Cider Chat

This episode of Cider Chat was recorded by Alex Kroh, cidermaker, roving podcast reporter and super, duper nice guy in Ciderville! This chat begins with Alex and Melissa and Garett venturing outside to the orchard and the asparagus polyculture planting just south of the cider house. They then walk east down the hill to the new dwarf orchard and talk about the differences between the two planting styles. In the second half of this chat, Alex and Garrett are in the production space below the tasting room and get into the weeds talking cidermaking technique.  traditional method (champagne method) encapsulated yeast vs. loose yeast tank carbonation making sweet reserve fermentation tanks yeast combinations and the ciders on offer in the tasting room. Alex writes, "When I visited the Finger Lakes Cider House in July of 2017, I was completely taken with the vibe of Good Life Farm, which is the on-going vision of Garrett Miller and Melissa Madden. More than just an orchard and more than just a cider house, Good Life Farm is a diverse ecological farm that was designed to do the most good for the land and the community that surrounds it. Central to their management philosophy are permaculture design principles, a system for managing the human impact on the planet by working with nature instead of against it. The difference between a “conventional” farm and one that incorporates permaculture design principles was immediately apparent to this midwesterner who is used to driving by the country miles of soy and corn. By contrast, Good Life Farm feels like stepping back in time before the Green Revolution transformed the agricultural landscapes of the United States into a patchwork quilt of monocrops with “high tech” petrochemical farming. Instead, Good Life Farm has picturesque orchards interplanted with asparagus, high-tunnel greenhouses downhill from the beautiful ciderhouse, apple trees grown along the contours of the hill, with vegetable rows, ponds and cow pastures interspersed. The methods used at Good Life Farm are decidedly low-tech. They use draft horses to accomplish many of the tasks that a tractor would normally do today. Other animals, such as turkeys, geese and beef cows, help with various tasks like insect control and soil fertilization." So what does this mean for their cider? Garrett and Melissa believe that by managing the land in this way they can grow apples that are more flavorful than apples grown under other management systems and will translate into better cider. Another component of their farm that contributes to their cidermaking paradigm is their tasting room. The Finger Lakes Cider House showcases their house ciders, Kite and String (previously Good Life Cider), and three other nearby cidermakers including Black Diamond Cider, Eve’s Cidery, and Redbyrd Orchard Cider. Melissa comments that because these other three cidermakers are tending toward the drier end of the sweetness palate, Garrett and brother/cidermaker Jimmy have created a number of semi-sweet, medium sweet and sweet ciders in addition to their dry ciders to appeal to drop-in traffic from patrons on the Finger Lakes wine trail. This range of cider style varieties gives them the opportunity to experiment with ciders that span the sweetness palate as well as develop some interesting cider styles that you likely won’t find anywhere else, such as a young cider, a royal cider, and a Rosé cider consisting of fermented apple juice and unfermented Riesling and Marachal Foch red wine.  Below you’ll find the map that Melissa and I are standing in front of at the beginning of the chat while we discuss permaculture management zones.  Contact Fingers Lakes Cider House  website: http://www.fingerlakesciderhouse.com/ telephone:  607-351-3313  email: melissa@fingerlakesciderhouse.com Good Life Farm website: http://www.thegoodlifefarm.org/ Mentions in this chat: Permaculture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture https://permacultureprinciples.com/ Other cideries at the Finger Lakes Cider House:  Black Diamond Cider: https://www.blackdiamondcider.com/ Eve’s Cidery: https://www.evescidery.com/ Redbyrd Orchard Cider: https://redbyrdorchardcider.com/  Ask for the following 9 #ciderGoingUP Campaign sponsors - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Cider Chat Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Big Fish Cider Co. Virginia Please 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 and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat

Making a 1-gallon batch of cider is easy! And a 3-gallon or 5-gallon batch of cider is just as easy to make too! Learn how to make cider at home and begin upping your cider knowledge today. In this episode I cover all the basics on how to make cider at home. Below find the basic equipment needs for making cider. Hint: Do get these items before getting your fresh pressed apple juice to ferment. Real basic cidermaking - 1 gallon jug Equipment needed: 1 gallon jug that came with your cider Rubber stopper with a hole big enough to fit an airlock airlock - S-shaped or go deluxe and put the cider in a glass jar Making a 3-gallon or 5-gallon batch of cider What to consider before you get your juice How much money do you want to spend and how much cider do you want to make? Consider: 3 gallon = approximately 22 pounds filled calculated as 7 pounds per liquid gallon + 1 pound for glass carboy 5 gallon = approximately 37 pounds