Cider gaining in popularity in US as demand for local produce grows
LEADIN:
Hard cider, or alcoholic cider, is becoming more popular in the US thanks in part to a growing taste for artisan and local products.
Craft-makers in apple-rich areas like New York state have been taking advantage of the hard cider boom.
STORYLINE:
This autumn, more apples from these orchards in New York state will be pressed for hard cider.
The drink, which came to the United States with the pilgrims but disappeared after Prohibition, has been making a comeback with increased sales and launches of new styles and flavours that have brought a bushel of options to store shelves.
Sales of hard cider in the US have tripled over the last three years to 1.3 billion dollars in 2013.
The comeback has helped craft producers who turn local apples into a drink with a kick.
Cider is made by pressing apples for the juice, adding yeast, then allowing the juice to ferment.
As with wine, the yeast consumes the sugar in the juice and turns it into alcohol.
But not a lot of alcohol.
Hard cider can range from 4 percent to 12 percent alcohol, but generally comes in at around 5 percent or 6 percent, comparable to the strength of beer (and half that of wine), but with a fruitier taste.
Americans are beginning to get a taste for hard cider.
This is kind of like a happy medium between beer and wine that is just in my perfect wheel house, says Matthew Pryce, a cider enthusiast.
The rise is apparent in apple-rich areas like upstate New York.
The state now has 29 hard cider manufacturers, up from five in 2011.
In New York, the nation's second-largest apple producer behind Washington, orchards got market assurance last fall when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Farm Cidery law.
It created a special license for manufacturers that source all their cider apples from New York growers.
At Nine Pin Cider Works in Albany, Alejandro del Peral says the demand for fresh, local produce has helped the craft business grow.
We in our first season produced 27,000 gallons of cider, and this year we're planning to at least double that, he says.
Farmers like the extra outlet for their apples.
Some operations are planting new trees and different types of apples.
Others are planting varieties too tart or tannic for the lunchbox but perfect for smashing and fermenting into distinctive artisanal brews.
It's definitely increased our demand for cider with cider going to these hard cider producers people requesting differing varieties, says Jake Samascott of Samascott Orchards.
The entry of beer giants like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors into the cider market has boosted craft cider-makers as well by increasing market awareness and demand.
The US Association of Cider Makers was formed in February 2013 to advance cider in the market, share information about growing and regulations, and help members improve their operations.
Hard cider still is a small part of the overall alcoholic beverage market; sales don't come close to the multibillion-dollar beer industry.
But it is a rapidly growing niche.
In New York, cider makers are now banding together to form a state-level trade association to help keep the business flowing.
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Nine Pin founder: Business has quadrupled, but we're staying local
Nine Pin Cider Works has quadrupled its production in the three years since it launched in Albany, New York. But even though the craft cider company is growing rapidly, it's resisting the temptation to expand nationally.
Focusing on local isn't just a marketing pitch for Nine Pin – it's a business strategy that has been key to its success in New York's booming craft beverage industry.
Nine Pin sources approximately 1.3 million pounds of apples solely from orchards in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley – mostly from Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook. That gives the cider its unique taste and identity, while keeping down distribution costs.
The Albany Business Review sat down with Nine Pin co-founder and co-owner Alejandro del Peral for the latest installment of our series, The Interview. Check back for a new video next Wednesday – we'll be publishing one every week!
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Columbia County says Cheese- Lance Wheeler Video
Overseas cheese officially lands by Audra Jornov
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Assemblyman Pete Lopez addresses the gathering at the Hudson Valley Creamery's
In about two years, he said, he is hoping to develop goat farms and possibly do distribution and/or storage for other local cheese businesses. This storage facility could be of great use, he said.
Right now, Foster said, the company is focusing on keeping the business a marketing company and production facility.
Columbia County Planning and Economic Development Commissioner Kenneth Flood said, This is a very great project, a very tasteful project if I may say. It is so wonderful how a French company has come to Columbia County to reconfigure this building and take it to new heights and support agriculture in this region with more and more employees and more and more cheese.
Supporting the project is Assemblyman Pete Lopez, R,C,I-Schoharie, who serves as a ranking member of the Assembly's Food, Farm and Nutrition Task Force.
Hudson Valley Creamery has made a deliberate commitment to producing and marketing in the region and across the United States. Along with reusing a formerly empty building and creating new jobs, this project brings the promise of partnering with local family farms to bring more nutritious, affordable food products to our tables, he said.
Senator Stephen Saland, R,C,I-Poughkeepsie, who was present at the gathering Thursday night, as well as U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, also worked with Lopez, local leaders and the investors to help launch the project, which was recently awarded a $300,000 grant through the Community Development Block Grant program.
This is a marvelous opportunity, not only for the creamery, but also a marvelous opportunity for the state, with a very promising beginning and a promising future, said Saland.
Both state legislators, the congressman and the investors also worked very closely with Columbia County and its economic development organization, the Columbia Economic Development Corporation, as well as with Livingston officials.
Funds for this project were made available through New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), by using federal Community Development Block Grant money that was awarded through the Housing Trust Fund Corporation. Fifteen awards were made for the project through HCR, totaling $4.2 million.
All of us understand the significance of advancing projects like this across New York State. Investment in Hudson Valley Creamery and other farm-based companies can make a difference for Columbia County and the state as a whole, said Lopez. We're aggressively seeking to identify other opportunities that will bring new jobs and investment into our region.
Better Farm, a sustainability education center in Redwood, NY - possible.org
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Nicole Caldwell speaks about Better Farm, the sustainability education center she owns and runs in Redwood, NY.
As people look for ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, training and education centers like Better Farm are becoming ever more important. Not only are they places to acquire practical skills, but they provide an environment where individuals from all backgrounds can connect, share ideas and inspire each other.
Nicole talks about her own leap of faith in moving from a desk job in New York city, to a rural life in New York state's North Country.
Check out betterfarm.org for more information.
This video is part of the Possible project. Visit possible.org for updates and more videos. You can also follow the project on Facebook at facebook.com/possiblefilm or on Twitter at twitter.com/possiblefilm.
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Sustainable Tillage - Four Winds Farm, Gardiner, NY
Sustainable Tillage - Four Winds Farm, Gardiner, NY - University of Vermont Extension 2007 - - University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Uploaded with permission. Noncommercial use only. Jay and Polly Armour, Four Winds Farm, Gardiner NY * Small-Scale No-Till Using Compost as Mulch. Vegetable Farmers and their Sustainable Tillage Practices. A 45-minute educational video featuring 9 farms in 4 northeastern states. Produced by: Vern Grubinger, University of Vermont Extension. With funding from: Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, U.S.D.A.