
Cider Chat
Interviewing cidermakers, importers, orchardists, foodies, farmers and cider enthusiasts around the world. Let’s delve into the semantics of cider…or is it hard cider, cidre, sidra or fermented apple juice? The truth is out there in Ciderville and we are going to find it. We toast in celebration of cider; As a libation, a gift from the gods, a taste of terroir, and a hard pressed good time. Ready to quench your thirst? Grab a glass and join this chat! See you in Ciderville!
Latest episodes

Aug 12, 2020 • 44min
234: Russia's Knightberg Cider | St Petersburg
Elena V. Tyukina is the Brewmaster and co-owner along with her husband of Knightberg Brewery in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Located in the historical district of this premier European city of distinction, is not small task. Think small road ways and antiquated systems that need to be revved up to meet the modern demand of brewing and fermenting. Fermenters world wide are not afraid of doing the impossible and Knightberg is a classic example of this fact. For instance, Knightberg was the first brewery in Russia to brew an India Pale Ale (IPA) and now producing cider! Elena V. Tyukina Having studied how cider was made in other countries Elena started making cider in 2014 at the brewery. local apples Want to make ciders in a Russian style The 2017 Force of Gravity, a brut cider aged in oak 4.5%, won a Silver Medal at the 2019 Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition. This cider was aged for 9 months, which meant she had to hide the barrels in the back so that her brew team would not try to sell it before it was ready. Elena likes dry cider with a bit of sparkle (bubbles) and this cider fit the ticket. Expect more quality ciders from the dynamic team at Knightberg. Knightberg's Classic Dry Cider label Contact Knightberg Brewery Website: http://www.knightberg.ru/ Mentions in this Chat Seattle Cider Summit to Go Tasting Kits! - order by August 30, 2020 075 Alan Shapiro Cider Summit Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Aug 5, 2020 • 42min
233: "OMG" Russian Cider | Part 2
OMG and the story of two sommeliers! Meet Olga and Micheal Efremov are Russian Sommeliers with two cider brands, OMG and Incider. Michael and Olga Efremov They are based outside of Moscow in a small town, but close enough to work with restaurants in the city. Micheal is the cidermaker and Olga, the educator, leading tasting workshops. During this chat recorded in February of 2020 at Cidrexpo, Olga discussed the apple variety known as "Antonovka". She says it is difficult to make a single varietal cider from this apple because of the lack of aromas. Antonovka is used widely in the US as a rootstock for growing other apple varieties because Antonovka is so vigorous. Labels from OMG and Incider. Note the first label features a painting from Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Listen to a special episode on Cider Chat featuring the era of the Mannerist painters and the current Omni Era of Cider. Get on Cider Chat! Audio Snapshots from Ciderville - are you in the cider trade? Please send along an audio snap shot (2mins or less) with news from your special spot in Ciderville. Cider soon to be released, orchard news, Tasting Room hours - let us hear your good news! Send your snap shot to ria@ciderchat.com Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com Mentioned on this Chat Ross on Wye Cider and Perry Company Audio Snapshot Little Pomona - in last week's episode 232 shared an Audio Snapshot. Here is an update on the varieties of quince they have planted! Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jul 29, 2020 • 31min
232: Russia's Cider Party Starts Now | Pt1
Russia is having a party and cider is invited! The first ever Cider Party was held in Moscow this July and over 200 people attended dancing into the night and drinking cider! This episode 232 is Part 1 of a 4 part series featuring 4 makers whom I had a chance to sit down and have a chat with while I was attending Cidrexpo in February of 2020. This episode introduces Alina Lotkeva, whom helped produce the first ever Cider Party. She calls herself a cider enthusiast, but she also has high hopes for producing a cider and picked the brand name "Ugly Cake Cider". Alina Lotkeva Follow Alina and her cider adventures on Instagram: I love Cider Cider Party photos! Get on Cider Chat! Audio Snap Shots from Ciderville - are you in the cider trade? Please send along an audio snap shot (2mins or less) with news from your special spot in Ciderville. Cider soon to be released, orchard news, Tasting Room hours - let us hear your good news! Send your snap shot to ria@ciderchat.com Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com Mentioned on this Chat 216: Alex Ionov | Rebel Cider, Moscow Patron Robert Tinnell - Movie short for Hawk and Knob Mead and Cider Little Pomona - sent in an Audio Snap Shot Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jul 22, 2020 • 43min
231: The Big Book of Cidermaking
