Page 12 - Beverage MasterAprMay 2021
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Craft Cider
At the top of Houston Cider Company’s product bitterness. “This is a great cider for people who
line is the Core Four: ciders based on high-quality love beer but are sensitive to gluten,” Fry said. “It’s
apple juice from the Pacific Northwest. The Core the next best thing to a beer.”
Four starts with Dry Cider, a 2019 U.S. Cup Cider
Bronze award-winner, with flavors similar to a In 2019, the Houston Cider Company produced
white wine with green apple. Next is the Cherry between 875 and 1,000 barrels of cider. To meet
Cider, made with Montmorency cherry juice from the increasing demand for their product, Engle
Michigan, and a 2019 Cider Craft Double Gold and Macalello added new 4,500 gallon tanks and a
award winner. Rosé Cider, featuring organic rose canning line capable of filling 40 cans per minute.
buds and Jamaican hibiscus flowers, won the 2019 But then Covid-19 hit, and the company had to cut
Cider Craft Silver award. Finally, Pineapple Ginger is back on production and close the taproom. Not to
made with pineapple juice from Hawaii and freshly be deterred, and looking ahead to the post-Covid
cut ginger. All are 6% alcohol by volume with no world, they’re gearing up for a major expansion.
sugars added. “Right now, all of our product stays in Houston
because we don’t have the capacity to expand,”
Additionally, the cidery releases a new small-batch Macalello said. “But 2021 will be a good year. We
cider every week through the taproom and on the just installed two 120-barrel tanks and plan to add
website. “These are more fun flavors that incor- another one. There are dozens of stores that need
porate botanicals or herbs or off-the-wall stuff,” products, so we hope to triple our growth this
Macalello told Beverage Master Magazine. “This year.”
allows us creative latitude to have fun with ingre-
dients and see what they can do. If the customers In the meantime, the cidery is selling their cider
like them, then we will put them on the market.” to-go and taking their products to farmer’s mar-
kets. Soon, they hope to reopen their taproom,
These ciders include unique combinations such which can accommodate 30 people, and their
as Tea for Victory, fermented with an Earl Grey pet-friendly patio and garden area. They also hope
Black Tea blend and back-sweetened with organic to bring back events, which they used to hold quar-
agave nectar from Jalisco, Mexico, and Passion Fruit terly. In the past, they’ve hosted a crawfish boil and
Hibiscus Cider, made with hibiscus from Jamaica a tiki night with tiki-inspired ciders accompanied by
and passion fruit from Mexico. Most recently, the a pig roast. They’ve also participated in White Linen
cidery released South Coast Hopped Cider, a big, Night in the Heights, an annual street festival orig-
bold cider with assertive hop flavors and subdued inating from a centuries-old New Orleans tradition
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