Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
The last time that I was in Portland, I had a spirit-ed doughnut from Blue Star, the Portland chain that also has locations right here in Los Angeles.
Maybe Portland Cider will sell this “inspired by” cider down here to combine forces in SoCal too.
Moonlight Meadery has a cider that should pair well with the barrel-aged syrup, Little Apples is a Semi-Dry Hard Cider that is Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels. made from natural and locally sourced Granny Smith apples.
The United States Association of Cider Makers aka The USACM now has its own certification, the Certified Pommelier™.
Per the press release, “The study guide covers six sections: Apples, the Orchard & History; Cider Making; Flavor & Evaluation; Cider Styles (US and Europe); Keeping & Serving; and Food & Cider. These are the same topics covered in the level one exam, but there are noticeable differences in the suggested study concepts for the two tests. To start, the list of apples to know is greatly expanded for the new exam. Test takers are told they should be able to assign to the apples to region, style and class: bittersharp, bittersweet, sweet or sharp. These classes are determined by acid and tannin levels, and are laid out in the stydy guide. The second key difference is the inclusion of traditional European cider styles for the UK, Spain, France and Germany. Lastly, there are many more concepts listed in the Certified Pommelier™ study guide than in the Level 1 study guide.”
Long Beach is getting more cider. In addition to Great Society and their strong selection of ciders there will be Ficklewood Ciderworks sometime in mid-2019. The Ciderworks comes from Joe Farrier and Stefan Enjem. It will be pouring at 700 E Broadway on the eastside of Downtown.
Ficklewood will be focused on the dry or semi-dry ciders. More to come when the open date gets closer.
For those (like me) that assumed that Martinelli’s was just the sweet and sparkly juice was all they did, well now I, and by extension you, can learn better.
The Watsonville based cidery had made hard cider as far back as 1868 (keep that number in mind). Prohibition put a stop to it but the cider came back again afterwards in 1933. By 1978 it was not selling and just the juice was available.
Now with 150 years of business behind it, they have brought it back again with help from Gordon Biersch. Only selling in NorCal at Costco is 1868 Hard Cider. 5.7% ABV made with a blend of juices from Newtown Pippin, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Mutsu and Honeycrisp apples based on “a recipe similar to one used when Martinelli’s first opened” and using the same label as well (with 2018 updates)
Maybe the rest of California will see bottles.
Our final BC cider visit is in Summerland at Dominion Craft Cider. The name stems from Experimental farms named Dominion, “stretching from coast to coast, including one in Summerland. Set up to study and develop new apple varieties introduced by early settlers from Europe…”
Here are the ciders that I would try…
Dominion Craft Cider
“Our flagship pub-style craft cider. It has a light golden colour with a lively effervescence in the glass. It has a distinctive apple aroma with a full-bodied mouthfeel from the blend of apple varietals in each batch.”
Dominion Ginger Cider
“Our limited-batch ginger cider co-created with Dickie’s Ginger. This ginger cider combines the crispness of our dry apple cider with real ginger to add a complex aroma and a hint of spice.”
They also have a rhubarb version and a Cascade dry-Hopped cider that I would sample as well.
Our middle stop is the Naramata Cider Co. where you can fancy big bottles or opt for their pear cider in stubbies.
My taster tray starts with that Okanagan pear cider…
Pear Cider
“Crafted from 100% local pears. Just pears. Fresh pears, tasty pears, not overtly pear, refreshing, delicious.”
CMS – L❤vander
“Pink Lady apples + local Lavender Limited Production. Apple cider falls in ❤, romanced by the rows of beautifully scented lavender that line our orchard edge.”
CMS – Peaches + Cream
“Local Apples fermented with splash of fresh Naramata peaches. Limited Production.
Apple cider kissed with a healthy dose of neighbor and farmer extraordinaire, ‘Super Dave’ Pedersen’s peaches.”
CMS – Gin Botanicals
“Local Apples co-fermented with Legend Distilling’s Gin Botanicals Limited Production. Apple cider co-fermented with locally foraged botanicals used in crafting our neighbor, Legend Distilling’s, Dark Moon Gin.”
Our first apple-laden stop is good timing for the MLB surge to the post-season at Left Field Cider. Here you will get English styled ciders from the founders who actually studied under cider makers in the English industry.
Here is what I would add to my initial sample tray:
Big Dry – Dry Sparkling Cider
“Our driest cider will attract those looking for a more traditional style cider. The blend is dominated by bittersweet cider apples whose rich tannins are balanced by the fruity aromatics of Okanagan dessert apples.”
Little Dry – Dry Sparkling Cider
“Light and refreshing with a slight effervescence, our Little Dry is blended to highlight the natural characteristics of the crisp, fresh apples from which it was made.”
…and something from their limited series…
“The cidermaker’s select series was created to allow our customers to join us on our journey as we explore new cider apple varieties, blends and fermentation techniques. Enjoy these limited release ciders while they are available, because once the tank runs dry they will be gone for good.”
Cider is working it’s way through Los Angeles. Great Society in Long Beach and now the forthcoming Tree Branch Ciderhouse.
Let’s hope that draft cider works even closer to me.
Looks like L.A. is getting more cider…
…and on the 10th, if you are near Southland Beer in Koreatown you can taste the following:
Wild Mirabelle Plum – cider blended with plum wine
Elderberry Perry – oak-aged with pears and elderberries
Flagship Cider – funky and dry apple cider
Pioner Perry – a classic perry
Wild Rose – aromatic rose-infused cider