Celebrating the Apple

Celebrator Beer News; June/July 2004

Why Cider? Why Now?

Bruce Nissen, of Fox Barrel Cider, soon to be located in the Sierra Foothills near Auburn, Calif., called a week or so before the cider seminar to announce the new business he is starting with business partner Sean Deorsey, and to express their intent to participate in the upcoming two-week course.

Nissen was the designated spokesperson as Deorsey and his family were on vacation. Nissen described Deorsey as the founding influence for the business model and noted that he has been a big proponent of cider since his college days. When I later met Nissen and Deorsey at Higgins in Portland the weekend between seminars, I learned that grandmother Marion had opened the door when she took Deorsey to lunch on his 21st birthday. A savvy staff person offered him a bottle of Blackthorn Cider to accompany his meal and the love affair with cider began.

Similarly, we were warmly welcomed by wine steward Warren Steenson at Higgins with the delectable Pommeau produced by Alan Foster of White Oak Cider in Newberg, Ore. Foster is quite a cider-industry icon. The cider of choice was a Blackthorn, of course.

Having made the transition from a successful career as the director of finance/corporate controller at IGN Entertainment, this venture into cider can only be called a "love thing" for Deorsey.

"Twenty-hour days were getting to be too much with a young daughter" said Nissen of his partner in our initial conversation. For several years, the two friends joked about "doing something for ourselves". What they have ventured into, however, is no laughing matter. And they feel the pressure. Nissen is currently a marketing manager for a corporation that sells products in the analytic instrumentation industry, for procedures such as DNA analysis. He too is uprooting his wife and young son to pursue an overriding passion for a lifestyle of his own making and choosing. Nissen grew up in an entrepreneurial household, working in the family business. "I sadly realized one day that my son won't have the opportunity to do that," he said.

In August 2003, these friends of several years, thought they ought to go ahead and pursue their cider venture. After seriously looking into it, they found the industry attractive because of the growth potential. They examined the model of European consumption of cider, which is so much higher in scale than that of the United States, and the potential for the future successful enterprise became evident. Both gentlemen agree that there have been some clear market leaders. They concur with other commercial producers that the likes of Gallo and Bulmers have paved the way for an array of cider products to be introduced into the marketplace.

Part of the reason for locating the business in Placer County, Calif., the Apple Hill area, was that they would not immediately be bumping into somebody else.

There is still some regional room," explained Nissen, all the while citing the tremendous contribution of Jeffrey House, president of Ace Premium Hard Ciders.

Fox Barrel Cider owners anticipate their business will evolve much like the concentric circles after a stone is thrown into a pond. They are very clear that from the get-go, one of the biggest challenges in selling cider is that people don't know what cider is. Nissen and Deorsey stated that "fermented apple cider has a reputation problem, a lack of knowledge problem. We need to get out and attend the festivals and help people taste what cider can be." According to Nissen Cider is for everybody who celebrates the apple."

Their excitement with the cider industry, while palpable, is tempered by a responsibility to reeducate American consumers about their heritage.

"It's a rich history," reflected Deorsey, "an amazing history and heritage that we hope to convey through our product."

The next steps for Fox Barrel are to identify the physical space and go through the licensing process. Their anticipated time of Cider production is September 2004.

Critical Question Artisan versus Commercial

An interesting insight that emerged during the first week of the cider-making course had to do with the class makeup itself. There were 16 participants with upwards of 300 acres of apples represented, according to Deorsey and Nissen. It was apparent to them that there were two distinct philosophies evident in the room: artisanal versus commercial producer. Nissen noted that although there were varying positions among the participants in the class, there was no personal animosity. Asking the critical question of a recent attendee and two two former participants of the course, the responses were assuredly as unique as the cider-makers themselves.

Alan Foster, White Oak Cider, Newberg Ore., has been in the business for 13 years. Foster stated that Peter Mitchell's excellent cider-making course, with its emphasis on standardization, uniformity, cleanliness and pasteurization is excellent well prepares the participant for commercial production. As for artisan versus commercial, Foster did not think that one was necessarily better than the other. One sector, he noted, has more mass appeal, while the other may be more willing and able to take a chance and push the envelope differently - at the risk of not having the cider turn out well - versus maximizing production. Foster, a consummate artisan believes that "solid marketing to back up the viability of the commercial approach is quite good. Those ciders are pretty predictable off the shelf, and that is a positive thing, but it is not going to be artisan cider."

Shaun Shepard, Home Orchard Society of Oregon, signed up for the class thinking of it as a good vacation - an investment in one's well being. "The cost of class was not more than I'd spend going back East, so I looked at it as a cider vacation. People were in our room tasting cider after the sessions."

When I last saw Shepard a couple of months ago, he talked about possibly going commercial. As with many home cider-makers ready to take that step, formal course work helps in the decision making process. Shepard said he got his money's worth from the Peter Mitchell seminar. As for his opinion on the current cider culture and community, he said simply, “there’s room for everyone."

Drew Zimmerman, organizer of the first North American Cider competition, is establishing Skagitt Beverages, LLC with partners winemaker Tom Bronkema and Carl Engebreth. Engebreth owns nearly 100 acres of land in what Zimmer calls the "big apple region" Skaggit Valley, on which the winery and cidery will be established. Zimmerman agrees that the current culture among cider producers is clearly artisan vs commercial.

"Currently, more people want to make artisan, handcrafted cider versus industrial," he stated. The challenge is to build a culture. If you want to know why we're in it, that's why: not to get rich, but for the chance to be a pioneer."

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