filled I like 3 gallon carboys because they are easier to lift Equipment needed for either a 3-gallon or 5-gallon batch of cider A. Two Carboys - always choose glass over plastic B. Rubber stopper with hole in center, that fits in your glass carboy C. One Airlock use either an S-shaped or 3 piece fermentor The airlock release CO2 as the cider is fermenting and prevents Oxygen from entering. D. Yeast You can spend hours googling which yeast to use - For your first batch of cider keep it simple Tried and true yeasts. Each come in a packet and are dry yeast with approximately 5 grams. Lavlin 71B, nice all-round yeast that helps to mellow the sharpness of high acid apple blends. M2 Lavlin - this yeast makes apples sing in delight as it enhances their character. Might even get a richer mouthfeel. Extra bonus - a finish that suggests residual sugar, even though it is fermented dry! Cider House Blend English Cider Yeast E. Clear food grade tubing (1/2inch diameter) to rack cider once fermentation is done F. Campden Tablets (Sodium metabisulfite) - Used to arrest the yeast that in currently active in the juice, so that your cultured yeast can go to town once it is pitched. 1 tablet per gallon. Add to fresh juice and let sit overnight G. Fresh pressed unpasteurized apple juice Cider Blends are best! Why not use pasteurized juice? It usually contains sorbet, sorbic acid, benzoate or benzoic acid which not only affects the taste, but can affect fermentation. Extra Yeast Tips Refrigerate both liquid yeast and dry yeast packets. Each contain millions of yeast cells and you don't want them to dry out or over heat Making a yeast starter solution - a.k.a. double your yeast money by doubling the yeast By making a yeast starter you Increases yeast population before pitching Revs up the fermentation Make sure you are "pitching" yeast that is viable and healthy 1. Use a clean sanitized glass bottle, such as 750 ml wine bottle and have an extra rubber stopper and airlock. 2. Pour in: 1 cup of fresh pressed juice heated for 5 minutes Let it cool to the point that if you stuck your finger into the solution it would not burn your finger. or 1/2 cup of fresh pressed juice that has been sulfited overnight, so you know the yeast are no longer viable in that juice. 3. Put the stopper on, with airlock and let the yeast go to town. Figure 2-days and now you have enough yeast for 10 gallons instead of 5. Can you keep doubling the yeast starter? - Yes, you can! Do the same process as before to triple the amount Mentions in this Chat Nathan Pierce's Micro Brewr podcast Ask for the following 9 #ciderGoingUP Campaign sponsors - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Cider Chat Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Big Fish Cider Co. Virginia Please 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 and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat

Ramborn Cider Company located in Luxembourg is helping to revive the cidermaking tradition  as the country's first commercial cidery.  Ramborn offers a range cider styles from Farmhouse,  Somerset Blend (Luxembourg and English cider apples) and a New World hopped cider. Ramborn has an eau de vie which is a apple brandy produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. In this chat I speak with Adie Kaye and discuss his upcoming trip to the Seattle Cider Summit on September 8 & 9, 2017. Make sure to say "Hi" to Adie if you see him at the Summit and tell him that you heard him speak on Cider Chat! Ramborn is available in Luxembourg and in the state of Wisconsin in the US. Cider Vocabulary: Luxembourg word for cider is "viez" - comes from Latin word for second wine "viez vinum" Contact Ramborn Cider Company website: https://ramborn.com/en/ address: 23 Duerfstrooss, 6660 Bur, Luxembourg telephone: +352 26 72 92 04 Mentions in this chat: 075: Alan Shapiro | Cider Summit USA Wouter Bilj - CiderCider - the Netherlands first cider store. Listen to Wouter's on the Netherlands cider scene  ciderGoingUP Campaign for commercial cidermakers and folks in the cider trade Washington Cider week September 7-17, 2017 Cider Writers: Gabe Cook - @ciderologist Andy May @cidersleuth Ask for the following 9 #ciderGoingUP Campaign sponsors - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Cider Chat Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Big Fish Cider Co. Virginia Please 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 and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat

Colin Scott grew up learning how to care for apples on his parents, Edward and Janice, orchard. The orchard was purchased in 1954. Today Colin is running the orchard and sells his apples at the Chelsea Market in eastern MA. E & J Scott Orchard also has apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, quince, raspberries, & strawberries. They have farm stands in Buckland and Goshen during the season. Their main store is in Ashfield, MA and is open Sat & Sun 10-6 July through May. Organic duck eggs from their heritage breed Ancona ducks are also available upon request. We begin this chat with Colin inside one of the storage rooms. What affects the Apple's ripping? temperature ethylene gas - apples off gas Apples are placed in a CA room (Controlled Atmosphere) where both temperature, oxygen and the off gases are controlled. If apples don't have oxygen they don't ripen. Colin and I discuss the "delicate" process of storing apples or