Sociable Cider Werks Review

Earlier this spring, my wife Sj and I went to a Happy Gnome beer dinner featuring beers and ciders from local Sociable Cider Werks.  Previously both of us had been a bit underwhelmed by their early ciders and were a bit sceptical.  However, knowing that we have never had a bad dinner at The Gnome, we decided to take the risk and try it out.  While folks were arriving for the dinner, they handed us a glass of the Freewheeler, their flagship dry cider, and we were pleasantly surprised at how tasty and quaffable it was.  During that dinner I got to meet one of the founders, Jim Watkins, who's official job title on their website is Bullshitting (Operations).  Nice!  He was a cool guy, and very excited about what he was doing--a great advocate for their brand.  Coming away from the dinner with a distended belly and a new-found respect for Sociable, we jumped their place up on our list of places to visit.

Which brings us to Art-A-Whirl weekend.  This is the fun Nordeast art-show/artist studio hop that I have managed to miss every year so far.  Finally, the stars aligned and we were able to get down there and wander through a bunch of cool artist studios in old characterful warehouse buildings.  After buying a slew of glass beads for Sj's jewelry making, we made our way to the nearby Sociable Cider Werks taproom.

The taproom is located (like many) in a reconditioned industrial space.  Unapologetically a "working brewery/cidery" the taproom is not fancy.  The inside is a bit dark, but not dingy.  A long shiny polished bar takes up a good space to the left side of the space across from the main entry.  The fermenters and canning line are right behind that, with more stainless brew equipment off to the right of the building.  A few large cable spool tables offer some more seating away from the bar.  The place was bustling but not overly crowded during our visit. My one quibble with the setting is that the ceiling has a strange, slightly arts-and-crafts-from-elementary-school twig and yarn thing going on.  A small patio outside offers additional seating and folks were just taking down a portable stage from earlier live music.

Just weird...

I wanted to order a sampler to try more things, but apparently they only offer them in the first hour they're open.  I understand that samples take longer to pour, but they are the best way for someone like me to get a gestalt of how the whole brewery's line-up tastes in a short period of time.  On the other hand, our helpful bartender was more than willing to let us have a couple of tastes to help make up our minds before ordering.  They do offer small and large glasses, so we still got to try several of the offerings without getting tipsy.  Interestingly they do straight ciders (most fairly dry), beers, and some hybrid beer/cider mixes.  This combination is really what makes Sociable stand out to my mind.  I got to try some unusual takes of traditional beer and cider styles that were truly unique.  My favorite of the group was the Everblack--a fine example of an oatmeal stout that was easy to drink and well crafted.  The Pinch Flat was a cider with saison yeast and had an interesting character somewhere between a beer and a cider.  I think our least favorite was the Burnout Smoked Apple that just had a chemical phenol that was a bit off-putting--I still gave it a 3 of 5 though.  Some of the hybrid styles like the Spoke Wrench (stout/cider) can have the cidery taste that I associate with young or "green" beer which is a flavor flaw when judging a beer.

I'm glad I gave these guys a chance and I think they're trying some cool new things that you can't find anywhere else.  They're also putting out good quality dry cider (in cans now too) to compete with the big producers of overly sweet commercial ciders.

Eating and Drinking Through Asheville: Part 5

In which our intrepid explorers experience Art!  Beer!  Ciders!  And The Admiral!

Day 6

OK, so Asheville has been good to us so far this trip, with pleasant weather, great food and great beers.  Hm, what should we do on day 6?  How about more of the same?  Sounds like a plan!

Sj ready to get messy with BBQ!

We started out the day a little late with lunch at 12 Bones, a local BBQ joint known for its line outside the door and amazing North Carolina BBQ.  Located right in the midst of the Asheville River Arts District, this was a good excuse to get in the car and explore the city a bit more.  We got there shortly after they opened and didn't have to stand outside longer than about 10 minutes.  Pretty much everyone I talked to about the area had suggested this place, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  My ribs were dry, tough and hard to eat with little bone fragments in several bites.  The pulled pork came out in a bowl filled with watery juice and was quite bland on its own.  They did have several BBQ, mustard, and vinegar sauces to try with the meats, but none really wowed me.  We did get very quick counter service though.  I also tried the pale ale from local Pisgah Brewing and this prompted me to visit that brewery the following day.  The best BBQ I had on this trip was actually Black Dog Smokehouse in Urbana, IL of all places!  Oh well, you can't win them all.

