2011 Franklin County Cider Days Photos.

This past November I had the pleasure of attending Franklin County Cider Days once again. This was my second year in Western Massachusetts for Cider Days and the best one yet. I bet a say that every year too. Seriously if you are in the area, or can plan to be in the area do it. It is a THE BEST weekend of cider and apple related events available in the US. In Western Massachusetts apples just seem to be a part of the culture. There are small orchards, heirloom growers, specialty nursuries, cidermakers, and more tucked into this small pocket of the country. Make sure you take a few days to really explore the area. It truly is a treasure everyone should see once.

More on Franklin County Cider Days later...

16th Annual Franklin County Cider Days 2010 ~ Part 2 of 3.

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Back to it.. Franklin County Cider Days Part 2 of 3.

The Conversation and Tasting with Leading Cidermakers.

The panel, I believe chosen by author Ben Watson was a classic set of cidermaking characters. There are other fine examples, but no doubt we had a terrific cross-section today's best cidermakers speaking. Cidermaking experience, all of them passionate about the craft, all positive role models and leaders in the North American cider community...  This might have been the best event of the day. Great cider tasting and great cider talk are two of my favorite things.

The Panel.

Who was on this esteemed panel of leading cidermakers?

As pictured above, from left to right: Judith Maloney - West County Cider, Steve Wood - Farnum Hill Cider, Diane Flynt - Foggy Ridge Cider, Nick Gunn - Wandering Aengus, Mike Beck - Uncle John's Fruit House Winery.

The Cider Tasting.

For the tasting portion(s) of the event each maker brought one choice selection from their offerings to pour. Ciders were presented one at a time. Each cidermaker talked a little bit about their selection, how they made it, varieties, blends and such. All followed by brief discussion from the panel. The ciders and each tasting also worked as a sort of improv topic and catalyst for further discussion on topics such as cider style and cidermaking theory. Cool stuff.

West County Cider Pippin

James Kohn with Wandering Aengus Wickson Cider

Wondering which ciders were brought? I know I was curious.

1. West County Pippin Cider
2. Farnum Hill's Extra Dry Still
3. Foggy Ridge's First Fruit Cider
4. Wandering Aengus Wickson Single Varietal
5. Uncle John's Fruit House Winery's Seasonal Baldwin Single Varietal

If you don't like big acid this wasn't your afternoon. In fact at one point Steve Wood, himself accused of giving Farnum Hill a sharp cutting acidity, hilariously exclaims "These ciders are ALL more acidic than mine!" And that might have been... Cider on the sharp side is my preference so I was right at home.

Each and every one of the ciders was great. Tops in fact. Collectively I recall that each was on the dry side, well balanced, high in acidity, complex, good tannin. All the major earmarks of a great cider. Individually each presented it's own unique character and flavor profile. I'd buy and drink up each one anytime. No problems.  If you have the chance to buy any of these selections don't hesitate to pick them up.

The Single Variety Ciders.

It was a real treat and a little unexpected to get the opportunity to taste two single varietal ciders in a sitting. It is rare and I know it isn't easy, but I like the idea that one apple can do it all. These two cider were both really great examples of what single variety ciders can be.

Uncle John's Baldwin Cider is in it's first ever bottling year and I have to say this cider really blew me away. The Baldwin apple turned out a shockingly well balanced single varietal cider. Sharp and I remember it having more tannin than you might expect from a popular heirloom variety. Really great cider. That cider might be my new favorite in the Uncle John's stable.

I've had the Wandering Aengus's Wickson a few times over the year and let me say I really do love this cider. It never ceases to amaze me. Pure joy. Cider nectar. Sweet-tart citrus aroma, smooth well-rounded flavor and a big body. Spicy. Sharp but not too sharp. Maybe too sharp for some. No one I know... I think one of the cool things about this cider is that the Salem Oregon based Wandering Aengus is using the West coast developed Wickson variety to craft what is a genuine West coast cider.

Diane Flynt and Nick Gunn. I don't recall what Nick was saying here but I'm pretty sure by the look on his face it was some rebutal aimed at Steve

The Discussion.

It was obvious that all the cidermakers were familiar friends and respected colleagues. They maintained a great chemistry, if they didn't all genuinely like each other they sure had me fooled.

Topics ran the spectrum. Everything one would expect or want to hear. Apples, orcharding, terrior. Some discussed their cidermaking process and shared theory. As there should be there was often varying and opposing opinions. To adjunct or not to adjunct, fermentation temperatures, using barrels, fermenting in barrels, blending at the press, blending after fermenting, nutrients, DAP, racking, aerating, filtering vs. unfiltered, carbonation forced or carbonation natural, pasteurizing good/pasteurizing bad. They seem to cover just about everything. When you consider the quality of all the ciders... All the answer you need was in the glass. There is no arguing that they all seemed to be doing something right.

