Some apples are for drinking

Published 11:15 pm Tuesday, November 11, 2008

SULTAN — Gary Moulton poured everyone a measure of Fire Barrel into plastic cups.

Some swirled it around their cups and pushed their noses close for a sniff. A few held up the golden liquid to the light to get a better look.

Smell the slight whiff of vanilla, perhaps a hint of woody oak from the whiskey barrels it was aged in, said Moulton, a fruit researcher for the Washington State University Extension Service and a cider maker.

“Take a taste of this one,” he said.

“Oh, yeah,” someone murmured.

You’d think they were sampling a fine wine or maybe a fancy microbrew. The 40-some people assembled in this Sultan barn Tuesday were here to learn about hard cider, a niche product that may soon become Snohomish County’s version of Eastern Washington wine.

Eastern Washington landowners quickly discovered they could turn a healthy profit growing grapes and producing wine. It’s more difficult to grow wine grapes on this side of the mountain, although Moulton is working on that, too.

“This could be as big as the microbreweries and the wineries,” said Kate Halstead, who coordinated the class for WSU Snohomish County Extension. “You can do this with the products that grow here. It doesn’t matter what side of the mountains you’re on.”

Cider apples, however, grow well here. The Fire Barrel the class tasted was grown in Skagit Valley by Red Barn Cider. Growers can make more money by doing something to the product — in this case making hard cider — than simply growing apples.

The people assembled here came from as far away as Spokane and about half said they are interested in turning a home operation into a commercial venture. Halstead said she had calls from people in Oregon and Montana and she could have easily doubled the class size. Everyone paid $55 for a four-hour class that includes a lecture from Moulton on cider making and orchard care, plus the hard cider tasting.

Barbara Byker came from Kelso where she and her husband care for 87 acres they inherited from family. They raise Highland cattle now and the apples from her small orchard get canned or go to friends. Byker said a commercial hard-cider operation could help her make the farm profitable — or at least cover her taxes.

“I’ve been looking for this class for 10 years,” she said.

She fell in love with hard cider after living in England for a year, and she thinks hard cider has unlimited market potential.

The people who came were primarily landowners with small home orchards. Some were already producing a hard cider but wanted to improve the quality.

And although cider used to be the drink of choice 150 years ago, making hard cider is more complicated than fermenting some apple juice in a barrel.

“It’s not like taking your jug out back and letting it ferment,” Moulton said.

The hard cider consumed a few centuries ago was likely bitter stuff made with whatever was on hand.

These growers are mainly interested in making artisan hard ciders with complex flavors and the price tag to match.

Growers considering commercial production have to master a complex process that involves balancing acids, tannins and sugars. They need to know what varieties to grow and how to care for the trees. Commercial growers have to understand how to pasteurize cider so its safe to drink but doesn’t have a cooked apple taste.

And hard cider production comes with a few risks. Moulton recommends wearing a face mask and other protection when pasteurizing, since glass bottles can explode.

“You don’t want someone buying your product at the store, taking it home and having it blow up in their fridge,” he said. “You’d be liable for that.”

If makers follow the correct procedures, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Other mistakes along the way can yield cider that smells like a dish drain, the inside of a gerbil cage or nail polish remover.

The cider-maker must create a clean, fermented product, but the true art is blending different apple varieties and ingredients to create a unique product. Some ciders are aged in oak barrels. Few hard ciders are made from a single type of apple because a blend of apples usually produces the most pleasing taste.

Tom Schooner, a land surveyor from Sedro-Woolley, would love to quit his job someday and run a commercial hard cider operation instead.

He and his wife already produce about 25 gallons of hard cider a year, but it goes to friends and family. To make the leap, he would have to invest in more sophisticated equipment and a building. That move might be worth it.

“I see there’s growth potential — look at Eastern Washington wines,” he said. “It’s one of the reason we’ve continuing doing this hobby farm.”

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.

Be a cider insider

The WSU Northwestern Research and Extension Center offers an in-depth cider-making class June 23-27 in Mount Vernon. For more information or to register in advance, call 866-999-0272.