New Jersey’s hard cider industry is expanding like it grows on trees.
The coronavirus pandemic may have shut some places down temporarily, but there are now six hard cider makers dotted around the Garden State, up from three last year, and if you’re in search of a new fall outing, they’re all ripe for visiting.
But what makes a good hard cider? It’s more than just apples. How about some pear cider? Or adding in blueberries, blackberries, passion fruit and extra spices, which all help to diversify the state’s cider game.
Here’s where you can try it all.
Outdoor space at Burnt Mills cider in Bedminster, N.J. October, 4, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Burnt Mills, Bedminster
John Coates began brewing hard cider as a hobby. Seven years later, he has more than 200 apple trees planted, like Ashmeade’s kernel and Wickson Crab.
“(The apples) don’t taste good at all, they don’t look good at all but they are high in acid, higher tannic levels and higher sugar,” said Coates. “They make the best hard cider.”
Coates started Burnt Mills Cider in Bedminster in the middle of March, asking a local tavern to carry his first keg.
Then the shutdown hit and his new, beautiful tasting room remained closed until June, finally putting his eight acres of property to use. He could only serve people outside.
“I felt like the world was imploding,” said Coates.
But customers have loved the cider, he said, and now they bring blankets and chairs to drink while social distancing. Coates has added picnic tables and now the tasting room is open at 25% capacity — it can only seat six.
“With COVID no one wants to be inside anyhow,” said Coates.
Semi-Dry (Original), Hops, Rose and Jersey Blue Hard Ciders. Burnt Mills Hard Cider, in Bedminster, N.J. October, 8, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Rating the ciders:
Original hard cider. Very easy to drink with full-body flavor. Enjoyable.
Ginger. All-around flavor that lingers. Terrific.
Fall spice. Described as apple pie in a glass. Very smooth with tastes of apple pie. Not as sweet as apple pie with a nice clove taste. Well rounded and a great finish.
Hops. Blend of dry hops. If you like sour beer you will love this. Strong, sour and fruity flavor.
Rose. A little drier with hibiscus giving it color and floral tone. Almost a rose wine taste.
Jersey Blue. Dry cider with blueberries. Blue tint and very mild flavor.
They sell flights; you should try everything. Drink the original first and use it to clean your pallet after each cider.
Outdoor seating area at Armageddon Brewing in Somerdale, N.J. September, 26, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Armageddon, Somerdale
After Christian Annese had a gluten intolerance scare, a friend suggested making his own hard cider.
He tried a variety of ciders and then tried a French cider — it was the best thing he ever had.
“They grow cider apples that have bitters and bittersweet and bitter sharps, only apples for apple cider,” said Annese.
He started a small pilot orchard in 2012 at his parent’s farm in Pennsylvania.
“Golden Russet and crab apple — 100-year-old sour patch, super sweet and super sour,” said Annese.
He got together with friends Kyle Laird and Matt Olsen and six years later, they opened Armageddon Brewing in Somerdale, making ciders and mead.
Until 2017, New Jersey made it nearly impossible to make hard cider commercially. He made batches of hard cider in his kitchen.
On January 31, 2020, they opened a tasting room in an office park.
He doesn’t use any artificial flavorings and has ingredients shipped in from around the country. He went to his parents’ farm and picked wild black raspberries.
The pandemic shut him down a few weeks after opening.
They needed outdoor space for customers so they fixed up an area outside and now had nine tables, back in business.
Being in South Jersey, blueberry is king.
“Our blueberry cider is different depending on where I get blueberries from,” said Annese. “Our local farm blueberries are a lot more tart and it made a very tart blueberry cider.
“If I get them from another farm and they are more sweet, it’s like you are drinking a blueberry pie," Annese added. "That’s the one I like.”
Flight of hard ciders. Exile, Achlys' Haze, Remorse and Desire Oaked at Armageddon Brewing in Somerdale, N.J. September, 26, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Rating the ciders:
Exile. Smooth semi-dry with a nice tang.
Ida’s Heart. Tart raspberry with clean finish. Very good raspberry flavor throughout with just a little tart at the end.
Remorse. Made with locally sourced tart blackberries and has a full taste all around the mouth. Tart and sweet with a very good finish, flavors meshed together very well.
Achly’s Haze. Belgian Witt apples with pink peppercorn. Really tasty, pepper is a different but good finish.
