Spy Novels Step Aside for an Apple of a Tale

The Northern Spy is a delightful apple used both for baking and cidermaking! At one time it was a major export commodity due to its lack of bruising when packed in barrels. As far as apples go it is a winner for so many reasons, yet no one knows why it is named Northern Spy. there are certainly many hyposthesis on the subject. In episode 226: Northern Spy and the Underground Railroad Ryan Monkman of Fieldbird Cider reads a fictional essay on the topic (do listen as it is grand).

Kerry Anne Wilkins

In this episode we hear from Apple Sleuth or self proclaimed "Malus Absurdum" Kerry Anne Wilkins who is on the trail of the Northern Spy. Professionally Kerry works as a hospice nurse, but her love of apples and set her on a journey to find the story behind the naming of the Northern Spy.

Herman Chapin is responsible for propagating the Northern Spy

In this Chat

• Meeting the John Bunkers, a premier Apple Detective
• What we know so far about the Northern Spy's history
• Apple Sleuthing tips
  • Libraries
  • Oral History
  • Newspaper
  • Cemeteries
  • Land maps
• Tracking the Northern Spy to East Bloomfield, New York
• A Martha Steward faux pas that needed to be corrected
• The Northern Spy marker in East Bloomfield
• Herman Chapin and the Chapin family connection to the Northern Spy

] East Bloomfield road marker reads:

The original Northern Spy Apple Tree Stood about 14 Rods south of this spot in a seedling orchard.
Planted by Herman Chapin about 1800
The Early Joe and Melon Apple also originated in this orchard.

The quest continues

Kerry is still on the quest to discover the history of the Northern Spy and hopefully the reason why this apple was named as such. If you have info please send it along her way. Recipes, book mentions, oral tales are all welcomed.

Contact info for Kerry Anne Wilkins

email:[email protected]

Want Kerry's postal address to send a letter? Contact [email protected]

Mentions in this Chat

• Listen to episode 290 with Tattiebolge CiderWorks Acme, Pennsylvania - as mentioned in this episode it is building out!
• Canuck Cider Cup winners for 2023
• Who is John Bunker America's Apple Detective? There are many episodes with John feature. Begin with this one https://ciderchat.com/028-john-bunker-apple-identification/ and then google Cider Chat John Bunker for more from this American treasure of a man!
• Bottles on My Desk - Listen to the latest episode at the Cider Chat YouTube Channel via playlist "bottles on my desk"

Weed, to Jail, and Freed by Cider

There are so many title options for this episode, that all center around time spent in jail for one burgeoning cidermaker. "Busted Weed Grower Saved by Cider", was one that almost made the cut. But this podcaster wanted to find something uplifting for Sean McFarland who was a cannabis grower ,who did get busted and was from all accounts able to survive prison life due to support from his family and a new found passion for all things cider. This tale has all the predicable twists and turns one would expect when a big weed grower ends up in jail, but what makes this story completely unique is Sean himself.

As Sean sees it, if you are satisfied with your life as it is now why regret what got you there. His optimism plays a lead role in his narrative and that alone is worth a listen.

Sean and his then future wife who rekindled a childhood friendship while he was in jail

In this Chat

• Sean's journery from army brat to horticulture studies, squash growing and then cannabis
• Behind the scene of a mega pot bust
• Federal laws and Jail terms for cannabis growers
• Preparing for prison life
• Family matters
• Finding love while in prison
• Finding cider
• No regrets
• Minnesota law for felons who want to start a cidery

Sean and family in legally grown hemp[/caption]

Contact for Blackshire Farm Cider

Website: https://www.blackshirefarms.com/

] Sean working old family cider mill that has been rigged with salvaged parts

Mentions in this chat

• Send your questions [email protected] fermentation and yeast for an upcoming Q&A withFermentis- Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Not only is the cider acclaimed, so too is the Maker

Tom Oliver is just as acclaimed as his cider which makes Oliver's Cider and Perry Co. a global hit on two fronts. He is affable, engaging and knows his way around social media likely due to his work with the Scottish Rock Rock Band, The Proclaimers. Cidermakers are not well known for reposting news stories about themselves and their product, but Tom is a master of this one simple act that keeps Oliver's in the news and endears him to media. That singular step alone is just one of many giveaways that Tom provides to the slow moving cider industry.

This topic is key for makers looking to up level their online presence, but it was not the topic of conversation in this episode. Instead Ria and Tom caught up after the world shut down for the past 2 plus years at CiderCon 2023 held in Chicago.

