting violently ill in front of a lot of people off of hard alcohol. I got sick in my kitchen sink at a party I had at my house. Not my best moment in my life, but oddly enough, not my worst. Something told me, at the tender age of 20, I was too old to act like that much longer.
I moved back to Oregon in 2001. I loved drinking Olympia and Rainier. The now California brewed beer brought back a lot of nostalgia and allowed me to ponder on the NW beer legacy. Then at some point I discovered the greatness of micro brews. I absorbed it all, beer tours, books, mix 6-packs, tastings, and obsessively collecting bottles, which I still do. I really wanted to make beer, but never quite had the extra cash or time to do so. A friend and I decided to make cider, it was cheaper and easier at that level. The first batch was simply a plastic bucket, champagne yeast, 5 gallons of Tree Top, and 5 cups of white sugar. It was about 9.5ABV if I remember right. It was awful, but we loved it. I was hooked.
I made it for about 6 months, then stopped for about a year or so. I was in a funk, completely being miserable in a job that drove me near insanity. Things changed and I started making it again. I started making it a lot again, letting more and more people try it. I was honestly shocked how many people seemed to enjoy it, and the unbelievably high ABV.
The hatred of my job, marrying Erin, discretionary income and the eagerness to make the best cider I could all combined in 2009. I got serious, and enrolled in Peter Mitchell's cider class, offered through the extension office at WSU in Mt.Vernon, WA. At that time, I had no real plans for going pro.
Then I took the second class, in December. At that point, with that much time and money invested, it was time to make the decision to start our own place. Plus, I was having constant fantasies of getting rammed by a semi-truck on my way to work so I could get the day off.
Market research was swift. No cider around=More cider needed. The original idea was for the planned, small bottle shop to help pay for the production side until we could release our own cider. We thought we would have 40 or so ciders, then maybe scale it back when our own stuff came out.
Things now have changed. The bottle shop/bar side has really taken off. As of today we have 90 ciders from all of the world. I am obsessed with not only our own cider, but also having the best selection of cider I can possibly offer.
From drinking Michelob only about 10 years ago to now owning a cidery, and in my off nights doing vertical tastings of Upright's Billy the Mountain, things have changed. I left out a lot, cause it's all kind of boring probably. I can only stress that a love of cider is not the only thing that has put us into this business. A passion for self improvement, an immense hate of my previous job, and the support of a good woman has all been equally needed to get as far as we have.
I love our business, and feel fortunate to be where we are right now. Sure, 2 more tanks and 6 more taps would be great, but for now we are pretty damn happy.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The joy of liquids
Tonight was a good night. And as with any good night, it ended up with me philosophizing while mopping up liquids. Tonight I was mopping up Magners. The bummer with Magners is that the keg takes a Guinness keg fitting. Our kegs take either Corny fittings, American Sankey, Euro Sankey, Bass Tri-tip, and of course Guinness. Going from fitting to fitting is easy enough, unless you cant find the .05 washer that goes inside. I couldn't tonight, so I had myself some puddles to clean up after work.
But it was nothing like the cider lake we cleaned up this past Tuesday.
The idea was to tap a micro, 5L keg of E. Dupont Triple. E. Dupont is a Normandy cider, and the triple has some intense flavor and a hearty 10% ABV. The cider is brilliantly made, and we had been trying to get this keg in since we opened.
My sales guy from Point Blank tapped it at 6pm
By 6:05 it was all over his face, my coolers, the floor, and nooks and crannies that I did not even know existed in my own bar.
We still do not know what happened. A geyser of cider sounds good, in theory, but the actuality of it is quite messy. After all was said and done, we had about 1 liter left, if that. What little we tried though, and what little we were able to share with customers, was amazingly fantastic.
But it was nothing like the cider lake we cleaned up this past Tuesday.
The idea was to tap a micro, 5L keg of E. Dupont Triple. E. Dupont is a Normandy cider, and the triple has some intense flavor and a hearty 10% ABV. The cider is brilliantly made, and we had been trying to get this keg in since we opened.
My sales guy from Point Blank tapped it at 6pm
By 6:05 it was all over his face, my coolers, the floor, and nooks and crannies that I did not even know existed in my own bar.