The Big Book of Cidermaking authors Christopher Shockey and Kristen K. Shockey are this episode's featured guest! The book will be released on September 1, 2020. Go to http://ferment.works/ to pre-order you copy today! Moved to Applegate, Oregon in 1998 and found apple trees on their property and began fermenting cider. They also began fermenting vegetables. Soon they were writing about the skill of fermenting and writing books! Fermented Vegetables Fiery Ferments Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fermenting Grains and Beans In 2020, their newest book, The Big Book of Cidermaking was published . In this chat we discuss, What the Shockey's home smell like with so many ferments. How a married couple co-write a book Choosing your adventure in cidermaking Making Cider Equipment needed from the basic set up to advance cidermaking Wild Cider Cultivated Ciders The Shockey's wrote this book to encourage makers to find their adventure in cidermaking. Christopher and Kristen Shockey Get on Cider Chat! Audio Snap Shots from Ciderville - are you in the cider trade? Please send along an audio snap shot (2mins or less) with news from your special spot in Ciderville. Cider soon to be released, orchard news, Tasting Room hours - let us hear your good news! Send your snap shot to ria@ciderchat.com Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com Mentioned on this Chat Cider Con 2021 February 2-5, 2021 in Chicago Cidrexpo 2021 February 6-8, 2021 Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jul 1, 2020 • 21min
230: Ciderville Updates & Coming Attractions
Ciderville Updates & Coming Attractions is a mini episode beginning with info on the England Cider Tour scheduled for September 1-6, 2020. I also discuss Totally Cider Tours that I will be look forwarding to once we get by coronavirus. Next up is an Audio Snap Shop from Denmark listener, Sune! Find out about the October 10, 2020 cider fest for this country. Coming Attractions features a reading by author Christopher Shockey. He and Kristen Shockey co-wrote the Big Book of Cidermaking which will be released on September 1, 2020. Subscribe to this podcast today, to listen to the full chat on episode 231, which will be released on July 22nd. Get on Cider Chat! Audio Snap Shots from Ciderville - are you in the cider trade? Please send along an audio snap shot (2mins or less) with news from your special spot in Ciderville. Cider soon to be released, orchard news, Tasting Room hours - let us hear your good news! Send your snap shot to ria@ciderchat.com Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jun 24, 2020 • 28min
229: Orchard Mystery Series
The Orchard Mystery Series is written by author Sheila Connolly who passed away in April of 2020. This episode 229 is dedicated to her for taking readers on a journey into the orchards of western Massachusetts, where this series takes place. The first book in the Orchard Series is titled One Bad Apple (2008). There are a total of 12 books with the last one Nipped in the Bud being published in 2018. The main character is Meg Corey, who moves from Boston to western Mass to a town that she makes up, but I think it might be Granby or Belchertown. As she takes on a project of renovating an old house, she keeps finding bodies on her land which also has an old orchard! Locals to this region and even visitors to Franklin County CiderDays will find lots of references to beloved spots in the Pioneer Vally. A few years back, she bought a cottage in County Cork, Ireland. There are 8 books in the County Cork Mystery Series. Which leads up to one of the two Audio Snap Shots on this episode. The first snap shot is from Lee Reeve of InCiderJapan who shares updates on the cider in Japan. Plus the new on the Summer edition of this bilingual (English and Japanese) magazine. This issue features James Forbes of Little Pomona's visit to Japan. Back to Ireland, we hear from Barry Walsh with an update on Killahora Orchards Cider. This award winning cidery was featured on episode 157 Barry not only makes cider with his cousin and family in Cork, but also is a fine singer. He first shared a tune with us on that episode 157 and so I asked if he would do so again for this episode 229. Barry obliged by playing a tune called the Rocky Road To Dublin. What continues to amaze me is the small world happenstances that keep taking place around orchards and cider. Sheila Connolly's book is based in West Cork and I just happened to find out about her when I found a copy of One Bad Apple. Wanting to share the good news about this read was a given for this episode, but I didn't know at the time that I would also be posting an Audio Snap Shot from a Cork maker. Cider Synchronicity strikes again! Audio Snap Shots from Ciderville - are you in the cider trade? Please send along an audio snap shot (2mins or less) with news from your special spot in Ciderville. Cider soon to be released, orchard news, Tasting Room hours - let us hear your good news! Send your snap shot to ria@ciderchat.com Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jun 17, 2020 • 27min
