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If you missed it, 2 Towns Ciderhouse released their final Cellar Series cider of 2024 and it is festive and fruity, a Pear & Red Plum Imperial.
“Delicate and juicy Northwest dessert pears are met with warming, slightly tart Northwest red plums to provide a balanced fusion of flavor.” Plus apples as a base of course.
Time to switch it up and have a winter cider, let’s head over to GABF winning cider maker 2 Towns Cider House for a Polar Party.
“Shake things up with Polar Party as you step into a winter wonderland swirling with a lively blend of elderflower, PNW blueberries, and fresh-pressed apples. This limited cider is guaranteed to break the ice at any winter bash.”
I received the GABF winning ciders pack from 2 Towns Ciderhouse and it is time to open up the 10th Anniversary Cider to review.
Six different apples make up this 10th Anniversary cider and except for McIntosh the rest are all deeper apple cuts like Newtown Pippin, Orleans Reinette, Ashmead’s Kernel, Golden Russet and Cox’s Orange Pippin.
It pours a light yellow in the glass with lovely little bubbles climbing upward. It is a bit of a green apple aroma to it. Quite sparkly mouthfeel to it. There is a bit of tartness to this which I like. It has a bit of candy apple tart.
I like it over the Cellar Series one because of the that green apple swirl.
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.”
2 Towns Ciderhouse has their Women’s History Month cider ready for you. “The Baddie is the result of an all-women led initiative and 2 Towns is allocating a portion of the proceeds to the Pink Boots Society, aiding women and non-binary individuals in the fermented beverage industry.”
Look for it when you are in cider mode.
I am known to be ambi-beverage-ous so I was happy to receive two mega meads from Nectar Creek. Both Super. Mure and Cyser.
Starting with the Super Cyser, which looks a bit like honey in my glencairn. The aroma is apple-y and not sweet. The honey comes on strong in the first sip. But the apple is not far behind at all. A bit slick on the tongue but not in a cloying way. For something that is 14%, it is not super bitey.
The SM with blackberry has a more pronounced aroma. Berry comes through for sure. This one tastes way sweeter to me. I get sugar, then blackberry, then a smidge of honey. I do like the berry, it tastes natural and fresh. But this is the one for the sweet tooths.
Which one the casual mead appreciator would like comes down to sweetness tolerance. If you prefer dry then the Super Cyser is the choice, if you are looking for a dessert partner, the Super Mure is the pick.
Got some C’s for you today. Cranberries and currants from 2 Towns Ciderhouse.
Bliss pours the requisite red, would have been weird otherwise. I like that the aroma is still primarily apple. It needs to be cider with flavors, not just flavors. There is a really nice tartness here. I get the currants more than cranberry but I have a feeling that each drinker will perceive the two in different amounts. Very zippy with a nice hit of carbonation. I can see this paired with a salad with blue cheese very easily.
We are back around the calendar horn. A whole beer year stretches before us. All sorts of new brews and new news are waiting for us craft beer fans. Starting with…..
~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Craft Beer & Brewing’s Best of 2023 Canadian picks.
~ special featured reviews of beers of ciders from 2 Towns Ciderhouse
~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer Roughhouse Friday by Jaed Coffin
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to The Food Programme from the BBC
~ Sports & A Beer returns with Streaming Sports
~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.
Lost in the shuffle of the hellstorm of 2020 was the hyped then disappearance of the Cosmic Crisp apple. Well, it is back, in cider form….
2 Towns Ciderhouse is adding a Cosmic Crisp to their portfolio. I wasn’t much impressed with the apple but that doesn’t mean that it won’t make a good cider.
If you want to throw a curveball at your craft beer Thanksgiving, you can start by getting some old world style ciders to go along with it. You could start with two ciders from Two Towns and their newly christened Traditions line-up:
CIDRE BOUCHÉ: French Style Keeved Cider – 6.5% ABV
“Inspired by the bittersweet ciders of France, Cidre Bouché is made with an Old World process called keeving. We start with 100% traditional cider apple varieties like Kingston Black, Michelin, Reine des Pommes, Dabinett and Muscat de Lense, and then let the fruit ‘sweat’ and intensify in aroma. Next, the apples are crushed and left to soak on the skins before the juice is fermented slowly over the course of a year, and aged in French oak casks. When finished, this keeved cider is rich, thick and brimming with overripe bittersweet apple character. Pairs well with classic French fare— think savory crepes, pork terrine, camembert and blue cheese.”
RIVERWOOD: New World Brut Cider – 6.3% ABV
“Inspired by sparkling brut champagnes of the past, Riverwood is a contemporary take on a classic. Slow fermentation at cold temperatures allows the intense passionfruit-like aroma of freshly picked and pressed Jonagold and Porter’s Perfection apples to flourish. Dry, bright, and floral, this New World cider brings the brut style out of the past and into the present. Pairs well with lobster mushroom risotto, butternut squash ravioli in sage brown butter, asparagus with lemon aioli and Moroccan chicken with dates and braised greens.”