CIDERCRAFT Magazine, CIDERCRAFT Volume 14 2020
60 CIDERCRAFTMAG COM PRODUCER TO WATCH Moriyamaen HIROSAKI JAPAN T he Japanese are famous for preserving old ways and as the fourth generation steward of the countrys oldest apple farm Toshiko Moriyama could have been expected to resist change Instead seeking to make the Aomori Prefecture farm more pro itable and sustainable he embraced it While cider has gained popularity in Japan as an aperitif native ciders tend to be sweet and cider apple varieties rare Finding the traditional practice of thinning immature fruit a waste of labor and apples Moriyama began trying to make cider with them using their bitter and sour traits to make cider closer to those hed enjoyed in Canada and France He remembers the irst batch as shockingly bad but after three years of experimenting with various apples and 20 yeast strains 2018 saw the debut of his Moriyamaen Tekikaka Cidre named after the term for thinning Other Japanese cidermakers are now showing interest in using his method too We use a blend of about 20 varietals but Fuji apples make up about 50 percent of the base he explains To help balance the sourness of the immature apples we mix about 30 percent juice from ripe apples and no other sugar is added His quest yielded other innovations including reduced pesticide use tagging trees with QR codes creating a smartphone app to read the codes and log fruit cultivation and processing data and growing mushrooms on wood shavings from pruned limbs Moriyama has started kegging his award winning cider for restaurants and bars and recently released a nonalcoholic apple soda Beyond striving for success for his business this apple entrepreneur wanted to do something about the decreasing number of local apple farmers he says We aim to create a system so that apple farmers in Aomori Prefecture can create revenue from their own tekika apples Je Book Botanical Cider base infused with any combination of herbs nectars leaves tea etc D O U B L E G O L D Tieton Cider Works Lavender Honey kYakima WA Semisweet with only three ingredients fermented apples lavender and honey this seasonal release from the West Coasts largest cider apple grower is still centered on the apple Honey adds texture and a lick of sweetness while the lavender dances across the nose but tiptoes on the palate inishing loral but of apple blossoms 7 500ml ktietonciderworks com GOLD Seattle Cider Co Earl Grey k 6 12oz draft S I LV ER Big Bs Hard Cider Ciaison Grand Gru k 15 750ml BRONZ E Brownrigg Hard Cider Ginger Fig Leaf k 14 64oz growler JUDGE S P ICKS Square Mile Cider Co Rosé k 10 12oz 6 pack Independent Cider Lavender Perry k 7 500ml Liquid Alchemy Ciderworks Deeply Rooted k 14 750ml
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