We like our cider like our humor: dry. That said, we don’t limit ourselves to a specific cider style or family. We like it bright with minimum filtration, if any. We are inspired by all kinds of ciders, from still to sparkling, semi-sweet to dry, co-ferments to barrel-aging… We want to make them all… Here’s what we’ve made so far…
Bigger Batches
The flagships. The crowd pleasers. The daily quaffables.
Why are these just bigger? We are a small ciderworks. Even our big batches are not that big.
Mawage
Mawage. Mawage is wut bwings us togever today. This cider is a marriage of cider and orange blossom honey from Bloom in Ventura County. This style is also known as a cyser or cider mead. A clean and dry cider with honey florals, minerality, and balancing acidity. Perfect for sunny spring days.
Alcohol by volume: 8.0%
Carbonation: none (AKA still)
Apples: field mix from Bellevue Orchard in San Luis Obispo (no longer operating), Crimson Gold Crab from Santa Barbara County
Pairings: dried fruit, burrata, rosemary chicken, shortbread cookies
Kumquat May
Come what may, kumquats and cider belong together. Apples from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties were co-fermented with kumquats. Like a love ballad from Moulin Rouge, together they sing with aromas of kumquat peel, tart apple-citrus flavor, and a dry finish.
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Gala from Santa Barbara County, Braeburn and Granny Smith from SLO County
Pairings: Brunch
Bearded Queen
We didn’t expect to like it quite this much, as we didn’t expect to like the bearded queen genre of drag, for which this cider is named. Fermented to dryness, then judiciously hopped with Citra and Nelson Sauvin to bring out the hop aromatics without the aggressiveness. Flavor notes include citrus, mango, black pepper, and gooseberry.
Alcohol by volume: 6.9%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Braeburn from SLO Creek Farm and Granny Smith from Fair Hill Farm in San Luis Obispo County.
Pairings: ceviche, goat cheese, creamy brie
Gala Agenda
It’s not dangerous, it’s delicious. A clean and dry cider with a candy-like aroma and flavor notes of stone fruit, citrus, minerality, and light spice. Perfect for hot days.
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Gala apples from Santa Barbara county
Pairings: chili, aged gouda, Indian food, lemon pie
Fancypants
We don’t take ourselves so seriously that we don’t poke fun at our own fancy ciders. You might find some of these ciders a little more refined, a little more delicate, and… all shall love them and despair.
Las Reinas Amargas
The Bitter Queens. These English apples decided they wanted to be a Spanish-style cider. Well, I guess we’ll allow it. A mild volatile acidity, giving way to big apple flavors, with a soft oak finish. Though not exactly to style, the result is pleasing.
Alcohol by volume: 7.2%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Porter’s Perfection, Kingston Black, Harry Master’s, Stokes Red, Dabinett from Washington
Pairings: manchego cheese, meaty paella
Arkansas Black
Single varietal cider. Arkansas Black is one of the most beloved apples of cider enthusiasts as it contains a little more tannin than most dessert apples and makes a very balanced cider. This batch is barrel-fermented and barrel-aged for three months in French oak that previously held red wine. Flavors of orange peel, nutmeg and vanilla with a soft and dry finish.
Alcohol by volume: 7.2%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Arkansas Black from Santa Barbara County
Pairings: Szechan turnip cakes (actually made with radish), lamb ragout, truffle cheese, a pool and a hammock
Number 3
Our focus group couldn’t come up with a more appealing name for this one. Juice from heirloom apples was aged with medium toast French oak. Aromas of creme brulee with clean, tart apple flavors coupled with a medium full body and finishing dry. We made this cider because one of our favorite local events is From the Barrel benefiting Woods Human Society, featuring barrel aged spirits, wines, ciders, and beers. Currently unavailable, unless you have squirreled some away in your cellar.
Alcohol by volume: 7.4%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Roxbury Russet, King David, Gold Russet, Cox Orange Pippin from Oregon.
Pairings: croissant with lemon curd, bacon-spinach quiche, thyme-roasted parsnips
Frost
This is our version of an ice cider, a style made famous in Quebec. We pressed local apples and froze the juice. Pure ice crystals are the first to freeze and the last to thaw, making the first 25% of the juice to melt more concentrated with sugar, flavor and acidity than the original juice. After a slow fermentation, the cider mellowed in neutral French oak for a year. The result finishes a little dryer than most ice ciders on the market, but has a natural residual sweetness balanced with high acidity. Big bold flavors of dry fruit and vanilla dominate this full-bodied sipper. It is a great after dinner treat and can be corked up for later and placed in the fridge like a dessert wine.
Alcohol by volume: 16.1%
Carbonation: none (AKA still)
Apples: field blend from Bellevue Orchard in San Luis Obispo (no longer operating), Crimson Gold Crab from Santa Barbara County
Pairings: blue cheese, salty honey pie, cheesecake
Smol Batch
You know, like #smolkitten? No? omg. Go search it on the interwebs!
Tiny batches, sometimes comically so, from tiny orchards, sometimes with tiny apples and weirdo fruits. These bottles are extremely limited in quantity.
Crabby McCrabface
Unapologetic in name, tartness, and funk. The OG of smol batch and our very first commercial batch ever. 100% crab apples from SLO Creek Farm (varietal is unknown, though we suspect it is Dolgo Crab) makes an earthy, tart, full-bodied cider with a funk we know and love from sour beer, Basque ciders, and Rhone varietal wines.
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Dolgo from SLO Creek Farm (I mean, there is no paperwork to confirm, but it looks like Dolgo and tastes like Dolgo…)
Pairings: rack of lamb, blue cheese, bacon wrapped dates
Gold Rush
On a whim we stopped by Creekside Farms on See Canyon Road in late fall, just as all the orchards where wrapping up their season. Just in time to fall in love with this apple. With it’s honey florals, flavors of nutmeg and orange peel, there is the perfect amount of tartness for balance, and a dry finish.
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%
Carbonation: none (AKA still)
Apples: Gold Rush apples from Creekside Farm in San Luis Obispo
Pairings: heirloom melon salad
Newtown Pippin
One of those great cider apples. Flavors of apples, honey, and apricots, finishing dry.
Alcohol by volume: 8.3%
Carbonation: still
Apples: Newtown Pippin from Gizditch Ranch in Watsonville, CA
Pairings: bread and butter pickles
Three Quinces
Quince. One of those weirdo fruits and we love it. It is a quite woody fruit that is more closely related to pears. When crushed, the aromas are all raspberry and roses, which we carefully nurtured through fermentation.
Alcohol by volume: 6.5%
Carbonation: none (AKA still)
Quince: Smyrna, Orange, and Pineapple from the Lewicki Family in Creston.
Pairings: glazed pork, rosemary scalloped potatoes, pistachio ice cream
Transcendent Crab
T crab for short. This is unfiltered like the majority of our cider, so don’t be put off because it looks like Thai iced tea. This cider still delivers on minerality and acidity without being too chewy. Maggie picks the apples from one tree in See Canyon every year to make this cider.
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%
Carbonation: low
Apples: Transcendent Crab from Tim’s place in See Canyon
Pairings: glazed pork, rosemary scalloped potatoes, pistachio ice cream
Yarlington Mills
A traditional cider apple, this one is not great for eating, because it has more tannin and more acid than a dessert/culinary apple. The resulting cider is a medium body, balancing acid, and an apricot finish. Like most of our cider, this one is dry.
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%
Carbonation: none (AKA still)
Apples: Yarlington Mills from Lancaster orchard in Mariposa County
Pairings: Sabrina says, “cucumber sandwiches!”