From 12 Bones we walked across the road to a cluster of warehouses that had been converted to artist studios.  There were many such places in the area, and they offered a cool way to check out some of the local art and explore a bit.  The map of the River Arts District made it look easy to walk from studio to studio, but we discovered that there was no sidewalk and that places were farther apart than they looked on the map!  No problem, we foraged over high grass, braved narrow roads, and went cross-country across train tracks and through crumbled buildings.  I enjoyed the derelict nature of the area and had plenty of things to take pictures of.  Seriously though, the city should invest in some sidewalks to encourage more traffic to these places.

Coolest art studio ever?

We visited cool studios with pottery, woodworking, glass blowing, painting, metal smithing, and more.  Many of the old buildings were a treat to examine as well.  We did pick up some jewelry for Sj and also an amazing painting on tin from old Asheville.

Not far from here, we met up with an old friend of Sj's from Alabama, Amy Pike.  Amy has been in Asheville for some time and seemed to know just about everyone we ran into!  We met at Urban Orchard, a local cidery with 8 ciders on tap.  The place was new, spare, and comfortable, with the windows open to a warm breeze.  Our server was very attentive and seemed to actually know a lot about the different ciders, and didn't hesitate to tell us her favorites.  We ended up getting two samplers so we could try them all!  It was great to meet Amy, and I'm really glad that she and Sj had a chance to catch up on quite a bit of time.

The ciders at Urban Orchard were surprisingly good.  So many ciders I try these days are overly sweet, and none of these had that issue.  I gave pretty much all the ciders a 4 out of 5 star rating, except the Wit which really didn't have the right balance.  My favorites were the Black Hole (Blackberry!) and the Sidra Del Diablo (Habenero!) but I really also enjoyed their flagship Dry Ridge dry cider.  They do also offer some snacks for those who work up a hunger while drinking cider.  We had a great time hanging out in this comfy tap room and I would highly recommend stopping in if you are interested in trying some unique cider options.

After saying our goodbyes, we headed back to the Arts District to visit Wedge Brewing, which had just opened at 4 PM that day.  Nestled in among the art galleries, in a three story building originally used for livestock distribution, this place has some serious character.  Outside, railings, tables, chairs are all made of welded "found" metal tools and items.  Just wandering around the place is a treat!  It was getting pretty hot and sunny by the time we visited so we didn't want to sit out in the open patio with most of the crowd.  We headed in to the small taproom proper, where there was really just space to line up and order, with only a couple stools inside.  We got two samplers, going to a second alternate serving station outside to fill up one of the beers we ordered.  I like the chalkboard sides of the samplers--something I haven't seen before.  They also have bowls of peanuts and buckets for shells...something I haven't seen at a bar for years!  So if you have a serious peanut allergy, you may want to stay away from Wedge.

Just one of many cool metal sculptures outside Wedge

We ended up sitting outside on cool rotating and moving chair sculptures, out of the brightest of the hot sun.  I drank through the samplers and enjoyed many of the beers.  The Julian Price Pilsner was well made and very refreshing!  A hemp ale was actually tasty and will probably make me test positive on the next drug test I take.  And the Iron Rail IPA was classic and well balanced.  My least favorite was, much like Urban Orchard, the Wit.  Overall, a very cool space, vibe, and a good collection of solid beers.  I'm glad we went back to this place instead of heading back into downtown.

Parking our car quasi-legally outside Hi-Wire Brewing, we had one more stop before dinner.  I mean what else were we going to do?  Our server at Sierra Nevada had mentioned that her husband was a brewer at Hi-Wire, a brewery that had not really been on my radar before that, but I added it to the list after talking to her.  This is a small working brewery, with a tiny bar and a few high top tables for seating.  Not the most glamorous, but very "real".  I quickly tasted through the sampler and found all of the beers to be well crafted and good examples of their styles.  Nothing crazy, but all good.  My favorite double IPA of the trip was their Man Eater, and they happened to have just bottled them, so I took a few home with me.  Second favorite was the very nice ESB.  We also briefly got to say hi to one of the owners there who seemed appreciative of our business.  Getting back to our car to avoid towing, we headed on to our next destination.