In this chat

• How minimal intervention is key for Oliver's Cider and Perry
• What is Farmhouse cider
  • Spontaneously fermented - wild yeast
  • Tannic cider and Perry Pears

At Oliver's there is no measuring of sugar or fiddling with the cider. In fact, Tom can be heard in most interviews saying "Don't fiddle with cider."

What's new for this acclaimed makers and cidery?

• More c0-ferments and collaborations!
• Bâtonnage
  • This is a technique used by winemakers, where the lees (yeast cells) are stirred into solution.
  • • Nano proteins are the biggest benefit of Bâtonnage
      
      • They release into the cider providing a perception of sweetness and body with out the sugar
    • Need at least 9 months to a year to get the nano proteins

    There are short term benefits.

    1. Yeast produces less carbon dioxide and bubbles.
       
       • They slow down after the first primary ferment.
       • Fermentation may have stopped but there is still sugar left.
    2. Lees absorb off aromas, except for H2S rotting egg smell.
    3. Bâtonnage helps to maintain a reductive state.
       
       • Full reduction - rotting smell is a type of reduction. Which helps protect the cider from oxidization and protect the flavor components.

Find out more about Bâtonnage by going to Episode 233: Ask Ryan Quarantine Quad Series where Ryan Monkman of Fieldbird Cider in Prince Edward County Canada provides an in depth overview of Bâtonnage and Maderisation (where the barrels are cooked).

Contact info for Oliver's Cider and Perry Company

• Website: https://www.oliversciderandperry.co.uk/

Mentions in this chat

• Send your questions to [email protected] about fermentation and yeast for an upcoming Q&A withFermentis- Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Is Cider Truly Indescribable?

There isn't one definitive language or lexicon for cider, which adds to its indescribable mystique. The ongoing debate around what cider is or isn't or should be doesn't help. It certainly feels like a present day problem defining cider, but is it? Or has this debate been going on for years?

To help us get to the root of this indescribable dilemma, we are featuring "A Systematic Approach to Tasting Cider" as presented by Richie Brady at CiderCon 2023, an annual trade conference hosted by the American Cider Association. This is Richie's second appearance on Cider Chat. We first heard about his research on the lexicon of cider in Episode 286: A Living Language of Cider.

Richie provides a road map, complete with historical references and present day trends that helps us sort through this indescribable mess!

Richie Brady presenting at CiderCon 2023

In this indescribable Chat

• Richie Brady's background
• Difficulties in describing taste: Language
• Proposed Systematic Approach to Tasting Cider
• Considering Cider's Lexicon

Mentions in this Chat

• @Sabatinis_Bottleshop - has a tasting room and served Domain Dupont Pommeau
• April 28th Kickoff Party - EsoTerra Ciderworks
• Fermentis - Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Haven't downloaded this episode yet? Here it is again for your listening pleasure.

The Way of the Orchards

Colin Scott has spent his life in orchards, learning how to tended them with his parents, Edward and Janice as role models. This episode is a testament of what it looks like to embody a craft as part of your way of life. Colin like many orchardist may not be a Mandalorian, a character from Star Wars who is now featured in a stand alone tv series depicting a a clan-based culture composed of members from multiple species and bound by a common creed, language and code, but he like many orchardist who grew up tending trees from an early age see orchard care as A Way of Life.

This episode first released in Season 2 of Cider Chat on episode 093 and was re-produced for Season 8. The info is evergreen and timely for those of us who love orchards and want to broaden our own knowledge base.

E.J. Scott Orchard was purchased in 1954. (Note that the first initial of Colin's parents in the business name) Today Colin is running the orchard and the apple storage facility site which is discussed at the beginning of this episode. E & J Scott Orchard also has apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, quince, raspberries, & strawberries. Their main store is in Ashfield, MA and is open Sat & Sun 10-6 July through May. Organic duck eggs from their heritage breed Ancona ducks are also available upon request.

Colin using his dad's grafting tool

We begin this chat with Colin inside one of the Apple storage rooms.

What affects the Apple's ripening?

• temperature
• ethylene gas - apples off gas
• Apples are placed in a CA room (Controlled Atmosphere) where both temperature, oxygen and the off gases are controlled.

If apples don't have oxygen they don't ripen. Colin and I discuss the "delicate" process of storing apples or what he called "putting them to sleep".

Apple storage tip: Take your apples out of the refrigerator every once in a while and let them off gas. That will help them last a bit longer.

