Ciders Take Micro Path

Little Miss Micro sat in the back row,

Counting her market share.

Along came some ciders, who sat down beside her,

And said, “Have you any to spare?”

As if the competition from all the other small brewers wasn’t enough (not to mention bigger brewers trying to act like small brewers), America’s microbreweries have a new rival: hard cider.

While ciders are made like wines - fermented from fruit, as opposed to brewed from grains - they’re marketed like beers (you’ll see them side-by-side in supermarket coolers).

Woodchuck Draft Cider, from a former Vermont winery, bills itself as “a refreshing alternative to specialty beers,” and even suggests mixing its cider with beer.

Sandpoint’s Seven Sisters Cider was recently renamed Seven Sisters “Wild Horse” Cider and started appearing in six-packs as well as 22-ounce bottles, in an attempt to appeal to a more macho audience.

“Does it have to be a beer to be a part of the microbrew category?” asks a Seven Sisters press release. “Definitely not.”

The explosive growth in cider sales certainly echoes the early days of the microbrew market. Cider production averaged an annual 70 percent increase between 1990 and 1995, according to Impact Databank, which tracks the beverage industry.

Beer brewers are taking notice, joining wineries in the cider business. Stroh last year bought a 50 percent interest in Woodchuck. Bozeman’s Spanish Peaks Brewing Co. has had a cider on the market since last fall, made under contract by the Washington Hills winery in Sunnyside. Widmer’s Wildwood Cider, a new product of the Portland brewery, should be in stores any day now.

You’ll find close to a dozen brands of hard cider on local store shelves, in flavors from apple (both regular, and “dark & dry”) to pear to raspberry.

Several will be featured in a hard cider tasting June 20 at 7 p.m. at the Valley Huckleberry’s Fresh Market, 15510 E. Sprague, at 50 cents per taste; for more information, call Loris Stupel at 928-3687.

I did some home sampling of the regular apple cider from several labels. While none were particularly suited to my hop-addled palate, our own regional ciders seemed to be the best of the bunch.

My favorite was Seven Sisters (or Wild Horse, or whatever), which was pale in color and fairly dry, with clean, somewhat spicy apple flavors. (Seven Sisters proudly points out that it presses its own apples.)

My wife went for the Spanish Peaks offering, which was more golden and fuller-flavored (although some of that came from the mysterious “natural flavors” listed on the label), with a tartness she enjoyed.

And we were both intrigued by the Spire Mountain cider from Bothell, Wash., which was completely clear - the only such cider we saw - with a dry, earthy apple taste.

Widmer’s cider, made with the brewery’s regular ale yeast as opposed to the typical wine yeast, has more of a roadside cider-stand flavor. It starts sweet and fruity, but finishes tangy and dry.

Among the national brands, the best seller - Hornsby’s, from wine industry giant Gallo - was the sweetest, with a thick, cloying flavor that seemed better suited to the wine-cooler set.

Woodchuck, the market leader before Hornsby’s came along a couple of years ago, and Cider Jack, another Vermont product, were cleaner-tasting but still plenty sweet. So was the Ace cider from California, lighter in color and body than the golden Vermont versions.

All of the American brands were at least a little sweeter than traditional British ciders, one of which - Dry Blackthorn - is available at Huckleberry’s.

Because of the British influence, cider was the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States through the late 19th century, when beer began gaining ground.

Will the worm start to turn again? Maybe. But if it does, we’ll skip the cider that comes from that apple.

Reeling them in

The first two bottled beers from Olympia’s Fish Brewing Co. have finally arrived, and they were well worth the wait.

Mudshark Porter has more personality than most porters on the market these days, with dry, earthy, roasty flavors and a pronounced hoppiness in the finish.

I was even more impressed with the India Pale Ale. Darker than the typical IPA, the amber beer is rich and malty, but with a bracingly intense hop profile.

Move over, Mirror Pond - I think I have a new favorite bottled beer.

Summer stock

Whatever the weather, it looks like summer is here - at least, according to the arrival of several summer seasonal beers.

While the new offerings from Seattle’s sister Pyramid and Thomas Kemper breweries have vague, generic names, they’re actually examples of centuries-old styles.

Pyramid’s Sun Fest, a rare lager from the ale brewery, is one of the better bottled attempts at a classic pilsner. It’s light and crisp, with plenty of spicy, floral hop character from dry-hopping with the traditional Saaz.

Kemper’s Summer Brau is a Bavarian-style hefeweizen, an unfiltered wheat beer made with a yeast that imparts clove-like, fruity flavors and aromas.

One of my favorites, Full Sail’s hoppy India Pale Ale, also has just hit town. Elsewhere in Oregon, Bend’s Deschutes Brewery is bucking the golden-boy summer trend a bit with a draft-only High Desert Mild, a sweetish, lighter-bodied brown beer that has about half the alcohol of many microbrews, at 3.2 percent by volume.

Closer to home, Fort Spokane’s deep golden, honey-accented summer ale is at the other end of the octane scale at a strong 7 percent. Lazy, hazy, crazy days, indeed.

Variety shows

Beers from Fort Spokane, Bayou Brewing Co., Sweetwater Brewing Co. (at Solicitor’s Corner), Northern Lights, Hale’s Ales, T.W. Fisher’s, M.J. Barleyhoppers and Widmer will be featured at the annual Grape & Grain wine and beer tasting Friday at 7 p.m. at the Davenport Hotel. Tickets are $20; for more information, call 448-5255.

And on Saturday, the Springfest celebration at Casey’s Pub in Post Falls (postponed from June 7) will feature representatives (and beers) from the Pyramid/Kemper, Pend Oreille, Hollister Mountain and Big Sky breweries. Also look for the return of Casey’s own Blonde Logger, back by popular demand.

, DataTimes MEMO: On Tap is a monthly feature of IN Food. Write to On Tap, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446, fax 459-5098 or e-mail to rickb@spokesman.com