what he called "putting them to sleep". Apple storage tip: Take your apples out of the refrigerator every once in a while and let them off gas. That will help them last a bit longer. Next in this chat we talk about the beginnings of the orchard and what they grew and where they are going with the growing cider market Root Stock for grafting a tree - dwarf or standard Shifting his market to cider apples What do you look for in a root stock "The idea behind grafting is to take the variety that you want and put it on the root stock you want. The vigor of the variety contributes to the size of the tree." The numbering system of the root stock defines the size of the tree or a percentage of the size of the tree M rootstock 9, 11, 18, 26 what does that stand for? If you put a Macintosh on standard tree rootstock and a Macintosh on a 26, you would get 30 -40-% of the standard one. A M118 or M111 are going to be 6--70% the size, which means they will be almost as big as a standard tree. Today Colin is using Geneva root stock, because he is finding it resistant to Fire Blight. A nasty disease that can kill the tree. Geneva root stock numbering system is random too. Colin is using Geneva 41 & 935. They will be 30-40% of the standard tree. He uses a bench graft on his root stock. The secret to grafting per Colin Lining up the cambium layers Getting it airtight We also chat pruning an apple tree, especially a tree that you are attempting to revive after years of neglect. Contact E & J Scott Orchard email: mailto:cscott9487@gmail.com web: http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php?farm=3762 Mentions in this chat Smart Freshing Oesco, Inc - professional grade supplies for orchards and cidermakers. link to the bladder press sold by Oesco http://www.oescoinc.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=bladder+press 076: Lou and Sue Chadwick | Grafting with Second Chance Farm, MA 086: Cider Press | Make Cider Ask for the following 8 #CiderGoingUP Campaign cider supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Big Fish Cider Co. Virginia Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes with show notes and photos at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat

Swilled Dog Hard Cider is a family owned cidery located in the Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia. Swilled Dog launched in January 2017, and and began selling its wares in March. This is the 2nd cider company to launch in the past five years in West Virginia, the first being Hawk Nob Appalachian Hard Cider & Mead. Currently there is not Tasting Room at the cidery, but that shouldn't deter you from visiting the area, which borders Virginia and a plethora of ciders. Swill Dog is approximately 3 hours from Baltimore Maryland and 2 hours from the District of Columbia. Why try Swill Dog? This new startup sent four of their ciders to  the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry competition and each cider received a medal. Current list of their Ciders Bunny Slope - hopped cider "Our Bunny Slope 6.0% Carmel Apple - semi-sweet cider 6.0% Walk the Dog - semi dry cider 6.0% Seasonal Ciders Island Vibe -  pineapple  apple cider 6.0% WV Scrumpy - made with locally foraged apples 6.9% Apple Bottom 6.5% Granny Gold 6.0% Coming Soon: Pumpkin Patch Says Brad Glover of Swill Dog Hard Cider, "We want to make cider that is approachable to everybody, the more palates you can hit with your cider, the better off we will all be as people get interested in your cider. And they will ask what else do you have." Contact: Swilled Dog Hard Cider website: www.swilleddog.com telephone: 304-358-0604 Twitter: @SwilledDog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swilleddog/ Mentions in this chat Michelle Sikes is the artist behind the label for Swilled Dog Ask for the following 8 #CiderGoingUP Campaign cider supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg Big Fish Cider Co. Virginia Please 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 and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat  

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. If you missed part I of this chat (episode 90) with Eve’s Cidery, you’ll want to go back and listen as we tour the orchard with Autumn Stoscheck and Ezra Sherman and talk about where their ciders begin. In part II of this chat, we move down to the ciderhouse to talk about: the champagne method what it takes to run a small cidery and Autumn shares some tips for home cidermakers. Disgorgement is often regarded as an art. In removing the closure of a bottle, the pressure built up in the bottle pushes out the yeast that has settled at the top, but it also pushes out some cider. The art is in timing the turning upright of the bottle with the removal of the closure so that, as Ezra explains, the pressure can do its job removing the yeast, but gravity can act to keep the cider in the bottle. Obviously, the goal is to waste as little cider as possible and it takes practice to master this. Thankfully, there is a video to show exactly how this is done to accompany Ezra’s explanation. Follow this link, where you’ll also have the opportunity to sign up to receive free shipping on orders from Eve’s for the month of August. https://www.evescidery.com/ciderchat/ Of note, is Autumn’s analysis of the cider industry and the value of a bottle of cider produced using their methods. I think it speaks to the passion that most small cidermakers have about what they’re doing. They aren’t doing it for the money, that’s for sure. That point is often lost on the consumer who might balk at a $15-$20 bottle of cider. The equivalent methods used in winemaking in the production of high quality wines of place would fetch many times the price just by virtue of the fact that wine culture and the market is older and more developed.  