Apples Plus
LOCAL FRUITS, VEGETABLES, NUTS AND MORE MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THIS CIDER
W
hen Vincent Sterne opened Two Rivers Cider Co. in 1996, it was one of the first craft cider companies in California to make its product from fresh fruit instead of concentrate. A David fighting many Goliaths, Two Rivers needed to stand out to compete with the industrial ciders imported from England and Canada. Following the lead of the always-innovating craft beer industry, Sterne decided to buck convention by adding pressed juice from locally sourced fruit into his dry apple ciders. “Pomegranate cider was a first for Two Rivers and, as far as I know, the whole cider market,” says Sterne. “I think the pomegranate cider put Two Rivers on the map.” Fast-forward two decades and the tap list at Two Rivers’ tasting room bursts with fruit flavors. The group of “core ciders” includes the pioneering pomegranate as well as flavors like blackberry, strawberry jam, blood orange and huckleberry, while the “rotating” group of seasonal ciders includes raspberry and boysenberry. However, the innovation doesn’t stop with sweet fruits. You can find unconventional ciders ranging from walnut to habanero to ginger, all of them shockingly well-balanced. There is also a hopped cider for beer fans, likely another first in the world of cider. “The hopped cider has become quite popular throughout the region,” says Sterne. “We always have a hopped cider on tap in our tasting room now.” Sterne’s ability to experiment increased exponentially when Two Rivers opened its Hollywood Park tasting room in 2016. “The tasting room is an excellent platform for exploring new ciders and for gauging the consumer’s reaction,” he says. That spirit of
Vincent Sterne
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ILP JUN n 18
By Daniel Barnes Farm to Fork