Notes From The Red Barn

November 15, 2017

Trails, trials & tribulations

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
— Henry David Thoreau

As we plunge head first into fall, we are delighted to tell you all about the creation of the Richmond West Craft Beverage Trail! Featuring our local friends (Fine Creek Brewery, Elk Island Winery, Grayhaven Winery, Kindred Spirits Brewery, and Midnight Brewery), the Trail aims to reconnect you to the natural beauty that lies less than 30 minutes outside of downtown Richmond. With an eclectic mix of wineries, craft breweries, and a cidery (of course!), you’ll find a perfect libation for everyone and every occasion! Trail maps, and a trail website, are coming soon.

As you may know, we had our fair share of trials last year. Well, at least one large trial by fire, so to speak! With thanks and gratitude, we are well past that experience and are super excited that we’ve broken ground on the new house! Additionally, we are moving forward with our new tasting room in Scott’s Addition. Rest assured, the farm will remain the heart and soul of our operation.

As you enjoy the change of seasons and whispers of winter that float in the air, come visit the farm and find out what new and crazy concoctions we’ve been working on. Smokey-Sweet-Peat cider? Yup. Another Cybier© creation (like Sinister Monolith)? Yup. Rustico, a cider maker’s choice blend? Yup. Another run of Blackberry Lavender. Maybe?

Hope to see you all soon!
Cheers,
Eric & Liza

September 18, 2017

It’s not just for drinking (well, mostly it is!)

cider Notes From The Red Barn

It’s true, believe me! There are actually ciders that are no longer just the sugary, soda poppy substitute for non-beer drinkers. Indeed, there are lots of dry, complex, thoughtful ciders being produced that have earned a place at the table alongside the best wines.

Because dry ciders (like ours) drink like wine or sparkling wine, it should come as no surprise that cider is great to use when cooking! As a general rule of thumb, anytime a recipe calls for white wine, use a good dry cider instead. This is also a great way to use a cider that sat just a wee bit too long in the fridge and has gone flat or otherwise lost its spunk!

Cider is also a natural for use in cocktails. A recent customer of ours came up with a great one, which he calls “The Honesto Vaquero” Thanks, Dan!

The Honesto Vaquero
Ice
1 shot of tequila
1 shot of Captain Morgan Lime Bite
Top with Courthouse Creek “Honest Farmer”
Serve in a highball glass.

Here are a few for these last little bits of the heat of summer:

Granita/Quick “Icey”
1 cup dry cider
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
Whipped cream for topping

In a bowl, combine cider, water, and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish and put it into the freezer until partially frozen. Use a fork to shave the mixture, and then put it back in the freezer until completely frozen. Take out, shave the granite again. Serve topped with a little whipped cream! If you want to create different flavors, add some orange zest, or puree some other fruit and add it to the mix. Just adjust the amount of water to account for any added liquid.

Watermelon Splash
Watermelon juice
Vodka
Courthouse Creek “Blackberry Lavender”
Basil (optional)

Blend fresh watermelon in a blender on high for a minute or so until it is a smooth juice. Pour into a glass, around ⅓-½ full depending on the size. Add a shot or two of vodka and a generous splash of cider. Shake with ice to cool, strain into a fresh glass. Add a square of watermelon and a basil leaf for a beautiful presentation!

Clams steamed with cider: http://dine-dash.com/en/cider-clams. Enjoy with Honest Farmer, or Amuse-Bouche (if you can get your hands on some!)

And, as fall will be upon us sooner than later, this cider baked pork with apple and fennel sounds amazing, and our Blackberry Lavender or Black Twig ciders would pair nicely with it:
http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/cider-baked-pork-with-apple-and-fennel/

August 1, 2017

Why we live for the funk.

cider Food Pairing, Notes From The Red Barn

“The kids around the way used to think that I was buggin’
But they don’t understand how I feel about the funk
I walk with the funk, I talk with the funk
I eat with the funk, I sleep with the funk
I live for the funk, I’ll die for the funk
So now what do they say, when I’m walkin’ up the block?
Boom shaka laka there goes the Chief Rocka”
-Lords of the Underground

If you’ve come in to our tasting room (and if you haven’t, you really should!), then you’ve heard us describe our cider making method as “rustic” or “natural.” What does that mean? While there are no set definitions, we define the rustic or natural approach as producing cider without using chemicals and without the significant use of, or reliance upon, modern technology. Stated another way, we essentially go old school. But don’t confuse old school with the purist approach (i.e., only apple juice, no infusions, no hops, etc.) We’re old school, but not purists.

At this point, you should be asking yourself, “Why the hell would anyone go old school?” Good question.

There are lots of reasons not to do it. For instance, using barrels to ferment and age instead of slick, shiny stainless steel tanks dramatically increases the risk of oxidization—something frowned upon in the fermentation world. And not using preservatives increases the chance that lots of unwanted microbes and the like will infect the cider.

However, we don’t necessarily view the presence of other microbes as “unwanted” or “infections.” And allowing our cider and its friend, Yeast, to breathe a little seems like the right thing to do. To us, our cider is a living thing. Who wants to be suffocated? Also, filtering, preserving, and “chemicalizing” cider results in too much conformity. And in our opinion, conformity dulls imagination. Put another way, when there is more diversity of life at the party, things can get more interesting. We like interesting—even if it’s a little risky and outside the norm. In the end, there are more reasons to go old school than not. It’s a personal choice, and one that fits who we are and our sense of place here in Goochland, Virginia (more on terroir another time).

So, that’s why we follow a rustic/natural method. We use barrels, avoid the use of sulfites when at all possible, and don’t run our cider through a fancy filtration device. We walk with the funk. Talk with funk. Eat with funk. You get the idea.