The cidermaking tips shared towards the end of this episode are really valuable and go beyond basic issues of making cider. It highlights the dynamic nature of cider microbiology and the techniques that can be used to maximize your cidermaking success. Some of them are: Monitor your primary for off flavors and aromas Aerate the must if you smell sulfur compounds Once primary is finished, immediately chill the cider to limit microbial activity Maturing cider on the lees (if they’re clean), stirring the lees acts as an antioxidant Drink it! Don’t wait around for it to develop off flavors unless you think you have achieved microbiological stability in the bottle. Some things that help this happen is having very low levels of nutrients in the must, high acidity, low to no residual sugar, and higher alcohol content. Bâtonnage defined is simply stirring the lees periodically. This technique can be used in cidermaking and is done after the initial vigorous fermentation is complete. The lees is brown slurry that settles to the bottom of carboy, stainless steel tanks or barrels. It is comprised of dead yeast cells and heavy particles that were initially floating in the solution. There are two different types of lees Gross Lees - the first drop of heavy precipitants that float to the bottom. Fine Lees - the slurry that can form on the bottom of your carboy after the first racking. If you leave the lees on the bottom of your cidermaking vessels there is a risk of the lees consuming all the oxygen and causing hydrogen sulfide to form as the cider goes through the process of reduction. (Yes, lees consumes oxygen). The result can leave an off smell such as rotten eggs. Contact Eve's Cidery website: https://www.evescidery.com/ telephone: 607-229-0230 address: 308 Beckhorn Hollow Rd Van Etten, NY 14889 Ask for the following 9 #CiderGoingUP Campaign supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Big Fish Cider Company Monterey, Virginia   Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat    

Guest Podcaster and cidermaker, Alex Kroh, bring us into the orchard at Eve's Cidery. This episode 90 is Part 1 of a two-part show with  the makers at this New York State cidery! Find Part 2 when it goes live next week on episode 91. Pulling up to Eve’s Cidery in the small town of Van Etten, NY, you would be forgiven for thinking your GPS is broken. There’s no indication you’re in the right place unless you happen to peer in through the barn door to spot some inconspicuous ferment ers back beyond the wooden apple bins. I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps because of the reputation Eve’s Cidery has for producing some of the finest ciders in the country, I thought their operation would be more… built up, perhaps. After spending a generous four hours touring through the orchard and ciderhouse, I realized that the humble infrastructure that supports Eve’s is secondary, or even inconsequential compared to the place, the apples and the people. I see, now, that this is a reflection of the values and aspirations of Autumn Stoschek, co-founder of Eve’s cidery, and Ezra Sherman, a lawyer in his previous life, who would both rather spend all of their time growing apples and making cider than tending to the various other aspects of running a business. The ciderhouse is just enough to support that. For instance, there’s no tasting room at Eve’s. When we got the chance to taste through some of their amazing ciders, we sat on wooden crates on the concrete barn floor. Later I would learn from Autumn that the entire operation grew organically from year to year through the hard work and grit that must accompany any agricultural and small-business endeavor. “There was no million dollar investment.” In fact, the “seed money” to start Eve’s came from her saved tip money from waitressing. There were other forces at work, too. A formative experience working at an idyllic organic Vermont farm at the age of 15, and later a job with James Cummins, co-founder of Eve’s and son of famous rootstock breeder Dr. Jim Cummins, and finally an article about Steve Wood’s cider apples (Farnum Hill Ciders and Poverty Lane Orchards, Episodes 32 and 33) in Fruit Growers News all convened in the life of 21 year old Autumn and compelled her to drive to Poverty Lane Orchards in New Hampshire to see it all for herself. It was a risky move, dropping in on Steve Woods a busy orchardist and cidermaker, but one gets the feeling that he was more impressed than anything. He subsequently tasted Autumn through his catalog of ciders and sent her home with scionwood from his own trees. She grafted that budwood onto trees at James’ Littletree orchard and the next year planted more grafted trees on her father’s land before she had land of her own. Then began the life-long journey of learning to grow apples specifically for making cider. Growing great fruit is the key to making great cider, and this is clearly the focus at Eve’s Albee Hill orchard, which we toured during our chat. There’s a way to do it that maximizes the juice qualities that contribute to flavor and complexity, and it tends to fly in the face of “conventional” modern apple growing. Instead, it turns out that these methods have a lot more in common with organic growing methods. Cider fruit doesn’t have the cosmetic standards that dessert fruit does and there’s an opportunity for cider apple growers to align their practices with a more ecologically responsible way growing.  