Author: UnitedStatesofCider

On The Shelf: What We’re Reading: for Presidents’ Day: Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf

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Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, by Andrea Wulf

“For the Founding Fathers, gardening, agriculture, and botany were elemental passions: a conjoined interest as deeply ingrained in their characters as the battle for liberty and a belief in the greatness of their new nation.”

Read an excerpt here.

We discovered the book via  William Yosses, author, activist and White House Executive Pastry Chef, who mentioned Founding Gardeners, in his talk at TEDxManhattan:Changing the Way We Eat, which you can view along with all the inspiring TEDxManhattan speakers, here. William “Bill” Yosses speaks during Session 2: EDUCATE at about 1:45 timestamp.


Cider52: Northwest Cider: Tieton Cider Works, and more American Cider Reviews.

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It’s week 8 of 2013 The Year of Cider, and our plan – Cider52: A Cider A Week, is on schedule. 8 cider reviews posted, and more on the way.

Considering today is Washington’s Birthday/Presidents’ Day, and knowing some of our Founding Gardeners, were avid cider makers and cider drinkers:

We vow this Presidents’ Day to Drink More American Craft Cider.

First up, ciders from Tieton Cider Works in the Yakima Valley of Washington state.

From the Tieton website: “The orchard is perched above the confluence of the Tieton and Naches rivers at an elevation of 2000 feet, considered high for a growing region in Washington State, giving us the advantage of growing our fruit at slightly cooler temperatures. The long sunny days, cool nights and fertile soils craft exceptionally great tasting apples, pears, cherries and apricots”

Read more about Tieton and Harmony Orchards cider apples. Harmony Orchards is profiled in Rowan Jacobsen’s book, American Terroir.

Tieton Cider Works produce 10 ciders, and we will be tasting and reviewing nine, (Precipice Perry Pear Cider is currently not available).

American Cider Drinkers Take Note: Tieton Cider Works now ships to 40 US States.

And they have a great tag line: Re:think the Apple – Drink Cider

Tasting notes to follow.

Cider Review: Valverán 20 Manzanas Frost Cider: Cider52

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servicios_1242950632_450Cider:  VALVERÁN 20 MANZANAS FROST CIDER

Maker:  Valverán Origin: Sariego, Asturias, Spain  website: www.llagaresvalveran.com

Importer:  Rowan Imports  website: rowanimports.com

ABV: 10 %  Bottle: 375 ml, cork

Style Notes: Inspired by Quebec, Canada’s Ice Ciders, this is Spain’s first Frost Cider.

Fruit: Apples. Regona, Raxao, and Durona de Tresali, from Valverán’s orchard, el Rebollar.

Makers Fruit Notes: Each bottle of “Valverán’s frost cider, 20 Manzanas, is made from the concentrated must of 20 apples.  The apples are picked at the peak of maturity and macerated, after-which the effects of a natural frost are reproduced.  The resulting must is fermented in stainless steel tanks, then aged for 12 months in French oak casks.”

Tasting Notes: In The Glass: Deep golden amber, full, smooth, sweet smokey burnt caramel and baked apple. Notes of wood, sherry, toffee, and raisin, with hints Asturian apple acidity and “amargo”.

Our Pairings – The Tasting Lab: We tried with Valdeón, a Spanish mixed  goat and cow milk blue cheese. Valdeón has a bold, spicy, white pepper minerality and made for an extremely delicious pairing.*

Cheesemonger’s Notes: Blue cheese and 20 Manazas is classic pairing.

Overall Impressions: A sipping cider, as an apéritif or for dessert. A cold season treat. Mixology options: when exploring Port and Sherry cocktails, 20 Manzanas would be an interesting Asturian twist.

*This cider was part of a Murray’s Cheese tasting class, This Cider House Rules: Paring Cider and Cheese, in January of 2013.  Rowan Imports was on hand to discuss this cider and Asturian cider making practices

Note: Valveran’s Massaveu family have been making wine for more than 40 years, and began producing cider in 2010, producing unique ciders by combining methods of cider and wine production.

Apple images from www.sidradeasturias.es

If you have tasting notes to add please leave a comment.

 

Cider52: Cider Review: POMONA cider/braggot at Birreria Eataly NYC

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Cider52: Cider on the Go – Birreria at Eataly NYC

Eataly’s rooftop restaurant and brewery Birreria features an assortment of on site brewed cask ales.

Cider: POMONA cider/braggot on cask at La Birreria NYC.

Maker: “Head brewer Peter Hepp is brewing unfiltered, unpasteurized and naturally carbonated Cask Ales just 30 feet from where you sit, eat and drink. Each is served through traditional hand pumps, at the perfect temperature, so you can enjoy our beers in the most natural and traditional way.”

Origin: Birreria at Eataly NYC

ABV % Unknown

Fruit & Style Notes: Breezy Hill Orchard apples and Catskills Provisions honey

Tasting Notes: SEMI DRY and extremely light with a slight sourness.

Overall: Beer meets Cider meets Mead.

Note: From The Oxford Companion to Beer:  “Braggot, a drink that was popular in parts of medieval Europe. Braggots are beers containing large amounts of honey in the wort, sometimes more than 50% of the original gravity. As such they are technically not necessarily considered beer at all, but beverages on the border between beer and mead.”

Alexander Hamilton on Taxes and Cider,1827

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“The moralizing tendency and salubrious nature of fermented liquors – beer, ale, porter, and cider – recommend them to a serious consideration and particularly in our country.”

 attributed* to Alexander Hamilton, 1827

*secondary source of quote: Liquor laws of the United States, their spirit and effect (1885) references “The Digest of Manufactures” Hamilton as originator, unverified.

