I stuck my nose deep into the little glass of pale yellow, letting my nostrils swim in a smell I’d never expect from a cider: blue cheese.
Kyle Sherrer played thief-wielding, sample-slinging host to us this weekend, as he lead us around his cidery, Millstone Cellars. With his father, Curt, Kyle makes cider and mead using old world methods: wood barrels, wild yeasts, spontaneous fermentation. They’re creating dry marvels from a forgotten time, using locally sourced ingredients (even some from their own backyard).
I could wax voluble about the intriguing apple, honey, and berry fermentations; the spicy wood and musty stone of the building; or the puckering joy of sour meads, but I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Posted In: Libation, Other
Tagged: barrels, beer, beertography, cider, cidertography, cidery, fermentation, historic, kyle sherrer, millstone cellars, old world, photography, wild yeast, yeast
Tagged: barrels, beer, beertography, cider, cidertography, cidery, fermentation, historic, kyle sherrer, millstone cellars, old world, photography, wild yeast, yeast
You are a master photographer! These are great. Making me thirsty…
I’m not sure about the prior, but I’m definitely sure about the latter…
My Inlaws live near Millstone and I’ve always wondered if it’s worth making a visit sometime. I’m now completely convinced.
You should definitely stop by. All of the staff is very friendly, and the cider (if you like dry) is incredible.
I also fixed the comment for you 🙂
From where do they source their fruit? Is it local? We have apple orchards on two boundaries of our farm. Guess you need particular varieties for cider.
Yes (from what I gathered) they source apples locally from Maryland, but also get some varieties from New York.
From my experience, you can make cider from almost any variety of apple, as long as they produce enough fermentable sugar for the yeast. The flavor of the final cider will vary greatly by variety (and also the yeast used).
Thanks. Many apples here. Much wine is made in sheds locally. Might look at cider production.