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.
Friday, March 25, 2011
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.
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