Next we headed over to a place in West Asheville that had been suggested by our niece Anna as well as friends of Sj's: The Admiral!  This is the restaurant for the foodies.  The building is pretty tiny and unassuming, made of ugly cinderblock, with minimal signage.  Entering through a small door, the restaurant is small, close, and dark with booth seating along one side and tables in the center.  The small kitchen is visible from the seating area, and chefs bustled around throwing flames and tasty foods around like circus performers.  The place has the feel of an only slightly revamped dive bar or 1950's diner.  Our server was great, and very attentive.  With a menu changing daily based on local and available foods, the options are limited but all interesting.  We started with the Sweet Breads in spicy honey sauce and buttermilk ranch and my heart skipped a beat or two.  For those who don't know what sweet breads are: they are thymus glands, usually tossed as trash, but in the right hands can be a flavorful, buttery textured, culinary heaven.  And these were perfect.  We split some other dishes to get a good mix of things and everything we tried was stellar.  This place is a gem hidden in a tarnished base metal setting. This was by far the best meal we had on our trip to Asheville.  And yes, we had more sweet breads for "dessert".  Because they were just that good.

Back alley speakeasy entrance to One World

Not to be finished after two breweries, a cidery, and one of the best meals ever, we were ready for more!  Back to the hotel to drop off the car and back out to downtown.  One World Brewing was very close to the hotel and I had been saving it for just such an occasion.  Hidden down an alley right next to Farm Burger restaurant, the entrance is through a large metal framed portal (manned by a bouncer), down some stairs past a door with sliding peep-hole (speakeasy?) and into a dark and minimalist basement space.  The space itself is fairly relaxed looking with a small bar near the entrance.  When we arrived they had the World's Most Terrible DJ (TM) playing awful, bone jarring house music from hell.  Sj gave me "the look" saying silently, "Get your beers, drink them, and get me out of this place."  Which I promptly did.  The bartender was cheerful and quick, getting me the sampler without fuss.  I'll be honest here, the beers were not very good.  Not infected or unintentionally-sour-bad, but just not very good and not well balanced.  The exception was the Citra Bomb that I gave a 3.5 star rating since I'm a whore for Citra hops.  Looking at the homebrew sized brew system in the corner of the basement, I can see why they probably have some variability in batches, but these guys need to step it up if they want to compete in Asheville!  I didn't finish my beers and we escaped the hellish racket to the free air above ground. Your results may vary.

Our desire for a relaxing night-cap foiled, we continued to walk around for a bit.  Passing the famous French Broad Chocolates building and seeing no line out the door we at first thought that it must be closed.  But no!  It was actually open, so we finally had a chance to get some chocolates.  We both got decadent sipping chocolates that have to be the richest thing I've ever put in my mouth.  We also stocked up on Mother's Day presents.

OK, now that is the way to finish the day!  Only one more left in Asheville...What to do tomorrow?  Perhaps eat and drink some more?  Sure!

Pittsburgh Beer Scene Part 2

Continuing the beery travelogue on our recent trip to the Pittsburgh area.  If you missed my previous post, check it out HERE.

Day two of our trip to Ligonier found us eating a wonderful breakfast bread pudding and sipping pumpkin spiced lattes at Thistledown B&B, located right along the quaint main street.  Ligonier is a small town at the site of an old French and Indian War English fort (which has been rebuilt as a very cool interactive museum).  With the classic town diamond with white gazebo band shell, tons of small cafes, galleries, and antique stores, this place is unstuck in time.  With slight breeze blowing falling leaves around the streets, and an Indian Summer warming sun, this was a truly beautiful and relaxing place to wander around.  The only negative?  Very little is open Sunday through Tuesday, making our timing here a bit problematic.  So what else to do but go back to Pittsburgh for some more beer tourism!

Mayberry?  Or Ligonier, PA?

This time driving in the daytime, we were able to see and appreciate the hills and valleys (hollows) covered with large trees currently in the process of dropping brilliant yellow and orange leaves upon us.  Coming from the very flat areas of Minnesota this terrain was quite a change for me, and reminded Sj of the mountain near where she grew up in Alabama.  We passed through several small towns on our way into Pittsburgh proper.

Our first stop was Arsenal Cider House, named after the Allegheny Arsenal, in the suburb of Lawrenceville.  This is very close to Roundabout and Hop Farm Brewing, so one could get to all of them in a short time.  Located in a small red house across from a large church, we found this place difficult to find at first since there was no visible sign.  Upon cautiously entering we found a small, rustic interior with burned and distressed pine woodwork and rich wall colors.  Civil War era pictures and memorabilia lined walls and shelves.  A small tasting bar filled with taps and wooden casks formed the focus for the small taproom.  When we arrived right after 11 AM opening, there was a large tour group ahead of us finishing up with their tasting.  Another group was just finishing a tour and switched places with the current crowd...so much for hitting the taproom before they got busy!  We barreled (no pun!) our way into line and were able to each taste a thimble sized paper cup of 4 different fermented beverages each for free. 