Windfalls: Found Apple Poems. Selections from The Letter B.

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assorted apples
 
Birmingham Pippin

Brummage Pippin, Grummage Pippin

Yellow russett,

round,

table, first rate:

January to June.

A Warwickshire apple.

– – –

 
Betsey.

-Yellowish russett,

oblate,

conical, middle-sized, table,

first-rate;

November to February;

tender juicy flesh.

– – –

 
Black Crab

( Black Borsdorffer ). – Darkish red,

roundish, small,

indifferent;

curious on account of it’s colour,

in other respects worthless.

– – –

The Gardener”s Monthly Volume.

The Apple

It’s Culture, Uses, and History

1847

by George William Johnson & R. Errington

via googlebooks

On The Shelf: What We’re Reading: On Cider and Taste of Place

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Taste, Memory Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter, by David Buchanan, Chelsea Green Publishing 2012

American Terroir Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields, by Rowan Jacobsen, Bloomsbury USA 2010

Cider Making Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider, Annie Proulx & Lou Nichols, Storey Publishing LLC  2003

Cider Hard and Sweet by Ben Watson, The Countryman Press 2nd Edition 2009

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, Chelsea Green Publishing 2012

Ale to the Chief. White House Beer – Why Not White House Cider in 2013?

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They’re brewing beer in the White House.

The list of White House brews so far: White House Honey Brown Ale, White House Honey Porter, and White House Honey Blonde. Two recipes were released to the public as a result of a We The People petition.

Sam Kass, White House Assistant Chef and the Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives, and Sous Chef Tafari Campbell, are making special brews with White House honey made by White House bees.

“Like many home brewers who add secret ingredients to make their beer unique, all of our brews have honey that we tapped from the first ever bee-hive on the South Lawn. The honey gives the beer a rich aroma and a nice finish but it doesn’t sweeten it.”

According to the video the President paid for the supplies out of his own pocket and the chefs are working on the brews on their own time.

Read the full article Ale to the Chief: White House Beer  and get the recipes and instructions so you can brew your own White House Beer.

Watch the video for the full story, (and a peek into the White House beer cellar).

We suggest for 2013 the chefs explore making a White House Hard Cider. Petition, anyone ?

Cider Review: CASTAÑÓN Sidra Natural 2011: Cider52

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mundo_de_la_manzanaCider: CASTAÑÓN SIDRA NATURAL 2011

Maker: Castañón Sidra Natural  Origin: Asturias, Spain  website: www.sidracastanon.com

Importer: Rowan Imports website: rowanimports.com

ABV: 6%  Bottle:  750 ml, cork

Style Notes: Traditional Asturian sidra, fermented with native yeasts.

Fruit: Apples. 

Makers Fruit Notes: Blend of Regona apples and 21 other PDO certified native varietals.

Tasting Notes: In The Glass: Pale straw, hints of green, unfiltered, unpasteurized, visible sediments. Bracing acidity “amargo”, tart fresh apple fruit, dry, tannic, effervescent.

Our Pairings – The Tasting Lab: We tried with Salva Cremasco, an Italian cows milk cheese*. Try pairing with melted cheeses and fruit jams, or rustic garlicy onion jams, hearty salads, kale, bitter greens, cured meats, sausages, aged cheeses. When in doubt pair with Spanish tapas.

Cheesemonger’s Notes:  The zingy acidity of this cider will nicely match that of a goats milk cheese such as Montenebro or Humboldt Fog. For those who prefer things on the stinkier side try this with Hudson Red or Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hawk.

Overall Impressions: (We) could drink this with anything. Sweet or savory. Fresh, tart, full of “amargo”, about 80 calories a bottle, and just this side of vinegar, it’s clear why Asturianos favor this drink throughout the day. Traditional Sidra de Asturias may not be what you were expecting from a cider, but it is certainly worth trying.

Note: June, 2012 marks Castañón’s first export shipment to New York.

*This cider was part of a Murray’s Cheese tasting class, This Cider House Rules: Paring Cider and Cheese, in January of 2013.  Rowan Imports was on hand to discuss this cider and Asturian cider making practices.

Apple images from www.sidradeasturias.es

If you have tasting notes to add please leave a comment.

 

Press Release: NEWLY FORMED UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF CIDER MAKERS (USACM) ELECTS INAUGURAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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LOC apple imageNEWLY FORMED UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF CIDER MAKERS (USACM)
ELECTS INAUGURAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Link to full contents of press release issued by Angry Orchard, Chicago, Illinois, February 6, 2013

Excerpt of press release issued by Angry Orchard, Chicago, Illinois, February 6, 2013:

The United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM) was formed today with the broad input of industry producers, stakeholders, and constituents from around the country. The group’s mission is to gather and share information about cider and perry production, regulations concerning the production of hard cider and perry, and pear and apple growing; as well as to help members improve their operations, raise the public’s awareness of the products produced by its members, and promote the interests of the cider and perry producers in the United States. USACM is pleased to announce its inaugural Board of Directors which reflects the industry’s diversity of regional distribution, production volume, and growth: Steve Wood, Farnum Hill Ciders, New Hampshire; Brad Page, Colorado Cider Company, Colorado; Mike Beck, Uncle John’s Cider Mill, Michigan; Dan Rowell, Vermont Hard Cider, Vermont; Robert Vail, Angry Orchard, Massachusetts; James Kohn, Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, Oregon; and Charlotte Shelton, Albemarle Cider Works, Virginia.