Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL) announced this week the addition of a division of their business – Cigar City Cider and Mead. The portion of the business will focus sole on these styles. Cigar City has already tapped their first Continue Reading →
Shock Top looks to increase it’s brand lineup with Honeycrisp Apple Wheat. This creation looks to be fusion of two styles – cider and witbier. Honeycrisp is brewed with cider & spices. Recently, another cider/beer fusion Continue Reading →
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, DE) will release another round of Positive Contact next year. The recent release is a cider/beer hybrid, loosly based on a witbier. This fusion is brewed with organic Fuji apple cider, fresh Continue Reading →
Crispin Cider Company is introducing a new boxed cider ala Franzia style. Each box contains 3 liters of cider (the equivalent to 4 bottles of wine). The opened boxes last for about 4 weeks in the fridge. Unopened, Continue Reading →
White Plains, NY) — Heineken USA today announced the addition of Strongbow Cider to its portfolio beginning January 1, 2013. HEINEKEN N.V. is the global leader in cider with nearly 25% market share and products available in 20 markets. The Strongbow brand will further complement Continue Reading →
Harpoon Brewery is expanding their cider program. Pumpkin Cider is starting to hit shelves as you read this. Pumpkin Cider uses fresh pressed apples, spices and of course pumpkins. Straight from the sales sheet:
Apples and pumpkins are two of the Continue Reading →
The First Transatlantic Cider Collaboration From
Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Cider and Perry and Gregory Hall of Virtue Cider
Belchertown, MA [July 12, 2012] – Collaborations are all the rage nowadays but this is special and a first. Tom Oliver from Oliver’s Continue Reading →
Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL) announced this week the addition of a division of their business – Cigar City Cider and Mead. The portion of the business will focus sole on these styles. Cigar City has already tapped their first cider in the tap room, with kegs shipping by early December, 2012.
A new Facebook Fan Page is live now.
Shock Top looks to increase it’s brand lineup with Honeycrisp Apple Wheat. This creation looks to be fusion of two styles – cider and witbier. Honeycrisp is brewed with cider & spices. Recently, another cider/beer fusion beer debuted by Dogfish Head Positive Contact. Shock Top has just released End Of The World Midnight Wheat beer with chilis.
Belgian Style wheat ale brewed with cider and spices with natural honey crisp apple flavor and other natural flavors.
Style: Wheat Beer (w/ Cider, Apples) Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft
Arrival: TBA
5.2% ABV
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, DE) will release another round of Positive Contact next year. The recent release is a cider/beer hybrid, loosly based on a witbier. This fusion is brewed with organic Fuji apple cider, fresh organic cilantro, and dried cayenne pepper.
Bottles were only released in a box set of 6/750mls, recipe pairings and a Dan The Automator record. Next year more bottles (outside of the box set?) and draft will appear- tentatively in March, 2013.
Crispin Cider Company is introducing a new boxed cider ala Franzia style. Each box contains 3 liters of cider (the equivalent to 4 bottles of wine). The opened boxes last for about 4 weeks in the fridge. Unopened, the boxes have around a 9 month shelf life. One of the first offerings is Cidre Blanc, a 100% pressed apple juice cider with white wine yeast.
Each box will retail around $14.99
6% ABV
White Plains, NY) — Heineken USA today announced the addition of Strongbow Cider to its portfolio beginning January 1, 2013. HEINEKEN N.V. is the global leader in cider with nearly 25% market share and products available in 20 markets. The Strongbow brand will further complement the leading upscale beer company’s already diverse product portfolio, which includes Heineken, Dos Equis, Newcastle, Amstel Light, and more.
Strongbow — the second-bestselling cider brand in the U.S. — is a crisp premium imported cider from the UK and the leading cider brand globally. For almost a decade, HEINEKEN N.V. has partnered with the Vermont Hard Cider Company to distribute Strongbow in the rapidly growing U.S. cider market, which grew 10%[1] in 2010 and 20%[2] in 2011.
“There is tremendous opportunity to build on the momentum that the Vermont Hard Cider team created over the last nine years. We see this as a pivotal moment to further accelerate Strongbow’s growth by supporting the brand with the full weight of HEINEKEN USA’s resources and capabilities,” said Dolf van den Brink, President and CEO, HEINEKEN USA. “By growing our core and investing in innovation, we will continue to enhance our position as the industry’s leading upscale importer.”
HEINEKEN USA will position Strongbow as the leading upscale cider brand, offering both male and female consumers an alternative alcoholic beverage option. The company will finalize its distribution strategy and marketing plans in the coming months ahead of the January 2013 kickoff.
Since 2011, HEINEKEN USA has added several new brands to its portfolio in addition to Strongbow, including the Newcastle Limited Editions, Amstel Wheat, Indio, and the forthcoming Tecate Michelada.
About HEINEKEN USA
HEINEKEN USA Inc., the nation’s premier beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV, which is the world’s most international brewer. European brands imported into the U.S. include Heineken Lager, the world’s most international beer brand; Heineken Light; Amstel Light, a leading imported light beer brand; Newcastle Brown Ale, the leading imported ale in the United States; and Buckler non-alcoholic brew. HEINEKEN USA is also the exclusive USA importer for the Tecate, Tecate Light, Dos Equis, Sol, Indio, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from Mexico. For a safe ride home, download the HEINEKEN USA -sponsored Taxi Magicâ„¢ application from your smartphone at taximagic.heineken.com. Please visit www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.
