Usually my collaboration talk is between 2 breweries but today we are going to talk about 2 Towns Ciderhouse and their international cider collaboration with Japan’s Son of the Smith cidery.
Son of The Smith in Nagano is headed by Kota Ozawa, Takuro Ikeuchi, and Nobumitsu Miyajima and they “provided a unique yeast strain cultivated from raw Japanese maple sap and honey. This yeast was propagated in 2 Towns’ lab and used to ferment fresh-pressed Pacific Northwest apple juice in mead barrels selected by Ikeuchi. One barrel utilized the Japanese wild yeast, while the other employed a distinctive Brett strain from Takush’s favorite home brew originating in Alaska. The result is a blend of these two fermentations, creating a cider with complex, layered flavors.”
The cider is named Twin Peaks and it “is a bone-dry, unfiltered farmhouse-style cider with an ABV of 7.3%. Crafted from a blend of Pacific Northwest apples, this cider features an expressive apple-forward profile with delicate notes of stone fruit and floral character from the Japanese yeast. The Brett strain adds a mild Brett finish, enhancing the cider’s overall complexity.”