Cider Chat

Bottle Safely to Avoid Bottle Bombs If like me you grew up in a house where your parents made homemade everything, chances are they also dabbled in making homemade soda, wine, beer, and cider. Mine sure did and I still recall hearing the popping of root beer bottles in the root cellar. Thankfully, we did have a separate room where the exploding glass bottles only left a mess and didn't hurt anyone else around. Bottle Bombs are dangerous and are caused by fermenting sugar over carbonating a bottle that can't withstand the pressure. Measure Sugar Content before Bottling In this episode with Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider in Ontario Canada we explore the process of bottling with the goal of bottle conditioning with the final product being one that has a bit of sparkle (read: bubbles). Ryan Monkman - FieldBird Cider in Kent-He wine cellar Usually I bottle when the cider has not fully fermented. There is just enough yeast cells in solution that they will continue to munch away on the sugar and produce bubbles c

The Ask Ryan Series is back! In Spring of 2020 the first Ask Ryan series with Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider was posted. This year we return with Ryan once again to dive into more  cidermaking questions. In this segment we return to more questions about oak barrels and cider and the technique known as Bâtonnage. The question: Is it okay for gross lees stay in the barrel or is it a good idea to rack out the cider into another barrel to get it off of the gross lees? Ryan Monkman Gross Lees Defined The sediment that forms on the bottom before fermentation is generally called Gross Lees. Considering this definition then, once the apples are pressed and before they go into the barrel there can be a drop of the heavy particles in the apple juice before it ferments. Sooo, it could be said that the gross lees are not in the barrel to begin with...or are they? Heavy Solid Ferments at FieldBird Cider 20% of the ciders that FieldBird makes is done so on the gross lees Dangers of Gross lees and how to manage The danger

Cider Canada / Cidre Canada Barry Rooke knows that the Canadian cider market is growing and believes in it so much that he and his partner Wendy co-founded The Cider Crate, a website that hosts their blog, a map of cidermakers in Canada, a podcast.  His full time work is as Executive Director - National Campus/Community Radio Association and he is also an accredited member of the Canadian Society of Association Executives! Suffice to say, Barry has the tools at hand to help build an association from the ground up! Building Cider Canada Barry shares the baseline steps for building an association Interim President and Board Bylaws Membership Website and Social Media By the Fall this burgeioning association hopes to hold its first of what should be an Annual General Meeting. Cider Canada / Cidre Canada This multi lingual country with the province of Quebec speaking predominantly French Canadian is why the association is choosing both spelling for the associaton on its logo. Barry discusses 4 General Apple Re

Fermenting with Quince Was Aphrodite’s Forbidden Fruit a quince or the apple? She's not talking, but cidermakers are in this panel discussion on “Fermenting with Quince” that was recorded for CiderCon2021. Quince a.k.a. Cydonia oblonga is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the family Rosaceae. Quince is a ‘pomme’ fruit with the likes of apples, pears, and medlars. This golden Pomme is having a renaissance of sorts with makers partly due to it aromatic qualities and tannins. Kim Hamblin and Dan Rinke of Art + Science in Oregon, Steve Selin of South Hill Cider in New York and UK makers Martin Berkley of Pilton’s Cider and James Forbes of Little Pomona will discuss fermenting with Quince for this panel discussion that was moderated by Ria Windcaller of Cider Chat.  The Fermenting with Quince questions What inspired you to ferment with quince and how long have you fermenting with quince? How do you source your quince? Quince varieties used - not unusual for makers to use unknown varieties. Quince produc

Vermont Quince Hosts the New England Quince Taste Test of 2020 Perhaps before you listen to this episode 266 you might like to go to episode 248 to hear the initial blind tasting to compare the notes with this episode. The Inspiration Behind Vermont Quince A mother and son trip to Spain, inspired Nan Stefanik to incorporate Vermont Quince Company was in 2012. Since that time her one person company has not only wowed the foodie market with her many quince marmalades and pastes, but she also secured a Specialty Crop Grant for the #GrowQuince Initiative. Nan notes that she is "Still amazed that even at her age, she knew so little about quince" which had first been introduce to New England in 1629. At the time quince became a staple as it is a great resource for pectin used in the making of jams. From New England, the quince traveled to Texas in 1850 and then California. The Golden State became a top producer of 90% of the commercial quince on the market. In the mid 20th century the producing artificial pectin l