West County Cider's Judith Maloney and Steve Wood from Farnum Hill Cider.That afternoon Judith Maloney shared the details of how longtime friend Steve Wood drove to West County Cider from New Hampshire each and every day after her husband Terry was tragically taken in an accident. Together Steve and Judith figured out what to do with the season's cider. She was ever so grateful and regardless of how embarassed Steve seemed, she was a woman determined to share the story. I thought was very touching and a terrific example of the great folks and unusual sense of community cidermakers seem too. I haven't had West County too often but Judith's Pippen Cider was easily on par with all the cider served that day. I can't wait to try it again.

Judith and Terry were one of the first to give cidermaking in America a serious try. They started CiderDays 16 years ago together as a way to celebrate and help bring to a close the end of the apple growing and cider pressing season. And they really did start something. CiderDays was by far the best cider event I've had the opportunity to attend. This year CiderDays and specifically the upcoming Harvest Dinner was in rememberance of Terry.

I can't say I knew Terry, but I wish I had. We did exchange a couple emails while I was searching for a place that shipped West County to Washington. Had I not gotten my hands on some he had offered to send it himself. He was passionate about cider and wanted to see it succeed. I've heard and read more than a few stories of Judith and Terry's generosity and cooperation helping the early craft cidermakers around the country. Thanks to Terry and Judith Maloney for giving all us cider drinkers and cidermakers so much.

Next up, thoughts on Cider Salon and the Harvest Dinner which will conclude the 2010 CiderDays posts.

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Once again I'd like to mention that this weekend wouldn't have happened and was all made possible for me by the kind folks at Tieton Cider Works who offered to take me along and by doing so becoming my first ever "Cider Event Travel Sponsor". Super special thanks to Sharon, Craig, Cindy, Fred, and Marcus for their support. Their award winning ciders are becoming easier and easier to find every day.

16th Annual Franklin County Cider Days 2010 ~ Part 1 of 3.

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A couple weeks back it was my pleasure and honor to be able to travel back east to Western Massachusetts and attend Franklin County CiderDays. This is part 1 of a 2 part recap chronicaling my experience. For those that don't know, Franklin County CiderDays has got to be the premier cider event in all of North America. I was able to go to CiderDays thanks to a generous invite and offer from Tieton Cider Works. They offered to help me get there and in doing so becoming the very first Old Time Cider Travel Sponsor. Appreciation and graditude to Sharon, Craig, and crew at Tieton.

Friday November 4th 2010, the day before CiderDays...

I flew out of SeaTac airport late Thursday night only to arrive very early Friday morning in Boston. I took the Red-Line into Boston where I was able to find some excellent espresso and explore for a short while before eventually meeting up with friends Sharon and Craig Campbell owners of Tieton Cider Works to make our 2.5 hour drive to Western Massachusetts. During my trip I heard multiple times that we were a couple weeks too late for the full congregation of Autumn splendor which might have been the case but I found the area was still alive with the ripe colors and smells of Fall.

Although no official CiderDays events are scheduled we left Boston en-route for Greenfield MA that Friday early to meet with some of the country's leading cidermakers for what could be called a sort-of "state of cider" gathering. Each major cider producing area was represented more or less in what was from my perspective a collegial discussion revolving around basic cidermaker concerns. Category development, marketing/labeling hurdles, and Federal legislation issues were all discussed at great length.

Farnum Hill Cider's Steve Wood sharing his toughts.

Judith Maloney of West County Cider

Sharon Campbell, Tieton Cider Works

Attending the meeting was educational and obviously thought provoking. The general sentiment seemed to be that cider has certainly come a long way in recent years but to develop as an official category of our own we have quite a but further to go. I got to meet lots of great folks from all over. Represented at the meeting was Wandering Aengus Cider Works, Tieton Cider Works, Foggy Ridge Cider, Uncle John's Fruithouse Winery, Black Star Farms, Eden Ice Cider, Tandem Ciders, Tideview Cider, Bellewether Cider and… Farnum Hill Cider. Ben Watson organizer of CiderDays.

