I’m here! I’m alive! Woo… The past couple months have been really busy. Cider God could be gone for a while but not forever. I’m back to fill you in, connect the dots, put pen to paper, whatever other corny idiom you want to use. Without further ado, lets jump into some of the happenings going on around the cidery.

With a majority of the action going on with wines, we chose in our spare time to continue our development of the Red and First Anthem ciders. I think we are headed in the right direction. With every new batch brings a new challenge. With those challenges, it brings more experience. That experience makes us better at making cider. We are still fairly young, what we are today, we hopefully will not be this time next year. That being said, we are on the upswing. Ciders taste pretty good. The most crisp and refreshing flavor we have gotten yet.

In mid July we kegged 60 sweet red ciders along with 40 cases of Belgian beer bottles. In late July we did another 60 First Anthem Kegs and 40 bottles. Kegging this time around was a bit interesting. Usually it is just I kegging the cider. Well it was decided I pay it forward and teach some coworkers the way of kegging. To be one with the keg, to be the keg, feel the keg. Fill the keg. Thanks to two wonderful and open-minded associates, I enlisted in the help of Nicole C. from the tasting room and Juan from the vineyard team. We started off a little bit shaky but by the end of it they were in a rhythm and actually preferred it to bottling. I see where they get that mindset. Kegging 60 First Anthems takes about 45 minutes. Doing 60 cases of cider takes a few hours. Even in comparison to wine bottling, kegging is a breeze. You just have to be prepared to get a little messy.

As far as things on the horizon are concerned, we have a seasonal in development. I can’t say much. Just know, its not a latte and it won’t cost a latte.  I can’t tell you much about the recipe, just know it comes from the seedy part of town. Come see me and #TasteTheRebellion at our Wine & Cider Festival on September 30th. Here is the link for presale tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-and-cider-festival-tickets-37042624487

More red cider is on the way. I believe once we make it through the next couple weeks and finalize wine bottling, we’ll turn our attention back to cider.

The Rebel Society Appreciation event on August 20^th was a fun time. It was a celebration of you all, there was music, games, a photo-booth and of course cider and cider specials all day. Hope you came out and enjoyed the afternoon at Harvest Ridge!

Lastly, you can catch a couple friends and I at the Odessa Brewfest September 9^th. Come alone, bring a friend, bring family, whatever you have to do to get there, be there. We are going to have a blast.

Reminder, if you haven’t signed up for the Rebel Society, drop in and ask our tasting room staff about details and how to sign up.

-Cider God Out.