This place makes really good cider!  They had strong wine-like ciders and meads, some made from cherries and blueberries, as well as some more traditional dry and semi-sweet hard ciders.  Some were oak aged to add complexity and tannins.  Probably my favorite was the oak aged blueberry wine that was the best blueberry fermented beverage I have ever had!  We ended up ordering a glass apiece and watching the chaotic taproom tour group from our little table near the back of the tasting room.  Did I mention the amazing tap handles shaped like pistols and skeletal hands grasping fruit?  I risked TSA body cavity search in order to bring one of those pistols home in my luggage!  I love what these guys are doing, and hope that they expand from growler and tap sales to bottles so I can get some sent to me.  The only thing I would suggest is to add a sign to the questionably marked taproom...

After our strong cider/wine, we were in need of sustenance.  A nice walk from the cidery was one of the more unique brewpubs I've ever visited: The Church Brew Works.  And yes, we made lots of jokes about sitting in a pew on Sunday!  This large brewpub is located in the 1902 St. John's the Baptist church, reminding me of a massive church bookstore we saw in Maastricht, Netherlands earlier this year.  I had heard mixed things about the beers, but had to check it out myself.  They won two GABF medals in 2012, so how bad could it be? 

This place is enormous.  A small brew system occupies the pulpit, with fermentation/serving tanks behind the long bar to the left of this picture.  I'm not so sure about the tawdry yellow flags and signs though--it seems to detract from the majesty of this place.  They also had un ugly yellow bopping hot air driven promo thing outside that I associate with cut-rate used car lots.  It was crowded but not insane and our service was accurate and fast.  As with most of Pittsburgh, a ton of folks were sporting their Steelers gear and a somewhat rowdy table next to us were watching the game through an iPhone.  That town has some serious sports team pride! 

We had a pretty good pizza with wild boar and BBQ sauce made with one of their beers along with a side order of terribly cooked fries.  Sj and I shared a sampler of all their beers.  This was a mixed bag--some were good, others not as thrilling.  None were outright terrible, but overall they reminded me of the brewpub beer quality from the early 1990's.  My favorite was actually the light lager since it was the cleanest of the bunch.  I have a hard time believing that these beers won GABF medals, but I know that things can change batch to batch and possibly brewer to brewer.  I tried to look up some details on the brewer, but the garish bright blue website didn't have any information.  I would certainly recommend checking this place out, but I found several better places for beer even in the same suburb. 

Ok, I decided to add a third entry to this travelogue and am including more on Ligonier and the Eastern outskirts of Pittsburgh in that one... Coming up soon!

Minnesota Harvest Orchard

 

Recently, the fine folks at Minnesota Harvest Orchard in Jordan, MN invited Jack of All Brews homebrew club out to do a cider pressing demo.  This is the second year we have done so and we were excited to go back!  Several years ago our club invested in an old fashioned 1800's looking wooden cider press and have made good use of it over the years.  This old-school technology still works and looks great out at the orchard, taking one back in time to early American settler days in Minnesota. 

We arrived around 11 AM on a Sunday, swollen orange fall sun shedding rich light on the orchard grounds.  Already the place was bustling with people, but soon would be filled to bursting with families looking for autumn fun.

Over the morning and into the afternoon JAB members and their families trickled in and took part in the apple pressing process.  We soon got things into a pretty efficient pattern.  A few people would rinse the apples in buckets of water, then toss the apples into the grinder at the top of the press.  A few years ago one of our members added on a motor to this, making it much more efficient than hand cranking it!  Once the hopper was full, we would put the lid on it and hand crank the press, resulting in fresh apple juice cascading into our waiting bucket.  We found about 100 apples would give us just over 1 gallon of juice. 

Ready to ferment!

The orchard itself is massive, with a huge main building holding a gift shop, food counter, and now a bar.  Outside were another portable bar, a food truck serving amazing pizza, and more!  Add in the world's shortest sunflower maze, hay rides, ponies, (evil) petting zoo, and apple catapult, and you have a ton of entertainment! 

This year, Tim Roets and his sons Dylan and PJ are presiding over Minnesota Harvest's new farm winery.  Tim is currently working on his own brewery in Jordan as well, but hit a big snag when this spring's monsoon rainfall caused a mudslide into the old Jordan Brewery building where he was setting up shop.  He still hopes to be brewing by this winter.  In the mean time, he is making apple ales, hard ciders, and meads for the orchard.  I got to try a few of his concoctions and was impressed as always with his ingenuity.

A jovial Tim Roets showing off the new tasting bar!

Overall this was a really fun way to spend a fall day!  Thanks to the Minnesota Harvest folks for having us out and providing apples, and to Tim and his sons as well.