Apples were among some of the first crops grown in colonial America. Potted seedlings and bags of apple seeds were brought over on the Mayflower. The Bible-thumping Puritans were not teetotalers. Apple orchards in colonial America usually meant one thing: hard cider. Apples flourished in the fertile soil and friendly climate, and soon apples were a key part of most colonial farms and menus. The popularity of cider in America grew as the nation’s territory expanded. Then, the Temperance movement and popularity of German lager squashed the hard apple cider movement … until 2013. Zealous connoisseurs grow dissatisfied with the mass-produced apple cider sold by far-away, massive corporations. In response, they retreat to their basements and garages and start playing with recipes, learning about fermentation and putting their own spin on the old tried-and-true. Eventually, some hit on flavors in their homemade libation that are so tasty and unique, it seems a shame to hoard it all for themselves. They start putting some in bottles and growlers to share with like-minded friends and family. People flip out. Professional cideries began to pop up. It’s an explosion of craft cideries, and a return to the drinking habits of Colonial America. Today is National Apple Cider Day. Peaks and Pints has crated a special cider flight we call Craft Cider Crosscut 11.18.17: A Flight of Apple Cider.

Cider Riot! Everyday Semi Dry Cider

6%

Portland’s Cider Riot! created a sessionable apple cider for all day: Everyday! Apples grown in lush orchards in the shadows of the Great Northwest’s Cascade Range are pressed and fermented to create this apple cider. This New World cider boasts aromas of sliced peach, light tropical fruit and harvest-ripe apples, and flavors of fresh apple, rife with crisp, refreshing acids and a mild sweetness perfect for any time of day. An easy-drinker, Everyday has a light apple flavor, mild sweetness, and a refreshingly crisp finish.

Seattle Cider Washington Heirloom

6.5% ABV

Seattle Cider Company, the city’s first post-Prohibition cider producer, releases its Washington-grown fruit, six-month aged Harvest Series every autumn. The Heirloom harvest includes slightly tannic Cortlands, tart Newtown Pippins and fragrant Winesaps, creating this elegant, modern cider. The flagship of the Harvest Series, this year’s offering brings tropical flavors with notes of citrus.

Alpenfire Glow Rosé Hard Cider

6.8%

Port Townsend’s Alpenfire created this a single varietal rosé cider with Hidden Rose apples, a rare, dessert apple variety. The aroma is composed primarily of a really luscious, ripe apple character. Amazing! On the palate expect a robustly built cider, sporting rich tannin, notes of caramel and a rich weightiness that is tamed by the sparkle. Not atypical cider by any means.

Tieton Dry

6.9% ABV

In 2008, Craig Campbell and his wife, Sharon, began experimenting with making cider from dessert apples grown in their 400-acre commercial fruit orchards. Despite naysayers who warned that cider apples required a maritime climate, Craig also planted a two-acre test orchard with 25 varieties of cider apples. Today, their two-acre experiment expanded into Cider View, a 30-acre “high-density” cider orchard. In their commercial cidery, Tieton Cider Works, they blend American heritage, English and French cider varietals with dessert apples to capture the best of what each variety brings to the bottle: sweetness, acidity, tannin and aroma. The results are ciders with body and a depth of finish, including this crisp English style cider with a floral and fruity nose.  It has perfectly balanced citrus notes, and then introduces hints of green grape skin and slate with a lingering pepper quality at the finish.

Snowdrift Semi-Dry Cider

9%

Snowdrift Cider Company sits in Central Washington near East Wenatchee. The cidery controls its own source of apples, tending an orchard that not only produces dessert apples, but also an array of traditional cider apples including Dabinett, Foxwhelp, Golden Russet, Brown’s, Wickson Crab, Calville Blanc d’Hiver, Yarlington Mill and Ashmead’s Kernel. Snowdrift crafted this cider in the New England tradition, with a touch of molasses and honey. Expect vibrant brightness, rhubarb and honey flavors, with subtle darker sweetness.