228: Philadelphia Orchard Project
The Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) was founded in 2007 and serves Philadelphia and it surrounding area. This nonprofit organization both plants and supports community orchards in the city of Philadelphia. 2019 Harvest Festival at Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden This chat features a chat with Kim Jordan who has been with POP since its founding. In 2019, she became a full time employee of POP. And is most currently the Co-Executive Director. About POP Community orchards are set up in vacant lots to help build green spaces. POP works with any groups regardless of need All the fund raising requires POP to plan, Plant and help organize the maintenance of the orchard. In the fall when the harvest is in there are harvest festivals, Like “Juneberry Joy” that take place in October. POP Harvest Festivals take place in October POP also offers curriculum for teachers and farm educators. Go to the POP resource page to see the full list of offerings. POPHarvest event on the University of Pennsylvania campus from October 2018 Mentions in this Chat Audio Snap Shots from Ciderville - are you in the cider trade? Please send along an audio snap shot (2mins or less) with news from your special spot in Ciderville. Cider soon to be released, orchard news, Tasting Room hours - let us hear your good news! Send your snap shot to ria@ciderchat.com Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jun 10, 2020 • 25min
227 The Color of Cider
The Color of Cider provides a snap shot of an early practices used to deter black farmers gaining true equality and the difficulties facing African Americans today who may view farming as a step back to the plantation. We begin this episode with a quote from Booker T. Washington who born into slavery on April 5, 1856. He was able to learn to read and write despite the tendency of slave owners to not allow blacks to gain education. He help co-found the Tuskegee Institute. On September 18, 1895 Washington gave a speech at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Georgia. He asserted that vocational education, which gave blacks an opportunity for economic security, was more valuable to them than social advantages, higher education, or political office. Washington asked blacks to "Cast down your buckets where you are" and focus instead on becoming agricultural and industrial laborers. In essence he was asking for blacks to not push against racial segregation. In turn for this act of accepting one's station in the black community, he asked for a guarantee that blacks would receive a basic education and due process in the law. The largely white audience in attendance loved the speech. The fall back from the black community, who were called at the time "Black Intellectuals" was immediate outrage. W.E.B. DuBois, also a famous black activist called Washington's speech, the"Atlanta Compromise." Du Bois denounced Washington platform to accept ones position. What was curious about Washington was that he asked Black Americans to accept their unequal position, while at the same time secretly funded litigation for civil rights cases. Five years later, in 1900 Washington founded the National Negro Business League, with the mission of promoting the economic development of African Americans. He wrote a ground breaking auto biographical book called Up From Slavery. One particular quote/story from B. T. Washington makes the case of why it was and so hard for Black to gain upward mobility. This comes from an article in the Country Gentleman magazine described as a journal for The Farm, The Garden and The Fireside. "In one case I happen to remember a family that had three or four strong persons at work every day that was allowed to rent only about ten acres of land. When I asked the owner of the plantation why he did not let this family have more land he replied that the soil was so productive that if he allowed them to rent more they would soon be making such a profit that they would be able to buy land of their own and he would lose them as renters. This is one way to make the Negro inefficient as a laborer—attempting to discourage him instead of encouraging him." One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to see that Cider today is white because blacks did not have the same opportunity to own land and farm. Washington died on November 14, 1915. Today in 2020, we are witnessing an uprising of Black Lives Matter taking place not only in the US, but world wide. Today's Black Live Matters shows I believe that Washington's call for acceptance of one's status didn't work. Blacks have never been treated with a fair due process in the law. For our modern times, I recommend the following book. Farming While Black : Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by, Leah Penniman Published by Chelsea Green Printing Contact for Soul Fire Farm Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube

Jun 3, 2020 • 11min
226: Northern Spy and the Underground Railroad
