Co. launched late last month, touting itself as the city’s first cidery since Prohibition. Cider is quickly gaining ground in Oregon, too, which is home to at least 15 cideries, according to the Northwest Cider Association. Portland and Seattle are also home to cidercentric bars: Bushwhacker Cider and Capitol Cider, respectively. The Northwest Cider Association, headquartered in Seattle, offers membership to cidermakers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and western Canada, and estimates the number of cideries in the region is now double what it was at this time last year. Its member count currently sits at 32, with the bulk of those in Washington and Oregon. Some are brand-new, while others have been in operation for some time but only recently joined the young trade group. The association promotes its members and the industry through events like the currently ongoing third annual Washington Cider Week, a 10-day (Sept. 5-15) celebration of craft cider across the state.
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he cider fermenting in the stainless steel tanks in Liberty’s small-scale production facility — along with the types of cider grabbing attention across the country right now — isn’t what many might expect. It’s not just overly sweet apple juice with alcohol in it, as Will Jordan, cidermaker and founder of Twilight Cider Works, puts it: “It’s an artisan-style beverage that’s more about balancing flavors.” Those flavors include the bitter tartness of malic acid, found in higher quantities in the varieties of apples grown specifically to make cider. They aren’t as sweet or juicy as culinary apples, with their dry tannic acids, or tannins, that create a trait of dryness in hard ciders as well as wine. Cider apples tend to have less sugar, thus ciders aren’t as sweet because the sugar is largely consumed during fermentation. The semi-dry and dry traditional-style ciders gaining popularity now aren’t comparable to mass-produced ciders like Woodchuck and Hornsby’s, Hastings says. Some regional cidermakers are even leaning toward the creativity of craft beer brewing by adding infusions of hops, other fruit juices or herbs to their ciders. With Washington holding strong to its place as the No. 1 apple-producing state in the U.S. and Oregon hanging on at the No. 8 spot, it makes sense that cider should be big here, so why is it just now taking off? Hard cider was the beverage of choice for Colonial Americans, who brought traditional cider apples and the know-how of cidermaking over from England, where the beverage is still prevalent. Cider was often safer to drink than water, and also was the easiest way to preserve the orchard harvest. Though cider’s popularity was already in steady decline at the turn of the 20th century, most modern cidermakers credit Prohibition for largely wiping cider from America’s collective memory. There’s no one reason for cider’s sudden resurgence, but rather a number of factors. The craft beer movement may be reaching a market-saturation peak, and that gives cidermakers an opportunity to offer a new, related product to both beer and wine lovers looking to try something new. Liberty’s cidermakers, along with Twilight’s Jordan, agree that cider is the next logical step for beer enthusiasts, because of its local ties to the region and the artisanal process to make it. The current medical buzz around Celiac disease that’s created a demand for gluten-free foods has also influenced cider’s upsurge, since it’s a grain-free beverage. The local food movement is also partly credited with bringing cider back into the market across the Pacific Northwest because the apples are readily available from our orchards. Cidermaking is also well-supported in other states with notable apple production, including New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia. The hope of Spokane’s commercial cidermakers is that the industry growth continues, so consumers who aren’t familiar with the cidermaking process and the ranges of cider styles can discover its benefits. “It’s an in-between drink,” Hastings says. “There are times when nothing is better than a beer, and times when I would drink nothing other than wine, but there are times when there is nothing better than a cider, period.” n Twilight Cider Works and Liberty Ciderworks Washington Cider Week Tasting • Sat, Sept. 7 from 2-4 pm • $5/six tastings • Vino! Wine • 222 S. Washington St. • 838-1229
SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 INLANDER 39