Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Jan-Feb 2014

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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By Harriet Lembeck Sell Cider and Spare the Donuts I f you ever doubted that cider was an early American favorite, consider this from Benjamin Franklin: "It is indeed bad to eat apples. It is better to make them all into cider." And so it was, until Prohibition ended that dream. Ciders are finally re-emerging, being produced from every area where apples are grown – both in the U.S. and abroad. U.S. apple growers began a cider revival when the market for winter apples, which had previously been placed in cold storage after harvest, dwindled. During winter, freshly harvested apples arrived from the Southern Hemisphere, especially from Chile, and local cold-storage apples found little demand. Cider was the obvious conclusion for these unsold apples. Today, the U.S. market is filled with both mass-production filtered, flashpasteurized and carbonated clear ciders. On the opposite pole are the craft farm-produced ciders made from true cider apple varieties (there are over 100 of them) without any filtration or heavy carbonation, although some craft ciders have a slight effervescence. The goal is to blend varieties of apples that provide tannin, sugar ('bittersweets"), and acidity ("bittersharps"). Single varieties are used as well, but less often. It is not as easy to ferment apples as it is to ferment grapes. Apples have less sugar content, and higher pectin compounds. Many of these ciders are cloudy, but, surprisingly, there is consumer acceptance of cloudy ciders. Ciders made from fresh juice rather than from concentrates, have a high level of yeast nutrients and ferment better. The alcohol in hard cider runs from 0.5% to 7% abv. Below 0.5% it is "sweet cider." Above 7% it is "apple wine." Harriet Lembeck, CWE*, CSS** hlembeck@mindspring.com is a prominent wine and spirits educator. She is president of the renowned Wine & Spirits Program, and revised and updated the textbook Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits. She was the Director of the Wine Department for The New School University for 18 years. (*Certified Wine Educator, **Certified Specialist of Spirits) Craft producers knew they were on the right track when big beverage producers showed a strong interest in hard ciders, adding to their beer portfolios. An older brand like Strongbow, produced in the U.K. since 1960, has been sold in the U.S. since 1997. With Heineken recently named the brand's distributor, Strongbow is sold in over 60 countries, and is the leading cider brand in the world. The C&C Group of Ireland, beer and cider distributors, recently acquired Vermont Strongbow, from Hard Cider Co., producers of Heineken USA, has just Woodchuck, and took it from released a being distributed only in newly designed Vermont, to all 50 states. They bottle. also distribute 802, named for Vermont's only area code. Further, they distribute Granny Smith Cider from the Yakima Valley in Washington state, and Hornsby's from California. Anheuser-Busch distributes the gluten-free Ultra-Light Cider, and the Boston Beer Company has taken Angry Orchard nationwide. You will have no problems with distribution or availability in this increasingly popular category, which is known for great taste and for being food friendly. Hard ciders will not replace white wine. Even though they are served chilled, they are closer to reds because of their tannin – but without the red color. Indeed, the new wave U.S.-produced hard ciders show more fruity apple qualities, even when unsweetened, and are very good with Thai or Indian foods. At some recent tastings of artisanal ciders and apple wines, I saw ciders that were flavored with pears and cherries, (Doc's Framboise - raspberry); sweetened (Harvest Moon's Maple Moon - maple, and Silver Moon - honey); made with organic cane sugar (Clifton Dry,); and barrel aged (Tieton Cider Works' Harmony Reserve Cider). I loved McClure's Bunny #3 Apple Wine (9% abv), which has home-grown Cascade hops added before fermentation to give some herbal notes. Eden Ice Cider Heirloom Blend is a vintage-dated dessert cider, produced by cryo-concentration, with sugar increasing with successive freezings, yielding around 10% alcohol and 15% residual sugar. It is patterned after the popular ice ciders of Quebec, Canada and France. 10 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • January/February 2014

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