Harpoon Brewery is expanding their cider program. Pumpkin Cider is starting to hit shelves as you read this. Pumpkin Cider uses fresh pressed apples, spices and of course pumpkins. Straight from the sales sheet:
Apples and pumpkins are two of the best things about fall in New England. It was only a matter of time before we decided to bring them together. We combined fresh apples and pumpkins, along with some subtle spices, to make this cider. We left out preservatives, artificial colors, sweeteners and anything else that could get in the way of the flavors we wanted.
Style: Cider (w/ Pumpkin)
Availability: 12oz bottles, Fall seasonal.
4.8% ABV
The First Transatlantic Cider Collaboration From
Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Cider and Perry and Gregory Hall of Virtue Cider
Belchertown, MA [July 12, 2012] – Collaborations are all the rage nowadays but this is special and a first. Tom Oliver from Oliver’s Cider and Perry in Herefordshire, England has joined forces with Gregory Hall from Virtue Cider in Chicago, Illinois to create a cider that combines their respective skills in the making of craft cider and craft beer. The result is Gold Rush, the first transatlantic cider that is everything a bittersweet cider should be.
The genesis for the collaboration occurred in the spring of 2011, during one of Hall’s visits with Oliver at his farm in England, shortly after Hall stepped down as Brewmaster at Goose Island Brewing Company to embark on his own cider venture, Virtue. Both Oliver and Hall had been fans of the others work for years, in cider and beer, respectively and thought it would be fun to collaborate on a cider. Oliver embarked on the project and Hall returned to England in May of 2012 to sample the cider. And voila! Gold Rush was christened.
Gold Rush is available in the US through Shelton Brothers, an importer of small batch, artisanal, hand-crafted cider and beer. Shelton Brothers has been the exclusive importer for all Oliver’s ciders and perries since they were first introduced to the US in 2007. Gold Rush was released by Shelton Brothers at The Festival, a gathering of international beer and cidermakers, which they hosted in Worcester, MA the weekend of June 23-24, 2012. Gold Rush is now available nationwide through the Shelton Brothers’ distribution network.
The 6.8% sparkling, medium dry cider with a deep, burnished color was made from 100% bittersweet and sharp vintage cider apples from traditional Herefordshire farms. The juice was slow fermented by wild yeasts in old oak barrels through a cold winter and underwent malolactic fermentation in the warm spring. Oliver then added fruit sugar and lambic yeasts for a second alcoholic fermentation, adding a touch more alcohol and complexity. It was finished in oak, for maturity, before final blending and bottling.
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About Gold Rush
Gold Rush is a sparkling, medium dry cider with a deep, burnished colour. A nose of apple skins, spice and leather and a rich bittersweet taste, long lasting with a full mouthfeel. At 6.8%, this cider is made to be savoured and enjoyed with friends.
Gold Rush was 18 months in the making, open a bottle and let time stand still as you enjoy this unique drink. A transatlantic collaboration between two cidermakers who are dedicated to making the best.
Gold Rush was launched by Tom Oliver and Virtue Cider at Shelton Brothers international festival of small brewers and cidermakers, The Festival, on the 23rd-24th June at The Mechanics Hall, 321 Main Street, Worcester, MA.
About Tom Oliver & Oliver’s Cider & Perry
Tom Oliver can trace cidermaking back through three centuries on his farm in Ocle Pychard, England. He relishes living in the premiere bittersweet cider apple growing area in the world and is one of a growing band of cider makers who see a world ripe to embrace the drink again.
www.oliversciderandperry.co.uk
About Gregory Hall and Virtue Cider
Virtue Cider Co-founder Gregory Hall served as the Brewmaster of Goose Island Beer Company from 1991 to 2011. In his two decades of brewing, Hall developed a host of award-winning beers and is hailed as an innovator in the craft beer movement.
Hall first fell in love with cider during a tour of English breweries in 2000. Upon leaving Goose Island, Hall embarked on a pilgrimage of cider study. He toured and tasted at top cider makers in England and France, including an intensive internship at Domaine Dupont in Normandy, France. It was on one of these pilgrimages that Greg and Tom started talking cider.
Virtue Cider is a Chicago-based craft cider company that uses their expertise in modern craft fermentation and aging techniques to produce ciders that embody old world farmhouse styles. They partner with local family farms to find the highest quality heirloom apples for their cider.
About Shelton Brothers
Shelton Brothers, Belchertown MA There’s no miracle to importing good beer – it just takes hard work and a lot of travel. We generally seek out un-manipulated beer, looking primarily to small breweries, whose craftspeople take seriously a passion for natural, traditionally-made beverages. When it was founded in 1996, Shelton Brothers was the only importer with these specific criteria for hand-selecting the beer to offer our customers. In the past sixteen years, we’ve turned down countless breweries – both large and small – who didn’t meet these criteria, and we’ll do it again. We’re only interested in bringing you what we believe is the very best