Desire. Hard cider with local blueberries, sweet but well rounded. Blueberry pie. Yum.
IDA’s Heart (Dry). Bone dry version of Ida’s heart.
Desire Oaked. Blueberry cider aged in French oak with vanilla flavor. Tastes as great as it sounds.
Outdoor seating area at Beach Bee Meadery and Cidery in Long Branch, N.J. September, 26, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Beach Bee Meadery and Cidery, Long Branch
“My grandparents made bathtub gin during Prohibition,” said Curtis Blodgett, who owns Beach Bee in Long Branch with his wife Madeline.
After brewing home batches of beer in the ’80s, Blodgett started making mead in 2015, hard cider in 2016, eventually leading to a business. He obtained a mead license from the state and realized the license allowed him to also make hard cider.
“It’s my passion, what I want to do,” said Blodgett.
The business opened in December 2019, a couple of blocks off the Long Branch Boardwalk, with six mead flavors and two hard ciders served up out of kegs in their tasting room.
The hard cider sold out quickly.
“The cider brings people in and they’ll try the mead and take it home,” said Blodgett.
After the spring shutdown, they reopened with outdoor seating on the sidewalk in front of the store with the help of the township.
The hard cider was selling so well they put more emphasis on cider, already outgrowing the five barrel tanks being used for fermentation.
Due to COVID takeout rules, they had to start canning — a 10 to 12-hour process for each batch. Some flavors sell out the 1,100 cans in two weeks.
They are now going to be fermenting in 20 barrel tanks so supply should be increasing soon.
Blueberry pomegranate, Wild Tequila Sour, and original hard cider. Beach Bee hard cider and in Long Branch, N.J. September, 23, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Rating the ciders:
Classic-Original. Mild, almost subtle but nice texture and finish.
Passion Fruit. Wow! Great aroma and it tasted like drinking tropical flowers. Stunning drink. I now understand why it sells out so fast.
Mimosa. Champagne yeast yields a dry cider with a hint of orange at the finish.
Grapefruit. Sweetened with pink grapefruit, very easy summer drink.
Wild Tequila Sour. Sour style fermented in a tequila barrel.
Spiced Apple. Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon Tasty, very good fall drink.
Blueberry pomegranate. Blueberry is hard to work with in ciders and they crushed it. Very smooth, no tart or harsh after taste. Extremely good.
Pear hard cider labels for Melick's hard Cider, 100% Bosc pears on left and pear apple blend on right, in Bridgewater, N.J. October, 31, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Here are a few interesting offerings from the New Jersey’s other three cider makers, which are not new to this list.
Melick’s
Pear Hard Cider. 100% Bosc pears. Pear flavor is very mild but a smooth wonderful drink with a great finish.
Pear and Apple Hard Cider. Bosc pear and apple cider mix has more of a tart taste and finish than the 100% pear cider.
Tomasello Artisian Orchard Strawberry Mango hard Cider. in Bridgewater, N.J. October, 31, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Tomasello Winery
Strawberry Mango. Smooth, semi-sweet with a nice mango flavor. Not overwhelming on the mango.
Fortified Ciders Golden Russet Orange, Lemon Beebrush and Spiced Cherry Burdock. Ironbound hard cider at Ironbound Farm in Alexandria Township, N.J. September, 27, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for
Ironbound
Fortified Ciders
Ironbound distilled its hard ciders increasing the alcohol level from single digits to 18.5% Making a stronger drink and cocktail mix
Golden Russet Orange. Great tang, tasty and enjoyable by itself with. A lemon and orange bite. Smooth but a nice bitter edge.
Lemon Beebrush. Spicy lemonade tang with pie spice, very tasty. Stand-alone drink for summertime but the pie spice also works in the fall. Very aromatic.
Spiced Cherry Burdock. Cherry dominates with a good follow of spices that linger with the cherry. Exceptional drink. Over ice the cherry mellows a little but try mixing it with their Pinelands Rose hard cider. Kicks up the great flavors of a really good hard cider.
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Ed Murray may be reached at emurray@njadvancemedia.com.
The Link LonkNovember 08, 2020
https://www.nj.com/hunterdon/2020/11/njs-hard-cider-industry-is-growing-check-out-these-new-ciders-this-fall.html
N.J.’s hard cider industry is growing. Check out these new ciders this fall. - nj.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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