Serving the Towns of Wawarsing, Crawford, Mamakating, Rochester and Shawangunk, and everything in between
(none)   
SJ FB page   

Gutter Gutter
Hard Cider Is On The Rise... Again
Exciting News From The Orchards Of The Hudson Valley

Tart, tangy, zesty, effervescent, dry, off-dry, sweet, but refreshing... hard cider is finally making a comeback in America. A century ago, in rural parts of the US, hard cider was the drink of choice. Prohibition wound up destroying that drinking culture so farmers cut down their cider trees and planted "dessert" apples instead.

Up until 2009, the market for hard cider in the US was a very slow growing affair, but then something happened. In the last three years hard cider has been the fastest growing segment of the alcoholic beverages market, and is now placed at around 1 percent of the US beer market. The big and bigger boys have been piling into the category, with Angry Orchard from the Boston Beer Company, of Sam Adams brewing fame, now the category leader. Johnny Appleseed is Anheuser Busch's entrant; Smith & Forge comes from Miller/Coors. And then there are the artisanal, regional and local ciders, which are experiencing a boom in appreciation and production.

This past Sunday, Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville had a very interesting cider and cheese tasting, pairing up eight local and regional cider makers with Hudson Valley cheeses. A quick survey of the offerings gives a picture of the cider scene, which is one of variety, experimentation, traditions and the sort of excitement we used to see in the micro-brew scene fifteen years ago.

"We have dedicated a tap to hard cider all this year," said Marcus Guiliano, chef proprietor of Aroma Thyme and an enthusiastic promoter of the craft cider boom. "Naked Flock for most of the time, but we've rotated several others through."

Cider is also gluten-free, of course.

9 Pin, currently on tap at Aroma Thyme, was represented at the event by Josh Whelan.

"We're an urban cidery, only started selling our cider in February," he said. "We got the first license for a farm cidery under the state bill signed by Governor Cuomo."

9 Pin is made in Albany, has lots of apple varieties, is described by Whelan as "sessionable" at 6.7 percent alcohol by volume, and is light but flavorful, a shade off-dry, with a nice appley finish.

At the other end of the spectrum lies Aaron Burr Cidery out of Wurtsboro, who had Andrew Novak on hand presenting the ciders, as well as cider maker Andy Brennan.

"The specialty," said Novak, "is wild foraged ciders."

Brennan literally harvests apples growing on abandoned orchard trees up on the Shawangunk ridge and in the woods and fields around Wurtsboro. The products boast that ineffable but wondrous thing, "terroir," familiar to fine wine drinkers. Aaron Burr's "Shawangunk Ridge" and "Mamakating Hollow" are both bone dry, high acidity ciders, with a subtle set of differences well worth exploring over cheese and crackers, or roast chicken and braised vegetables.

Another tiny, artisanal operation is Kettleborough out of New Paltz. Tim Dressel, fourth generation of the family to farm there, poured their dry, champagne-style product and noted how they grow their own 22 varieties of apples and are in their third year of cider making. Experiment is the name of the game for them, and it must be fun, too; their offering was bone dry and sharp.

Bigger producers, regionals one could call them, had come up from Orange County, including the Standard Cider Co., an offshoot of Brotherhood Winery's cider operation; and Orchard Hill, from Soon's Orchards, which lies between Middletown and Goshen, who offered up 7.2 percent alcohol Red Label and a Ten66, inspired by Pommeau de Normandie, which comes across as a kind of port, based on apple brandy aged in French oak then blended with Soon's cider and returned to the oak barrels for further aging.

Also on hand was Doc's, from Warwick, who've been selling their draught and seasonal ciders for a long time, and Naked Flock, which is cider from Applewood Winery. Pumpkin Cider from Docs was exactly that, while Naked Flock's "Original" is brewed with a champagne yeast and gets a touch of wild flower honey which shows up on the bouquet.

Meanwhile, Boston Beer Co. is moving forward with the purchase of a 60 acre orchard property on the Albany Post Road in Montgomery which they intend to be Angry Orchard's center for research and development and the brand's new home base.

All in all, exciting times loom for both cider makers and new drinkers!



Gutter Gutter






Gutter