Tasting Calvados with Étienne Dupont Étienne Dupont took over the Domaine Familial Etienne Dupont in the Pays d'Auge region of Normandy France from his father Louis and grandfather Jules in 1980. Episode 098: Jérôme Dupont | Domaine Dupont is a conversation with Étienne son who sadly passed away in 2018. The recording with Jérôme provides the backdrop of the story behind the Dupont families acquiring the estate or what is called a Domaine in France.  Eitenne Dupont and Benoit at Cave Pepins In this episode Étienne and I are in the city of Caen and we are visiting Cave Pepin - wonderful store filled with Calvados, Cider, Poire and Pommeau. We are assisted by Benoit or Ben who works at the store and brought us through a tasting of Calvados. Etienne begins by describing the Étienne's Notes Three Sources of Aroma in Calvados The fruit The Yeast The Cask in which the Calvados has been kept If the cask is new wood you will taste the sap which presents itself as grainy. Classical Calvados - the cask only contain

Grandma's Apple Orchard John Bunker, of Maine, Presents: Grandma’s Apple Orchard: the perfect orchard with only twelve trees. How did she do it? John is a Colby alumnus and was presented the 2019 Commissioner's Distinguished Service Award by Governor Janet Mills and Commissioner Amanda Beal for Saving Maine's Apple Heritage. He has also authored two books: Apples and the Art of Detection: Tracking Down, Identifying, and Preserving Rare Apples, and Not Far From the Tree--a Brief History of the Apples and the Orchards of Palermo Maine 1804-2004. The Palermo Community Library hosted this virtual presentation by John Bunker on Wednesday, February 24th 2021 and granted permission to Cider Chat to edit and repost this delightful presentation. Find the link to this the full Zoom presentation CLICK HERE  "The apples are longing to be planted in your yard. They want you to put down your roots with them here in your Community now When Dostoyevsky wrote about the renewal in the orchard, he talked about 100 years. That

Science Based Resource for Apple Identification Up to this point we've all been reliant upon drawings and descriptions from historical books and "those in the know" to identify specific apple varieties. Today, as you will see below, there is now an option to have an apple's parentage checked via the DNA. Apple Identification via Genetics has arrived! Cameron Peace PhD of Washington State University's presentation on "The Reconstruction of the Apple Family and other cider genetics". This video is synced with the power point presentation presented by Dr. Peace at Franklin County CiderDays 2019. Extra notes from Dr. Peace: Cost of DNA profiling to determine identity and/or parentage is currently $120 per tree (sorry). Your photos and background stories of each mystery tree to be tested are welcome and requested – I’m interested in learning about each tree and joining you in making discoveries. Please note that this is NOT a commercial service but rather a research opportunity. Besides genetics answers provided

What is a Virtual Cidery?   A virtual cider is a cidery managed out of someone’s else’s cidery, or winery and in some cases a brewery. This week's featured guest is Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider in Prince Edward County Ontario. I met Ryan in 2018 and visited his Virtual Cidery host Keint-He Winery. The location was ideal being close to where Ryan lives making it very easy for him to manage the barrels of cider stored in the amazing underground barrel room. Ryan Monkman The arrangement or agreement is key to the success of this cidery model. Ryan discusses the following options to consider. The virtual maker (VM) does sales, while the host does packaging. The VM does everything. Virtual Makers must decide: How involved do you want to be? Benefits of the Virtual Cidery Model Low risk - you get to test your brand and product without having to set up a full brick and mortar site Low financial up front costs The VM and host have the potential to do collaborations. Selecting the right Virtual Host For

What is Yonder? Yonder Cider is made at the production facility in Wenatchee, Washington. Cider are made with both culinary and classic cider varieties that co-owner Caitlin Braam, who is our featured guest in this episode, says is key to the Yonder label.  Wenatchee is also the home of Snowdrift Cider Company where Tim Larsen is based and who also co-owns Yonder. Listen to episode 37  featuring Tim Larsen to learn more about his background and why this region of Washington state is so important the apple industry of the Pacific Northwest. Caitlin Braam What is The Source The Source is a separate business, but also based at the Wenatchee site. Sourcing juice is jargon widely used in the cider industry for makers needing to "source" juice from orchards to make cider. The Source provides both customized blends and apples to makers. The Source in Wenatchee The Future of Yonder The future looks bright despite the closing of the Yonder Bar on February 15, 2021. The garage bar for Yonder was set up in Caitlin's

