Peggysoup pouring Harvest Apple hard cider
Quick, what’s the fastest-growing segment of the adult-beverage industry? If you answered craft beer, you’re wrong. It’s actually hard cider, which has seen its market share of the industry quintuple in just the last three years.
America’s sudden interest in apple juice’s hard cousin has drawn the attention of beer behemoths like Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors and Boston Beer Company, all of which offer mass-produced ciders. It’s also fueled a boom in the craft-cider industry, with new cider mills popping up all over.
In Colorado, which has 17 hard-cider makers, the boom is centered in Denver and the northern Front Range, where 12 of the mills are located. But closer to Aspen, in the North Fork Valley, tiny Cedaredge has two cider mills, while Hotchkiss is home to Big B’s (bigbs.com), a longtime apple juice-maker that entered the hard-cider fray in 2010. That was just before the boom, but even then, there were inklings that cider was going to be big.
“Every time I got a 500-bottle batch into our tasting room,” says Shawn Larson, Big B’s cider-maker “we’d sell them our in about three weeks. Within two years, cider was just exploding.”
Aspen has started to embrace the trend, with ciders becoming more available in local liquor stores and on restaurant menus, but the appeal of the craft element is still emerging.
“It’s been a subtle increase,” says Of Grape & Grain owner Gary Plumley. “It’s going to take a little work to get people to recognize that there are different flavors and profiles.”
Still, cider has proven popular enough that HOPS Culture (414 E. Hyman Ave.), a pub dedicated to all things beer, now has seven ciders on the menu, including one or two (depending on the season) on draft.
Cider aficionados point to a number of reasons for the beverage’s return to prominence, including the fact that, compared co “manly” beer, cider is much more gender-neutral, as well as the burgeoning interest in gluten-free products.
“We’ve had a lot of people looking for a gluten-free alternative to beer that wasn’t a wine or tequila,” says Larson.
Ultimately, cider’s rise in popularity may boil down to a much simpler reason, the same one that once upon a time made hard cider America’s alcoholic beverage of choice and sent Johnny Appleseed across the country planting orchards of cider-apple trees.
As Larson points out, “A lot of people are just realizing that cider’s good.”
Taste Test
Colorado Cider Company Grasshop-Ah
Founded in 2011, Denver’s Colorado Cider Company produces 10 varieties, including this homage to the Kung Fu television series. Brewed with lemongrass ond dry hops for a citrus bite ond tropical notes, the Grosshop-Ah is a good gateway beverage for beer drinkers looking for a cider with some familiar flavors. 12 oz. glass $7, 16.9 oz. bottle $13, HOPS Culture, 414 E. Hyman Ave., 970.925.4677
Big B’s Cherry Daze
Long beloved in western Colorado for its organic juices, Big B’s, from nearby Hotchkiss, started producing hard ciders in 2010. Three organic ciders are currently available at retail (and as many as nine in the cafe and tasting room, 36126 Highway 133), including this tart, refreshing blend of local cider apples and Montmorency cherries. 22 oz. bottle $8.39, Aspen Wine & Spirits, 300 Puppy Smith St., 970.925.6600
ACE Joker Hard Cider
A seasoned veteran of the hard-cider industry of 15 years old, Sonoma County’s California Cider Company makes ACE ciders in a range of flavors from pineapple to pumpkin. The ultra-dry Joker has been around since 2008; it boasts refreshing Champagne characteristics and pairs well with food. Six-pack 12 oz. bottles $10.99, Of Grape & Grain, 111 S. Monarch Ave., 970.925.8600
Moa Kiwifruit Cider
Located among the vineyards of New Zealand’s Marlborough region, the Moa Brewing Company has been producing award-winning beers and ciders since 2003. This offering, available only in the United States, blends New Zealand apples and natural kiwifruit flavor for a crisp taste that evokes the region’s famed white wines. 750ml bottle $21, HOPS Culture
