This October marks the fifth annual National Cider Month, founded by Schilling Hard Cider to celebrate the apple-centric hard beverage and elevate the cider industry. Whether you’re a longtime cider aficionado or a curious newcomer, National Cider Month’s alignment with the harvest season makes this month-long celebration an opportunity to pay homage to the craftsmanship and tradition of cidermaking and explore the diverse and rich flavor profiles of today’s hard cider. Cider makers and retailers around the country are participating in this spirited occasion, hosting events and tastings that provide an immersive experience into the world of cider. Peaks & Pints will host Schilling Hard Cider for a National Cider Month kick-off party and fundraiser for Washington Wild at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. Today, however, we’re launching Cider Month with a flight of five Northwest Made ciders — a flight we’re calling Peaks and Pints Tuesday Flight: National Cider Month.
Peaks and Pints Tuesday Flight: National Cider Month
Double Mountain Perry
6.3% ABV
“Passing on the chance to create a cider with pears from our backyard, which are the best pears in the world, was not an option. With this in mind, we created a slightly sweet, yet satisfying perry that is most assuredly not your grandma’s pear cider,” said Daniel O’Brien, a brewer at Double Mountain Brewery & Cidery. The cidery pressed Starkrimson and Comice pears together for their Perry giving it an aroma of honey, juicy pear, and green apple that ends in a delicately sweet, gracefully tart, and crisp pear cider.
Yonder Palisades
6.5% ABV
Did someone say blackberries?! Founded by CEO Caitlin Braam, Yonder Cider’s taproom is in the heart of Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and a drive from the orchards and pressing facility in Wenatchee. Their Palisades cider is a blend Fuji, Honeycrisp, Roxbury Russet, Dabinett, various red fleshed apples and Pacific Northwest blackberries, all of which is supported by an herbal hint of sage.
Incline Marionberry
6.5% ABV
It’s a cross between the Chehalem and Olallie blackberries. It has a dark red to black color, has medium-sized seeds and weighs 5 grams on average. The flavor is richer than a regular blackberry, which is why the fruit has been dubbed “the Cabernet of blackberries.” It’s the marionberry. Incline Cider’s most popular cider, Marionberry pours a dark purple with an inviting dark fruit nose. The fruit forward cider has a tart finish that keeps it balanced.
2 Towns RiverBreaker Dry
6.9% ABV
2 Towns Ciderhouse made Peaks & Pints’ 2023-24 house cider, a McIntosh apple-based dry cider we call RiverBreaker as a salute to the Willamette River, an integral part of the valley that shares its name and flows through Corvallis. RiverBreaker is rich and complex, reflecting the balanced sweetness and acidity of the McIntosh apple with its distinct white flesh and vinous flavor.
Schilling Excelsior Imperial Apple Pie
8.4% ABV
Schilling Hard Cider takes European heirloom cider apples and meticulously blends them to capture the essence of their Excelsior Imperial Apple Pie. Expect a collision of sweet and tart flavors, with delicate hints of baking spices.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