What is Eris? Eris is the name of the goddess of chaos. Her splendor in creating chaos is exactly why co-owners Michelle Foik and Katie Pizza named their craft beer and cider bar Eris, but there is more. Katie's "elevator pitch' for Eris tells it all saying, "Eris is a brewery, cider house and full service restaurant all under one roof in Chicago." Eris situated in the Howler Building The path to Eris Michelle and Katie began conceptualizing Eris back in 2014, though the actual name of the bar came about much later. It took four years before they could opened the door in February of 2018. The building itself was originally used as a Masonic Temple. Today, the cidery is situated in the basement, the brewery and restaurant on the first floor and the second floor is sighted to be a 200 person event space. There is also outdoor seating, which got a major boost when infrared heaters were added this past November, making the covid safe space super toasty even in the winter months! Katy Pizza and Michelle Foik Pla

Artifact Cider Project Soham Bahatt and Jake Mazar co-founded Artifact Cider Project in 2014. The cidery was originally located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, then moved out towards Boston and eventually back to western Massachusetts. Today, Artifact has two locations, a Tasting Room and production facility in Florence and one in Cambridge.  Soham Bahatt at Artifact Tasting Room and cidery in Florence, Massachusetts 1. What kind of scale are we looking at [for the size of a cidery]? 2. What are our goals? Artifact's Plan to Become a 100 year old Company Soham looks at the question of  "What does it take to grow a 100 year company?" Make sure the cider is good Make sure we are listening to our customers Don't out grow our suppliers Artifact Equipment Tips  Baseline equipment and strategy tips for a small scale cidery start up Focus on sourcing your raw material, which for a cidery is apples Equipment IBC tanks are used widely in the industry for start ups and ongoing ferments Tri clamps - don'

Ragged Hill Cidery since 2017 Steve Garwood is the Head Cidermaker at Ragged Hill Cidery. He and his daughter Anne Garwood Hampp who manages Sales and Marketing and orchardist Keith Arsenault form the Ragged Hill Cider Company in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. Keith began planting the orchard back in 1984. Find Apple Varieties at Ragged Hill Orchard on their page at New England Apple Association  There are 15 acres of apples which are all dwarf tree (predominantly) and they are trellised.   Anne Garwood Hampp, Louise and Steve Garwood. Photo taken in November 2020 Building Out Ragged Hill Apples trees had to be removed (gasp!) to be build the current cidery alongside the Farm Store. The shed roof cidery dimensions are 20' wide x 75' long x 12' high The cold room stores around 20,000 bushels which allows for apples bin to be stored 4 at a time on top of each other Steve ideal storage area  would be 40’ wide x 60 long x 15 high with no posts to maneuver the fork lift around The cidery is very well insulated:

We are Garagiste! Liza and Eric Coffi - Courthouse Creek Garagistes Liza and Eric Coffi jokingly call themselves 'Garagistes' of the cider world. Courthouse Creek is a family-run, small agri-business committed to respecting our land and our community.  They grow apples and other fruits and vegetables using sustainable, low impact practices, and produce orchard-based cider by adhering to natural methods.  Their cidery model is premised upon the small wine boutiques that they are familiar with from their time living in the Central Coast of California. Liza Coffi at Courthouse Creek Tasting Room Initial estimation of build out vs the actual time it took In the orchard:  "We planted our first section of the orchard in 2014, and the second section about six months later.. We knew it would take about four or so years to start seeing an appreciable yield for production purposes.  It took six years. This past harvest, the 2020 harvest, was the first year where we had enough apples to produce a decent amount of cid

Securing a Trademark This episode is Part 2 of the series "Building a Cidery". In Part 1 episode 255 "What is a Trademark" and "Why it matters" was presented by attorney Kevin Regan. Both episodes on Trademark Law were originally presented by attorney Kevin Regan at CiderCon 2020. If you would like to view the power point presentation that Kevin is referring to during this lecture, you will find it as a free download at the Cider Chat Patreon page. While there, please consider becoming a patron of Cider Chat to help keep this chat on the air. Take the steps to secure your trademark Brand names and images become a part of an owner's persona. Getting the public emotionally attached to a brand is a good thing and exactly what one might hope to have happen when building a business. Securing one's brand is time well spent. There are steps that one can take now, whether you have been in business for 20 years or are in the startup phase, to set a solid foundation for your brand. Kevin delivers tips and info to help