Northern Spy is a short story that weaves the tale of the early grafting of the apple known as the Northern Spy, Quaker values, and the Underground Railroad. Read and written by Ryan Monkman, for the new Cider Chat segment titled "Stories in Ciderville". For additional reading and inspiration look to the children's book An Apple for Harriet Tubman. Northern Spy by Ryan Monkman About 200 years ago, somewhere in Upstate New York, a boy ran through the woods. He hid in a bush under a tree. Then, when no one found him, he stood up and grabbed an apple above him. He bit the apple then spat it out. It was horribly acidic. The boy ran back to town and convinced a friend to take a bite of the “wonderful” apple. Soon it was a game: try the apple, spit it out. But the boy’s father liked the acid. The two of them walked back to the forest and picked the tree clean. They put the apples in bins then put those bins in their root cellar. Everyday the father would have an apple with breakfast. Everyday the son would try to sucker a new friend. After a few weeks in storage, the apples grew sweet. The father didn’t like them anymore and the son’s game grew boring. So the crates sat, untouched and unloved, next to the potatoes. The boy’s mother found the apples in mid Spring. Somehow they still looked and tasted like apples after months underground. She took them to a church picnic. There’s a tradition in Quaker communities; speak boldly when the Spirit calls you to. A neighbor spoke and the town listened. That summer they propagated the wild apple. If you plant an apple seed, you’ll get an apple tree but the fruit will be different. With each generation the seeds morph and mutate. The apple changes. If you want to preserve the beauty of a varietal, you have to take a cutting of the original tree and plant the cutting. That’s what the town did. They sent a team into the woods to collect small clippings of the wild tree. Each cut was only two inches long. Those cuttings were then slipped into a piece of root from another tree then the two were planted together. The bottom half rooted in the ground, the top half bearing identical fruit to the wild tree. The grafted trees were divided throughout the town. Each family grew a handful of trees and the church planted an orchard. Eight years past. Then one day in May the town awoke to a bursting of pink flowers. That Summer they saw their first fruit. That Fall they picked their first apples. The boy, now a man, loaded up a wagon and headed South. Then another wagon followed. And another. That Winter the town was empty. The wagons would pull into a new town. The driver asked for the Station Master, dropped off a whack of apples, then left without another word. In each town the pattern repeated. When the wagon was empty the driver returned home, refilled, then hit the road again. By February the town was out of apples. Traffic on the Underground Railroad surged that Spring. One of the first tastes of freedom was a piece of fruit that never seemed to rot. Cloaked in secrecy, the apple earned a nickname; the Northern Spy. by Ryan Monkman Ryan lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario making and selling cider with his family and cider team at FieldBird Cider. ___________ Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com

May 27, 2020 • 1h 8min
225: Terroir Spotlight | western Massachusetts
New England was the Plymouth Rock of cider in the US for the colonist and western Massachusetts is the launch pad of the modern day US cider market. It was here in 1984 that West County Cider and The Maloney family rekindled America’s love affair with cider. Thirty Six years forward to 2020, provides a perfect time to explore the terroir of cider in western Massachusetts with Field Maloney, Soham Bhatt of Artifact Cider, and Steve Gougeon of Bear Swamp Orchard, Cider and Distillery and Steve Garwood of Ragged Hill Cider. This Tasting and Talk was moderated by Ria Windcaller, of Cider Chat podcast and presented at CiderCon 2020 in Oakland, California. We begin this talk with Soham Bahatt of Artifact Cider with a newly built Tasting Room and production center in Florence, Massachusetts. We taste the 2017 Roxbury Russett! Next up is Steve Garwood of Ragged Hill Cider based in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. We taste the Traditional Dry! Steve G0ugeon of Bear Swamp Orchard, Cider and Distillery shares with us the 12% New England Style Cider Then Field Maloney of West County Cider shares two ciders, Riene de Pomme and Pura Vida Watch this presentation sync'ed with the power point in the exhibit at the Cider Chat YouTube channel Mentions in this chat September 1-6, 20202 England Cider Tour Stories in Ciderville: Submit a cider/pomme focused essay (up to 3000 words) to: ria@ciderchat.com All accepted essays will be read by the author on an episode of Cider Chat. Send in a 90 second audio snapshot telling listeners what is happening in your perfect spot of Ciderville Send to ria@ciderchat.com Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube