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We stay in Oregon for our second holiday seasonal but we switch over to cider and a rockin’ around the Christmas tree from 2 Towns Ciderhouse.
“Sled Zeppelin, a 6.9% ABV limited-edition cider. This seasonal headliner blends Pacific Northwest apples, Oregon cranberries, and a dash of cinnamon for a cider that takes your taste buds on a Stairway to Heaven.”
You can bury your head in the sand about Climate Change but it is a huge factor in agriculture including in ways that you wouldn’t even think of like making is England’s Scrumpy Cider so higher in ABV that it is taxed as a wine!
This is from a Rick Steves Facebook post: “England’s hottest summer on record has produced a bumper crop of unusually sweet apples — which, in turn, have bumped up the alcohol content of scrumpy (hard cider) from its typical 6-8% ABV to as high as 10.5% ABV. As a result, scrumpy is now classified as “wine,” meaning it’s taxed at a higher rate…and too expensive for producers to sell to pubs.”
Hops, barley and other grains are in the crosshairs of weather as well.
It is not just breweries that have anniversary releases. Cideries can too and 2 Towns Cider House has 15.
“15th Anniversary Cider crafted from heirloom Oregon apples ( Smith’s Cider, Grindstone, and Ashmead’s Kernel ) grown by our longtime partners at Pleasant Valley Cider Apples.”
Got some new ciders from the lovely folks at 2 Towns Ciderhouse in Oregon and both are spot on perfect for hot SoCal weather.
Since I tastes a POG beer recently, I started with the POG Cosmic Crisp. First sip was a nice combo of orange and guava notes that started the song before the apple juice notes took the solo. Surprisingly, this is a 9% cider. It does not taste it at all. This is good but light on POGiness.
Water Wings brings in Clementine citrus from California, nice near wine-like aroma here. Quite punchy citrus which I like. Close to a smoothie experience. Bit of the old school Orange Julius. Apple takes a back seat and it works for this.
Today marks the really of a unique cider from Benny Boy Brewing and Cidery in East Los Angeles, and that is saying something since they are quite creative. Meet Me in the Woods is a spruce tip cider in collaboration with the band Lord Huron. It is a cool label design as well and good to see a large format bottle too.
Benny Boy Brewing and Cidery is going all Apple Fest in November with all things cider and apples and community. I went last year and seeing the people pressing cider and the smell of cinnamon in the air despite being so close to the 5 Freeway is very cool and a marker for the Los Angeles seasonal year.
If you are like me, there is always another book needed. And if you need more cider info then I have a book recommendation for ya’. It is American Cider by Dan Pucci and Craig Cavallo which gives “a new wave of consumers the tools to taste, talk about, and choose their ciders, along with stories of the many local heroes saving apple culture and producing new varieties.”
I don’t usually go for flavored ciders, I tilt towards just the apple please. But I am intrigued by Benny Boy’s Madame Ruby’s a bourbon barrel-aged cherry cider.
Here is the short description from the brewery / cidery, “10 months in the making, she’s tart, she’s fruity, and slightly boozy.”
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.