New and old grafting tools

Next in this chat we talk about

• the beginnings of the orchard and what they grew and where they are going with the growing cider market
• Root Stock for grafting a tree - dwarf or standard
• Shifting his market to cider apples
• What do you look for in a root stock

"The idea behind grafting is to take the variety that you want and put it on the root stock you want.The vigor of the variety contributes to the size of the tree."

The numbering system of the root stock defines the size of the tree or a percentage of the size of the tree

• M rootstock 9, 11, 18, 26 what does that stand for? If you put a Macintosh on standard tree rootstock and a Macintosh on a 26, you would get 30 -40-% of the standard one. A M118 or M111 are going to be 6--70% the size, which means they will be almost as big as a standard tree.

Today Colin is using Geneva root stock, because he is finding it resistant to Fire Blight. A nasty disease that can kill the tree.

Geneva root stock numbering system is random too. Colin is using Geneva 41 & 935. They will be 30-40% of the standard tree. He uses a bench graft on his root stock.

The secret to grafting per Colin

• Lining up the cambium layers
• Getting it airtight

We also chat pruning an apple tree, especially a tree that you are attempting to revive after years of neglect.

Contact E & J Scott Orchard

• email:mailto:[email protected]
• Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/E-J-Scott-Orchards-2017815285121065/

Mentions in this chat

• Oesco, Inc - professional grade supplies for orchards and cidermakers.

Help Support Cider ChatPlease donate today.Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page forCider Chat's podcasts.

• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter@ciderchat
• Instagram:@ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

The Founder behind 33 Books Company

Dave Selden created 33 Books to help all of us track our favorite and not so favorite beverages! He is a graphic designer by trade, but soon found himself making tasting note books as a hobby which soon became a full time print business. The design of the note book for Cider called 33 Mugs of Cider provides an easy to follow script that one can refer back to again and again.

In this Chat

Dave and Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller taste and make notes on a cider and perry from the Pacific Northwest maker Alma Cider. In this podcast episode, the conversation focuses in on the cider and how to use the tasting notebook - 33 Mugs of Cider. There is an additional option where you can watch and listen to the full conversation which was videoed at the Cider Chat YouTube Channel. In the video, Dave and Ria also go taste an Alma Perry, made with perry pears.

• Learn how to use a flavor wheel
• Learn the 3 key components to decipher in any cider
  • Acid
  • Tannin
  • Sweetness
• How to describe body
• Get pro-tips on tasting cider, i.e., at what temperature is best?

Contact info for 33 Books Co.

• Website:https://www.33books.com/

Mentions in this Chat

• Hardball Cider Start Engine Campaign
• Fermentis - Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers
• Press Then Press - online cider retail store where you can purchase Alma Ciders!
• Alma Cider - Listen to a chat with Dave Klawer of Alma Cider on Episode 325
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Help Support Cider ChatPlease donate today.Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page forCider Chat's podcasts.

• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter@ciderchat
• Instagram:@ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

Tristan Wright the Lost Boy who Cider Found

[ Tristan Wright on the French Cider Tour

Tristan and Katie Wright are the owners of Lost Boy Cider, and now also the Lost Girl Wine brand, based in Alexandria, Virginia. Discover the journey of Tristan, a reluctant banker that developed a gluten intolerance and then found his place in cider.

Katie Wright making Lost Girl Wine

Lost Boy Ciders and Set up

• Urban cidery
• Tasting Room next to production facility
• Judgement Free - Inclusive Zone
• 20 Ciders on Tap
• Sugar free, unpasteurized un filtered cider
• Apples from Glaize family in Virginia

Contact info for Lost Boy Cider

• Website:https://www.lostboycider.com/

Mentions in this Chat

• Fermentis- Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers.
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Help Support Cider ChatPlease donate today.Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page forCider Chat's podcasts.

• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter@ciderchat
• Instagram:@ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

Is Sulfur dioxide (SO2) a natural part of Fermentation?

In this episode pre-recorded at CiderCon 2023, you'll get to hear from cider makers who will share their knowledge and expertise on the topic of sulfur dioxide cider. Plus, you'll learn about the safety and health implications of adding SO2, as well as the legal limits for different markets.

In this episode:

1. What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of using sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the cidermaking both in the US and the UK.

2. How has the ban of BPA in California impacted the cider industry and what have can manufacturers done to adjust?

3. What strategies can winemakers and cider makers use to ensure their products are properly protected against oxidation and microbial spoilage?