So how do you create the conditions that maximize the apple’s potential for making great cider? Briefly: Create or utilize mineralized soils and maximize mineral accessibility to the tree’s root system through the use of deep-rooted companion crops, healthy soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi (and don’t spray chemicals in the orchard that will kill these) Encourage a healthy, functioning tree immune system that will produce secondary plant compounds, the phytochemicals that contribute to flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, etc… The trees need some pest and disease pressure, enough to keep the immune system active, not so much that the tree is stressed (again, fewer chemicals to spray) Don’t over-irrigate - less water in the apple means a higher concentration of sugar, tannin and other phytochemicals  Growing cider apples this way lends itself well to an experience of terroir in the glass, too. Of course, the cidermaking techniques employed are just as important. If you have too much residual sugar or cover up subtle flavors with additives or faults, you won’t likely get a hint of what terroir is contributing. In Part II (episode 91) of our chat, we discuss cidermaking techniques that transform great apples into great cider at Eve’s Cidery. Eve's Cidery special August 2017 deal for Cider Chat listeners - free shipping on orders of Eve's Cider!  Mentioned in Part I:  Steve Wood, Farnum Hill Ciders and Poverty Lane Orchards - http://www.povertylaneorchards.com/  Finger Lakes Fruit Geeks: Garrett Miller and Melissa Madden of Finger Lakes Cider House/Kite and String Cider/Good Life Farm - www.fingerlakesciderhouse.com  Eric Shatt Redbyrd Orchard Cider - https://redbyrdorchardcider.com/  Mike Biltonen, Know Your Roots Consulting - http://knowyouroots.com/ Contact Eve's Cidery website: https://www.evescidery.com/ telephone: 607-229-0230 address: 308 Beckhorn Hollow Rd Van Etten, NY 14889 Ask for the following 8 #CiderGoingUP Campaign supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Please 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 and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat    

Find this episode with photos and all archived episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts Subscribe and Listen via iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Barrel aging cider is as old as time. Considering that, one would think that it should be pretty straight forward to pour fresh pressed apple juice into a barrel and create a delicious end product.  Right? Wrong! Barrels require preparation and maintenance to make sure that the end product is well balanced. In essence, you are not only managing the cider, but the wood too since both are alive with microorganisms. In this chat we delve into reusing a barrel that was originally charred, then had whiskey added. Brooklyn Distillery the orginaial owner of the 25 gallon barrel sold it to Exhibit A Brewing Company. Matt Steinberg owner and brewer of Exhibit A put an Imperial Stout in the barrel. I purchased the empty barrel from Matt for cider and share with you my long weekend of discovery on preparing the barrel for cider. The goal is to keep the wood staves moist and swollen so once the cider is added it doesn't leak. In addition, funky bacterias like acetobacter and wild yeasts must be kept out so your barrel doesn't begin to smell like vinegar. But How to Set up and Prepare a Used Barrel for Cider? First a warning everyone should heed: If your barrel had spirits avoid using a sulfur stick as it can inflame the residual spirits and make that barrel explosive. Some say add citric acid and SO2. Matt said to rinse the barrel with warm water, empty it, and then wrap in in plastic wrap. I figured this would become an even more inviting environment for those funky bacterias that can really messed up your cider. I decided to add water and SO2. Fingers crossed, as I will be getting back to how the barrel rolls in follow up episodes of Cider Chat. Cool words and Vocabulary you should know Amphora - clay vessels used to hold wine. Made by potters and used by the Egyptions and Romans Kveri - a larger version of the amphora that was placed in the ground and used to make wine. Listen to episode 011-Geoff Richardson | Castle Hill Cider, Virginia Castle Hill makes cider in their onsite Kveris! Too Cool!!! Vinny Nail - Vinny Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company is the man behind the nail that brewers put into a barrel and use it to take samples. Mentions in this chat! Eve's Cidery special August deal for Cider Chat listeners Breukelen Distillery Beer and Winemaking Supplies, Inc 057 Eric Bordelet | Normandy, France Part 1 058 Eric Bordelet | Ancient Pears Chay Tour Part 2 087: Cyzer, Mead & Kombucha | ArtBev, MA With Garth Shandyfelt Ask for the following 7 #CiderGoingUP Campaign cider supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Follow on twitter @ciderchat Haven't downloaded this chat yet? Here is is again.

