Last week I saw an ad for an *Ice cider* festival.
I have never been a big cider drinker. To me it was something people drank when they did not have enough money for wine way back when, or else I associated it with Brittany and crepes… But this Ice thing intrigued me, so I decided to go check it out. It was held in Rougemont which is a big apple growing area, (a good sign).
The event was held on the local fair grounds. There was a big open wood fire for marshmallow roasting, hot maple taffy over snow, but the piece de resistance was a big white tent, where the tasting took place. As you walked in, you followed a wall of ice, dotted with cider bottles encased in it. Once inside, there were about 20 different stands, each had its own ice desk, with a logo carved on in the front.
Most producers offered at least 2 different products. Usually one made from apples that were left to freeze on the trees before being harvested while the other was made with apples that were picked in the fall, stored and taken back out to freeze in january before being pressed and processed. Some varieties do not hold on to the tree well enough to stay there until January, hence the 2 methods. Some even froze that juice before continuing.
The results were incredibly varied, from watery and acidic to much stronger and sweet. There even was one sparkling…very tiny light bubbles… The colours went from pale yellow to amber and there was one dark pink which tasted of berries. Some had butterscotch undertones, others were woody or had notes of nuts but all had a taste of apple to some degree…The differences come from the kinds of apples used, as well as the choice of yeast, the amount of oxygen and the length of time it was stored… (among other things).
My personal favourite was one that had notes of banana, it was called L’Exotique.
I found it easier to identify the various flavours than I do when tasting wine. I suspect that is because cider is not as complex as wine.
Local farmers had cheese tastings and duck and game products to try in a separate building.
It was a fun experience!
It’s often cold when we make cider in Wales in the autumn but never as cold as this!