4. Makers conclusion on whether SO2 is necessary for making cider.

SO2 Panelists and Contact info

(l to r) Tim Godfrey, Dave Takush, Teagan Bium, Tom Oliver

• Moderator Tim Godfrey is the head of Godfrey Beverage Solutions
• Dave Takish is the head cider maker and co-owner of Oregon's 2 Towns Cider House
• Tegan Bium is the cider maker at Virginia's Lost Boy Cider
• Tom Oliver owner and cider maker at Oliver's Cider and Perry Company | Herefordshire, England's

Mentions in this Chat

• Fermentis- Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers.
• Carbonic Maceration for making cider - Revel Cider - Canada
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today.Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page forCider Chat's podcasts.

• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter@ciderchat
• Instagram:@ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

Everything in the taproom should be adjustable

This Taproom Tips workshop was presented at CiderCon 2023 by Katie Black and Megan MacLean and it is packed with info!

In this episode

• A four prong approach to brand identity
• How to respond to taproom reviews
• 3 key factors when building culture for a taproom
• Hiring tips and training tips
• The timeline of a tasting room
• Recruiting systems and training
• Interview tips from Meghan
• Integrating future growth in your design
• Draft systems
• The "secret" dishwasher
• Polishing your glassware - do you have space?
• Cider cocktails set up
• The flow behind the bar design
• Bathrooms design
• In house residencies - food trucks vendors
• Bar Bible and what it should have

Who is Katie Black?

Katie entered the CiderCon® world in 2021 as of the first Kulture scholarship recipients. Her endless love for fermentation & product development peaked her curiosity on fruited ferments.

She calls the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina home. Here, she also graduated from the Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast with a Brewing, Distillation, & Fermentation degree.

Consulting has been part of the last 6 years for Katie in various realms of business, with a primary focus in the food & beverage world. The majority of her experience started within the brewing industry; from business openings, management, & even working her way into the cellar. This landed her with reopening & rebranding the original taproom atArtifact Cider Project. Before that, you could find her working for DSSOLVR brewing and spending sunrises harvesting in the mountains. She currently is working as an assistant distiller at the notable amaro distillery, Eda Rhyne.

Contact for Katie Black

• [email protected]
• Instagram @bevswithkb

Who is Megan MacLean?

Megan MacLean is a hospitality operations consultant with 14 years of experience in restaurants and taprooms. She specializes in private events, recruiting, training programs, people management, and operational system design. Most recently, Megan served as the hospitality director for Artifact Cider Project. She has since launched a solo consulting business, aimed at improving the industry she has come to know and love. Megan lives in Boston and travels extensively, working with clients all over the country.

Contact for Megan MacLean

• [email protected]
• @m_f_mac on Instagram

Mentions in this Chat

• Grafting Workshop at Brook Farm Orchard, Ashfield Massachusetts April 15, 2023 1-3 pm
  • contact Alan [email protected]
• Canuck Cider Cup - entries in by April 21, 2023
• Revolution will not be Pasteurized - Ross on Wye Cider and Perry Co. 2023 keg tour
  • Follow Ross Cider on Facebook
  • @rosscider on Instagram

• Fermentis- Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers.

• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Help Support Cider ChatPlease donate today.Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page forCider Chat's podcasts.

• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter@ciderchat
• Instagram:@ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

The Vala Family's Business Model

Tim Vala had a vision over 39 years ago to build a destination for family fun. It started with a Upick strawberry patch that grew into a pumpking patch, orchard. It then evolved into kid friendly rides and food stands. Vala's Pumpking Patch and Orchard is located to the southwest of Omaha and draws over 300,000 visitor per year during the months of September and October. The rest of the season it is closed so that workers can take care of the property, orchards, pumpkin patches and rides...and of course get ready for the next season's opening day.

During the height of the season 1000 seasonal workers are hired. During the off season 30+ employees staffed to maintain the grounds and prepare for the next season.

In the Chat

Meet Kelsey and David Donovan. Kelsey is one Tim and Jan Vala's three daughters. She is a co-owner and works at the COO and David is the head cidermaker.

Hear about:

• The history behind Vala's
• Vala's cider
• The future for this enterprising family

Contact for Vala's Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard

Website:https://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/

Mentions in this Chat

• Fermentis- Yeast and Fermentation Solutions for Cidermakers.

• Bottles on My Desk- a live Stream with Cider Chat Producer and Emcee Ria Windcaller. Subscribe to be notified when the next "Bottles on My Desk" goes live at theCider Chat YouTube Channel
• Subscribe toeCiderNews

Help Support Cider ChatPlease donate today.Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page forCider Chat's podcasts.

• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter@ciderchat
• Instagram:@ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube