"hard cider" news and stories

Fresh-pressed, hard apple cider is a seasonal treat as tart and sparkling as Champagne -- it's one of my fall favorites. October becomes a time of tough choices between hard cider and craft beer.

Thanks to Wisconsin's Furthermore Beer, I can sip the best of both worlds. While the brewery is no stranger to strange styles of beer (the Knot Stock pale ale is spiced with black pepper, and the Three Feet Deep stout contains peat-smoked malt), brewer and owner Aran Madden outdoes himself with his autumn specialty, Fallen Apple.

Wine a bit, you'll feel better! We do! As junior man on the Winterport totem pole I am constantly having to be reminded to wine a bit and enjoy myself. Sometimes I have 17 different things going on and setting apart some time for fun falls to the wayside. I'm constantly worrying about back ordered equipment, monetary deadlines, and so much more; and that's just for the distillery. Then there are my writing and consulting gigs, traveling to events, and staying connected with all the big things and new trends coming out of NYC and the rest of the world. It's completely overwhelming at times, so every now and then I have to remember to pick up a glass of wine and say "Skoal!"

When I got back to the winery / distillery everything was quiet since we are waiting on back orders of equipment, and so construction is delayed, again, like usual. Last Saturday morning I wandered around taking photos of the outside of the facility and our retail store. It's Spring in Maine, what is usually called early summer elsewhere in the US, and the trees are starting to get lush and flowers are blooming. The Penobscot River's stately flow down to the bay ebbs and flows quite radically with the tides. We are ten miles up from the ocean, but still get tides of around 12.5 feet. Winterport got its name because it was exactly that; a winter port to keep ships safe from the violence of Nor'easters, those intense storms that come in from the North East off of the Atlantic. They're like a winter version of a hurricane at times, although they can form at any time of year. Here's a glimpse of our building, the view of the Penobscot River across the street, our retail store, and the art gallery. The building doesn't look like much right now after a hard winter, but we'll spruce it up a bit when we get the chance. You'll be surprised by the inside and we're mighty proud of our place.



As the week progressed we started focusing on the monthly food & wine dinner at Pairings Food & Wine Education Center. The June dinner had an Asian theme and Chef Robert Waldron planned a tasty menu for the sold out event. Let's see if it makes your mouth water as much as mine. Continued after the jump...