Trademark Defined This episode kicks off a new series called "Building a Cidery". This episode and #256 are both on Trademark Law as presented by attorney Kevin Regan at CiderCon 2020. If you would like to view the power point presentation that Kevin is referring to during this lecture, you will find it as a free download at the Cider Chat Patreon page. While there, please consider becoming a patron of Cider Chat to help keep this chat on the air. Why Trademarks Matter Brand names and images become a part of an owner's persona. Getting the public emotionally attached to a brand is a good thing and exactly what one might hope to have happen when building a business. Securing one's brand is time well spent. There are steps that one can take now, whether you have been in business for 20 years or are in the startup phase, to set a solid foundation for your brand. Kevin delivers tips and info to help navigate the key steps to Building a Cidery. In episode 256, Kevin shares the steps necessary to secure a trademark

Blending as Maker like Chef Blending is a key part of cidermaking. It can take place at the pressing of the apple juice prior to ferment or after the cider has finished fermenting. Knowing when to blend is not something you can learn from reading a book, because is not a strict science. To blend well requires a fine palate, a developed nose and a bounty of apple knowledge. Makers are much like chefs in a kitchen. They both may be following a recipe, but the final product is reliant upon their own palate and understanding of the ingredients. Michelin Star chefs don't happen over night and neither do fine cidermakers. Featured Guest in this Episode 254 For this episode on blending, I wanted to hear from Chuck Shelton of Albemarle Ciderworks & Vintage Virginia Apples. Chuck credits author of Apples of North America: Exceptional Varieties for Gardeners, Growers, and Cooks Tom Burford (1935-2020) a champion of heirloom apples and author of  Ben Watson author of Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions, and M

Harvest the brightest fruit on the Quince Tree In late 2019, Vermont Quince Company was awarded USDA-funded Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) to support commercial and backyard growers by compiling and disseminating resources and expertise about growing quince in New England. Knowing when to harvest is key to this discussion! On March 8, 2020, the #GrowQuince initiative kicked off in West Townshend with a roundtable discussion featuring regional quince growers, followed by a scion exchange. This episode and the upcoming episode 253 is from the West Townsend forum. Part 2 Factors for the Harvest of Quince This episode follow up from Part one where Zeke Goodband led us through tips on propagation. In Part 2 he provides tips on when this aromatic fruit is ready to be picked  Additional Topics in Part 2: Different varieties Cracking of fruit Markets for quince Storage Cold temps before harvest Grafting  Contact info for Vermont Q

#GrowQuince - it is easy to do! In late 2019, Vermont Quince Company was awarded USDA-funded Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) to support commercial and backyard growers by compiling and disseminating resources and expertise about growing quince in New England. The #GrowQuince is helping to spotlight this forgotten fruit On March 8, 2020, the #GrowQuince initiative kicked off in West Townshend with a roundtable discussion featuring regional quince growers, followed by a scion exchange. This episode and the upcoming episode 253 is from the West Townsend forum. Part 1 #GrowQuince - Disease/Pest Management   Nan provides an overview of the #GrowQuince goals and then renown horticulturist Zeke Goodband who has extensive experience growing quince for over 25 years leads this conversation. Contact info for Vermont Quince Company Website: Vermont Quince email info@vermontquince.com Facebook page: GrowQuince. Mentions in this Chat New Yor

Kertelreiter Cider Kertelreiter Cider is based in the village of Schefflenz in North Baden, Germany. The cidery came about when Irishman Barry Masterson fell in love with a German lass and moved to her homeland to raise a family.  Though Barry's first love was beer, this full time land surveyor found himself eyeing and then eventually fermenting the ample supply of culinary apples in his area.  Barry Masterson and reworked cider presses Kertelreiter is as Barry puts it is  "tiny". Considering that in 2017 Kertelreiter produced close to 1000 liters (L) , about 220 gallons "tiny' is likely a good description, but it also lends the maker time to hone one's skills. Says Barrys, "We’d doubled the orchard size in early 2019, and had been thinking about selling our cider.  I had planned to step up to 2000 liters as a start. However, the harvest was really poor as a result of a combination of stress from drought the previous year and if I remember correctly a disagreeable frost. Because we had excess capacity due t