Please 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. Simple Cider's is located on the southern tip of Tasmania in a region dripping with Apple history. Tasmania was and is still called the Apple Isle making it the perfect place for makers like Patrick and the team at Simple Ciders to launch into the craft. The cidery started commercially producing ciders in 2014. It is an orchard based cidery, meaning that the apples are grown right alongside the cider mill. Patrick worked as a system's analysis and then winemaker, after as he says jokingly that he was looking  "for a job that allowed me to get really messy, cold and wet on a regular basis. So I went into making wine and cider." Simple Cider makes small batch, dry apple cider. The ciders are unfiltered and are naturally carbonated, meaning bottle conditioned. Right now they are making approximately 15,000 litres/year or nearly 4000 gallons. Patrick says, "The fruit is the story" and after tasting both the Cox's Orange Pippin 7.5% alcohol by volume and the Granny Smith & Ginger 8% abv, I have to agree. The ciders are delicate and dry..maybe even a bit semi dry...with just the right amount of carbonation. Tasmania is making a slow comeback in growing cider apples, so makers are working with primarily culinary apples while planting cider varieties. In this chat Patrick talks about the landscape of Tasmania, the cider scene, his ciders and the Wild Cherry,  which is fermented whole cherries using the carbonic maceration technique of fermenting the fruit with in this case pits and a full layer of CO2. This lends a fruity aroma and taste. Main chat with Patrick begins at 19:56 minutes Contact Simple Ciders website: http://simplecider.com.au/our-story/ email: patrick@simplecider.com.au Telephone: 0404 990 644 Mentions in this chat Featured Artist: Emma Ayres at 14:11 minutes Singing: Route 3 Find out about Emma’s music via the links below https://emmajunemusic.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/emmajuneband Ask for the following 7 #CiderGoingUP Campaign cider supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75.   Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat    

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat   Three guys and an endless supply of credit cards helped build what is today called Artisan Beverage Cooperative (ARTBEV) in Greenfield, Massachusetts. General Manager and co founder Garth Shandyfelt provides an overview on how ARTBEV grew plus; working in a cooperative getting capital to expand via a  direct public offer of stock what is mead what is cyser creating a sustainable model for growth Started in 2010 making mead, ARTBEV's multi tiered business now produces a range of products to keep stock rolling out the door. Mead and Cyser, for instance, can take upwards to a year or longer to condition, whereas the Ginger Libation made by ARTBEV can be made in two weeks, much like beer. What is Mead? Fermented Water, Honey and Yeast or what Garth calls wine made with honey. "It is a mead if you have more than 50% of your fermentable made with honey." A Braggot is a beer made with honey and cider What is Cyser or Cyzer (as ARTBEV calls it - go to 1 hour in on the podcast and find out why) A cider made with some amount of cider during initial fermentation. Some cider has honey added for sweetening, but may not be considered a cyser. How much honey does ARTBEV use yearly? Upwards to 6000 pounds of honey all delivered via 5 gallon buckets How much honey do you need to make  a 5-gallon batch of mead? You will need upwards to 12-15 pounds of honey for a 5 gallon batch. Garth was inspired by Dan Conlon is a key figure in New England working with bees at Warm Colors Apiary. Books mentioned by Garth in this chat The Complete Mead Maker by Ken Schramm 2. Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation, by Stephen Harrod Buhner Contact Artisan Beverage Cooperative website: http://artbev.coop/ telephone: 413- 773-9700 email: info@artbev.coop Address: 324 Wells Street Greenfield, MA In the same building as Franklin County Community Development Corp. Tasting Room hours Friday 4-7pm Saturday 2-6pm Ask for the following 7 #CiderGoingUP Campaign cider supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!