Methode Aaronoise

  When Polly and I set-out with Aaron Burr Cider it was not our intention to reach the high-end of cider. What we wanted was to offer the public the same thing we drank at home, and what homesteaders have always drank for centuries.  It is an entirely different product than polished ciders found in the market (both high-end and "hard cider".)  Home cider is not polished through filter pads, it is not sulfited or sorbated, it is historically fermented from wild yeasts, and it uses only locally grown material.  Also the traditional bottle-aged/ bottle-conditioned cider (like Lord Scudamore's 1640) was notdisgorged (the yeast and mineral sediment was left to coexist with the drink.)  In short, home cider is not self-conscious about its appearance and it's biology, it is free to develop and change in profile over time.  
   We have not, do not, or ever want to be “commercial cider makers” burdened by guessing what the customer wants.  We want to remain home cider makers who just happen to sell our product, limited, as it naturally will be, by what we can produce from home.

   This methodology has come to a head with the release of our 2013 Golden Russet which was bottled after a long and unusually cold winter.  The high sugars of this particular apple were slow to ferment (because of temperature) and it never cleared.  Now in the bottle the cider is finishing and an exceptionally heavy sediment has developed.  When opening the cider people will notice stirring that resembles a lava lamp.  Some might be grossed-out, but we have found from numerous trials (with some wine experts in company) that the sediment further enhanced the drink's taste complexity.  If ever there was a time to offer the customer something that only home cider-makers can experience, it was now with this 2013 Golden Russet.  Rather than disgorging, ala methode champenoise, we decided to keep it.  We call this Methode Arronoise.