In 1872, Philip Miller planted apple trees in Wenatchee. Twelve years later, the first commercial planting, Peterson orchard, sprouted. In 1893, the Great Northern Railway Company linked Wenatchee with Seattle, and eight years later Seattle said Wenatchee apples were a thing. In 1902, Wenatchee dubbed itself the “Apple Capital of the World”. In 1970, Texan farmers Gene and Katie Handley plated Red Delicious and Golden Delicious in their new home of Wenatchee. Times were tough and the Handley children spent summer working the orchards instead of floating on rivers. Gene’s father, Harmond Handley also planted orchards in the Wenatchee Valley, which meant more work for young Andy Handley and his siblings. After Andy graduated from college, he left the corporate world and returned home to help the family plant much needed new varieties Gala, Fuji, and others. In 2012, Andy’s son Andrew and his bandmates, Matthew and David Dobbins, dabbled in cidermaking. Eventually, they dialed in the cider. Four years later, Handley Orchards added 50 acres of heritage varieties — Dabinett, Porters Perfection, Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill, Muscat de Lense, Snowdrift Crab, and Red Fleshed apples — for cidermaking. A little over a year ago, Andrew and his wife, Katja, left Union Avenue, drove down the hill, waved goodbye to East Wentachee and delivered their Union Hill Cider Company goods to Peaks & Pints. Today, we gathered three of their cider and offer them as our Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: Union Hill.
Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: Union Hill
Union Hill Hopped & Hazy
7.8% ABV
Union Hill’s Hopped & Hazy is an off-dry cider hopped by heating the cider and adding the hops to extract more flavor. With the addition of the dry hopping process, the floral and fruity notes pair wonderfully with the bitterness that the hopping process adds to this hazy cider.
Union Hill D.J. Dry
7% ABV
The most famous family conflict in American history, the Hatfield-McCoy feud evolved into a mythic American tale of jealousy, rage, and revenge — and one which helped create the negative “hillbilly” stereotype that has shaped attitudes towards Appalachia for more than a century. The 32nd most famous family conflict in American history, the D.J.-L.E. feud, evolved into a legitimate American production of dry and sweet cider. Union Hill made two ciders to commemorate the feud. L.E. sweet and D.J. Dry are two sides of the same coin. A union of red and golden delicious apples with Porter’s Perfection heirloom English apple — one is sweet, and one is dry. Today, we offer the Dry.
Union Hill Whiskey Business
8.5% ABV
Union Hill’s Whiskey Business spends 10 months in red wine barrels and then finished in American whiskey barrels. The acidic cider cuts through the sweet toffee of the whiskey barrels.
LINK: Peaks & Pints cooler inventory