Mike Beck from Uncle John's Fruit House Winery in Michigan

James Kohn of Wandering Aengus Ciderworks

Cidermakers at Hope & OliveAfter the meeting we adjourned to meet at a local restaurant  Hope & Olive for some eats and cider tasting. Soon after sitting down I had to leave to meet up with my buddy Al Yelvington who I was roommates with for the weekend. It was probably a fortunate time to take off. I know I would have had a blast but was dead tired and wouldn't have been 100% for the bug day on Saturday had I stuck around longer.

Saturday November 5th 2010, CiderDay

I was told that CiderDays used to be CiderDay. However with an expanded schedule there are now over 30+ events held on both Saturday and Sunday. All events occur in and around a handful of towns in Northwestern Massachusetts. Greenfield, Old Deerfield, Shelburne Falls, and Ashfield.

Apple Pancake Breakfast in Greenfield MA

CiderDays events list is varied from the family-friendly like Apple Pancake Breakfasts, Orchard Rides, Cider Press Demos, Apples for Baking, Identifying and Conserving Heritage Apples and even a Wassail-Orchard walk with none other than Michael Phillips author of The Apple Grower. To the right is Michael Phillips on the Cider Salon floor tasting ciders and talking apples.

Folks with cider of the fermented variety on their mind had plenty of tough choices to make. There are more cider related events scheduled than one could possibly hope to attend. Intro to Cider Making, Blending Apples for Cider, Making Barrel Cider, Home Cidermaker Tasting, Ice Cider Tasting, Apple Brandy, Pear Brandy Calvados and Scrumpy. Let's not forget the Cider Salon and CiderDays Harvest Supper in the evening. Cider tastings of all sorts all throughout the day. Cider tasting even at events you may not expect cider tasting to be at.

Shelburne Buckland Community CenterAs expected selecting from the overwhelming number of cider and apple events was a real chore. I stayed the course and attended events closely related to cider and cidermaking. As it turned out the cool white building in the picture above is the Sherburne Buckland Community Center where all my daytime events occurred. They had craft sales inside the community center in one room, the workshops and discussion took place in the main auditorium. Just outside the front doors you would find rare and heirloom variety apples sales courtesy of Scott Farm Heirloom Apples as well as an apple wood smoked bbq stand.

Lots of interesting varieties of old apples from Scott Farm Heirloom Apples http://www.scottfarmvermont.com/. To see more click on the image and check out the event set.

Blending Apples for Cider with Claude Jolicoeur

Claude Jolicoeur

Pouring Claude Jolicoeur's cider samples

My first official event for CiderDays was one that I was really looking forward to. Blending Apples for Cider with Claude Jolicoeur. Claude's presentation covered the key elements of blending ciders. He highlighted the importance of accurate note taking and the recording measurements such as brix, pH, acidity and even tannin early on in his talk. Claude also discussed was the important balance of sugar, acid, and nitrogen for healthy fermentation and also how acids and tannin (soft and hard) influence cider flavor. Claude showed how to map out and plan a blend, which types or flavors of apples to look for, how ripe, sugar content, tannins, and so on. It was a really great presentation and although I certainly didn't expect it we got our day's first taste of cider early. Claude brought some of his own cider to pour, a really nice example of a French style cider from his home in Quebec.

Pouring Claude Jolicoeur's cider samples

Cider sample from Claude Jolicoeur

Home Cidermaker's Tasting

Home Cidermakers Tastings

Man did this discussion and tasting pack 'em in… Possibly the promise of several free samples of cider. It was led panel of 4 well seasoned, experienced home cidermakers who led a discussion on small scale cidermaking at home. I think some of the panelists pressed their own apples but there was a lot of discussion about custom cider pressings done by local cider presses like Pine Hill Orchards. Pine Hill Orchards appeared to be regionally known for pressing specialty batches for the cider hobbyist blended with fermenting in mind.

Selection of home cidermaker ciders

There was lots of discussion about making "New England" style ciders, and adding fruit to ciders and such. Fresh fruit, frozen fruit, boiled fruit even dehydrated fruit. A gathering like this wouldn't be complete without the eternal topic of which yeasts to use. Are beer yeasts okay? What about natural yeasts? The cider samples were pretty interesting, some good… One stand out in flavor and strength was a cider concoction heavily fortified with Laird's Applejack.

Check back for Part 2. Conversation and Cider Tasting with Leading Cidermakers.

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I'd like to mention that this weekend wouldn't have happened and was all made possible for me by the kind folks at Tieton Cider Works who offered to take me along and by doing so becoming my first ever "Cider Event Travel Sponsor". Super special thanks to Sharon, Craig, Cindy, Fred, and Marcus for their support. Their award winning ciders are becoming easier and easier to find every day.