Consider Cideries

How can it be that a fruit that emerged 50 million to 65 million years ago—just about the time dinosaurs became extinct—and that has been pressed into duty for millennia to make beverages for human kind, is now creating the biggest buzz in the beverage world?

Making apple cider dates back at least as far as the Greeks and Romans and was already firmly entrenched in England by 55 BC when the Romans invaded. By then, apple trees had migrated out of Kazakhstan, establishing themselves across Europe and Asia, but it was in England, France and Spain that the art of fermenting cider was perfected. So popular was the mildly alcoholic beverage, that apple trees were transported to the American Colonies where the cider was enthusiastically consumed daily by men, women and even children in lieu of frequently contaminated water. So necessary was the beverage in Colonial life that in 1812 Bethlehem, Conn.’s, population of about 1,100, produced 7,315 barrels of cider, according to the Reverend Azel Backus.

Cider’s predominance in the United States continued through the centuries until the influx of German immigrants with their penchant for beer and the growing temperance movement. Prohibition put paid to hard cider’s popularity and it was not until the advent of the craft beer movement 50 years later that Americans again embraced the pleasures of cider—which can vary from a cool, crisp champagne-like drink popular in Europe, to the sweeter beverages the American market frequently demands, often with new flavors and fruit combinations such as pomegranate and pumpkin.

Reborn in the craft beer movement, the market for cider has exploded in recent years, even attracting marketing giants such as Miller Coors and Anheuser-Busch.

The growing popularity has prompted the opening of a number of local cideries, only one of which, Hogan’s Cider Mill, 522 Spielman Highway in Burlington CT, defied the Prohibition-induced lag in popularity. It has been making cider since 1912. In addition to unpasteurized sweet apple cider, it also offers a variety of hard ciders.

Hogan’s has reopened its tap room in a newly expanded outdoor venue where visitors can enjoy a flight or glass of cider in a safe and scenic environment. There are now 20 varieties to choose from.

The Hudson Valley, prime apple country, now has the Little Apple Cidery on Orchard Lane in Hillsdale NY, producing Taconic Gold and Nobletown barrel-aged hard ciders for pick-up. In July, the owners re-introduced Harrison, a true American cider apple, as the first cider in its new Little Batch series.

The open-air Orchard Bar is now open Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1-5PM.

Also, in New York’s apple country is The Greenhouse Cidery located at the Chatham Berry Farm in Chatham. The cidery specializes in small-batch hard ciders as well as a rotating selection of state beers, wines and spirits. Visitors can taste the beverages in the outdoor tap room, Thursdays, 4-9PM; Fridays, 4-9PM, and Saturdays, 11AM-5PM.

Across the state line in Massachusetts, The Berkshire Cider Project is operating at the Greylock Works facility at 508 State Road, North Adams. There wife and husband team Kat Hand and Matt Brogan create dry, sparkling hard ciders.

Part of the duo’s business plan is to take apples from across Berkshire County. Each fall they, who admit to being obsessed with often-forgotten varieties of apples, take fresh-pressed juice and ferment it slowly during the winter months. These base ciders are aged in French wine barrels or neutral tanks, for six to 12 months, before blending and bottling.

Their tap room is temporarily closed but ciders can be purchased Fridays and Saturdays, noon–6PM.

In Richmond, Hilltop Orchards Hilltop Orchards, 508 Canaan Road, was the first and largest farm winery established in the Berkshires. The 200-acre orchard has been owned and operated by John Vittori since 1987, producing Johnny Mash, a nationally recognized hard apple cider that was rated number one US hard cider by Yankee Magazine’s Brew Review. The orchard also sells a variety of wines made in its winery. All products are sold wholesale, retail and by the glass.

The orchard is open seven days a week, year-round from 9AM to 5PM.