We still do not know what happened. A geyser of cider sounds good, in theory, but the actuality of it is quite messy. After all was said and done, we had about 1 liter left, if that. What little we tried though, and what little we were able to share with customers, was amazingly fantastic.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Duche de Longueville
I often get asked what my favorite cider is. It is a hard question to answer. More often than not, the answer ends up being a bottle that lightens the pocket book more than some would like. This isn't to say a .95 Newton's Folly does not have it's place some times, it does. Usually the higher priced ciders that I like come from across the Atlantic, or are made in very small quantities here to add to the higher price. Probably my two favorite ciders we have are the Oliver's Herefordshire Dry, at $10 or so a bottle, and the EZ Orchards, and nearly $14 a bottle. I also have mentioned that the E. Dupont Pommeau is the best beverage I have ever had, though it is $25 a bottle.
So, it is gratifying to be able to suggest a bottle that I find to be excellent, and also at a reasonable price. At $6.95, the Duche de Longueville from Normandy is a cider that I found completely by accident. I was not aware of it's existence, but found it on a random trip to Pastaworks. After reeling from the realization that there was a cider in town that I was unaware of, I bought a bottle before I had time to beat myself up too much. I ran home after buying it, skipping my pre planned errands of buying food and going to Clinton St. Pub to play Ms. PacMan in order to try this find faster.
At home, I was excited, but frustrated at the foil around the top, I hate foil around the top. It's an unnecessary barrier standing between myself and the hard work of some Frenchman.
The cider pours with some obvious carbonation, lingering for about 20 seconds, than fading away. The appearance is very clear, and dark straw in color. Caramel, vanilla, oak, and slight brown sugar all come out in the nose. The body has a subtle start, and intense middle, and a nice semi-dry finish. It is not quite as dry as the E. Dupont Brut, a Normandy counterpart.
It's one of the best ciders I have tried on many levels. Getting that much flavor, naturally, into a low alcohol cider like that is truly a work of art, science, and passion. Why this isn't $20+ a bottle is beyond me. Now, that being said, it does not have the intense complexity of some of the stuff, previously mentioned, that we carry. The Oliver's will educate you, the EZ Orchards will reward you, and the Pommeau will completely blow your mind.
A .95 Newton's Folly it is not. A well made, Normandy, delicately complex cider it is.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Perry tasting : looking back
The owner of Fox Barrel, Bruce Nissen, came in before the tasting. After talking shop, and geeking out over the industry, he asked if I had anything to sample. That was pressure. Here is a guy who has built up a very successful brand, and been around for awhile. Whether or not you like Fox Barrel or Crispin (same company), you have to respect the staying power, and give dues to a company that can stay afloat for so long relying on, basically, discretionary income.
I tapped the Perry for him, knowing full well that the Fox Barrel line up is changing to all Pear based products over the next month or so. What was interesting was that it changed quite a bit from when I first tapped it, to when it had a chance to warm up a bit. He enjoyed it, and that made me very happy.
The Perry was an experiment for me on two levels. One: could I make it? Two: Would anyone like it? Perry is a different beast than a Pear cider, which is apple based cider with pear juice blended in after fermentation. Traditionally Perry pears are used, but they are extremely hard to find here. The trees take a long time to fully mature, and the fruit has little other use than to specifically make Perry, the pears themselves being quite tannic and "challenging" to eat.
The pears I used were Asian and Red D'Anjou, both from Oregon. I sulfited a little heavier than I do with the cider we make, as is common to do with Perrys. When it finished, and had time to mature, it came out quite dry, and I worried that some may find it too much so. I back sweetened with unfiltered fresh juice, then kegged it. Next time, I think I will leave it be, and see what people think of it in it's rawest form.
The most common comment I got last night was how subtle the nose and flavor was. Compared to a pear cider, it is quite subtle. There are easy ways to "pump up" the flavor, but it would require tactics that I choose not to do. Al in all, I think it was well received, therefore giving me the confidence to make a much bigger batch this coming fall.
Thanks to all that came out, I really appreciate it.
Jeff
Friday, January 28, 2011
New Blog
Here is the start of the last avenue of free marketing, the blog. In it, i'll talk about what we are up to, my thoughts on cider we carry, and my observations behind the bar.
Cheers,
Jeff
Cheers,
Jeff
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