Layne’s Wine Gig Presents
CIDER
By Layne V. Witherell
In the 19th century the popular alcoholic beverage made from apples was just called “cider.” Recently, it has been renamed in some quarters “hard cider.” I must admit, while I like cider, I don’t know as much as I should about it.
Most of us consume cider around the autumn apple harvest. The cider producers hate that. Do you only drink wine during the grape harvest?
For me, it serves as a beverage year-round whenever the spirit of adventure moves me, usually in a restaurant that features the exotic or unusual stuff in a can. So, in the service of knowledge expansion let’s turn to several sources:
THE PORTLAND FOOD MAP
The Maine centric resource for orchards and cider producers. Astonishing how many there are. This could be your lifetime in apples (not forgetting other tree fruits).
‘THE CIDER REVIVAL: Dispatches from the Orchard’ by Jason Wilson
I adore Jason Wilson’s books. They are teeming with insight and loaded with controversy. Controversy over apples? You bet. Basically, there are several camps that I call the commercial, the purists, the feral, and the far out. Also, let’s not forget the Pomelliers, the sommeliers of the cider world, and the politically correct (more about them later). What is it with dry vs. sweet? And judging those competitions – what is that all about?
THE COMMERCIAL
Angry Orchard. Leave it to The Boston Beer Co., producers of good old Sam Adams, to discover the thing before it becomes a thing and turn it into its own industry. To get to 60% of a billion-dollar industry you must take, well, short cuts. Apple juice concentrate from Europe (never China?) is the favorite flavor with the ordinary consumer for its freshness and deliciousness. They even have recommended cocktails – add a little “Fireball” anyone?
“There is nothing more American than turning a quick buck.” -J.W.
“Angry Orchard is singlehandedly responsible for cider’s visibility and mainstream appeal.” -J.W.
The old barn, flannel wearing, feral apple set may not be thrilled by the commercial offerings, but there wouldn’t be a major cider revival without Angry Orchard.
TERROIR ANYONE?
We use this fancy French wine term to refer to specific grapes and their flavors which come from specific places. Apples are different. You can plant a scion cutting from the same tree and get the same variety or throw down some seeds and wind up with totally different varieties.
There are around 1,500 known grape varieties and 7,500 apple varieties. The feral apple people love this. Rooting around a mixed tree orchard while finding the last 160-year-old tree to make your single barrel of cider. “Funky, elemental, mineral, briny, like an old Amontillado Sherry,” says J.W., and it is an apt description of one of these ciders. The feral apple people are to ciders as the natural wine people are to wine.
The New York Times food critic visited the now defunct cider bar Wassail and described it as, “like going to a planet populated by nitrogen-based life forms; everything is at once recognizable and thoroughly different.”
THE MIDDLE GROUND
Shacksbury in Middlebury, Vermont straddles the fence between the big brands and the feral folks. Their Rose Cider, 5.5% alc., from New England apples aged on red grape skins have berry flavors combined with light tannin. Rose anyone? They gin barrel age their Vermonter, 6.9%, with local apples and some sweetness.
BRIDGE BETWEEN HERITAGE AND MODERN
Anxo Cider is a Washington D.C. cider house specializing in Basque style ciders. Happy Trees, 6.9% alc., is produced from heirloom Mid-Atlantic apples with wild yeast. It’s dry, tart, and funky, aged in older Sangiovese wine barrels. Hipster cider. I first saw it at High Roller Lobster restaurant.
HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN
Freedom’s Edge, Maine, has tasting rooms in Albion (420 Quaker Hill Road) and Portland (31 Diamond Street). What astonishes me upon entering the tasting room at Freedom’s Edge is the wall-sized mural of a super iconic apple tree by the great local artist Pat Corrigan. In case you just moved here (which seems to be a large percentage of the population), his work is quintessential local Portland. A brilliant idea on the Freedom’s Edge brothers’ part. The vibe is local, the art is local, as is the cider.
“The complexity of heritage cider is created in the orchard” -J.W.
Original Cider, 6.8% alc., “balances tannic bittersweets and aromatic dessert fruit.”
These ciders are made from heirloom apples like the Dabinette that are loaded in sugars as well as tannins. They are used along with others to create an alchemy of complex style.
Redfield Cider, 7.1% alc., is produced from a single varietal Redfield apple, aged three years in port barrels. “Oakey and buttery.” This verges clearly on wine territory in language, style, and flavor. Stand back wine people, you’ve been invaded.
This place is clearly worth multiple visits. The charcuterie is generous, and the staff is welcoming. All that and a delicious glass of cider from a wide-ranging menu. What more can you ask for?
CIDER CONCLUSION
I learned a lot between reading, tasting, and thinking about ciders for over a month. I did mention controversy early on. Let’s look.
COMPETITIONS
Our guru, Mr. Jason Wilson of “The Cider Revival” book gets roped into being a cider competition judge. I too got roped into being a wine competition judge in the early 2000’s. Back then, I wrote for The Richmond Times Dispatch and Style Weekly while living and working in Virginia. In Wilson’s words, “all those medals are an exercise in futility.” I can take that one step further with a piece that I published after observing how an industry tried to fake their way into greatness. Check it out, “Governor’s Cup Lite,” Style Weekly, June 26, 2002, by Layne V. Witherell. Some things just don’t change.
HERITAGE
Nostalgia marketing is controversial. Do we go blazingly forward with jalapeno chili kumquat ciders? Or simply go back to the nostalgia of Johnny Appleseed on the frontier style branding? Nothing flames the fires of controversy more than the word “heritage.” In Oakland, California a cider bar owner exclaimed, “Heritage makes me feel a little icky. It’s too hella white!”
In the south “heritage” is as comfortable as looking longingly at great granddad’s old butternut uniform that he wore clear through to Appomattox. How do I know? I have actually lived in both places. Oakland in the 70’s while attending San Francisco State and Richmond, Virginia as a wholesaler, retailer, and writer. We are different Americas.
CIDER AND FOOD
I am getting hungry. The food and cider combo at Freedom’s Edge was perfect. Let’s take a look at a variety of things that can work at your table as you wash down your favorite cider.
- Brie- Works with everything
- Cheddar- Yummy with the fuller flavors
- Crepes- Beautiful combo of flavors
- Duck- Why not duck?
- Turkey- Cider for Thanksgiving?
- Spicy dishes- Wow!
- Fondue- Missing in action at Freedom’s Edge this visit. Maybe next time?
- Chocolate Fondue- With their blueberry cider
- Last, but not least, sweet cider with… donuts.
THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT RIDE. DON’T FORGET TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CIDER PEOPLE. AND REMEMBER: IT’S NOT JUST FOR FALL ANYMORE.
