Fall is the season for carving pumpkins, apple picking, and jumping in piles of potato chip-crunchy leaves. We’ve been going on and on about pumpkin this and pumpkin that, but pumpkin only recently swooped the title of the signature fall flavor from apple. Technomic’s MenuMonitor reported that last fall, the country’s largest chains introduced more than twice as many pumpkin products as they did apple. Well, fear not, apple lovers. Hard cider is here to challenge pumpkin beer in a fall beverage battle. How about them apples?
Angry Orchard
Owned by Boston Beer Co., parent to Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard brews six ciders year-round and adds two seasonal options into the mix in the fall (Cinnful Apple and Elderflower). The brewers hand-select apples from France and Italy to create their three core ciders: Crisp Apple, Apple Ginger, and Traditional Dry. They save American apples for experimentation with their seasonal flavors.
Downeast Cider House
Located right in Boston, Downeast is committed to using only fresh-pressed juices and natural ingredients in their craft cider. The company was founded by two college friends who mixed hundreds of batches of their Original Blend cider in their dorm basement before they got it just right. The cider house also makes a Cranberry Blend cider that goes well with chilly days and light jackets. The two ciders are available only in a can, a testament to the company’s college roots.
Harpoon Brewery
Harpoon’s pumpkin beers are pretty popular, but the brewery also has three ciders—Harpoon Craft Cider, Honey Cider and Pumpkin Cider. If you can’t choose one over another, Harpoon’s given you the option of imbibing both pumpkin and apple at once. The brewery sources its juice from a local mill before it ferments the cider free of artificial color, preservatives, and sweeteners.
Bantam Cider
A family-run organization, Bantam has roots in the winemaking tradition. The company develops innovative ciders at its small lab in Cambridge, where it shares capacity with a regional winery. Named after the adventurer Amelia Earhart, Bantam’s Wunderkind cider was its first—a blend of local apples with a touch of flower-blossom honey. La Grande is Bantam’s run at a more refined cider. It’s a limited edition and is aged in bourbon and rum barrels for four months before it’s bottled.
Farnum Hill Cider
Farnum Hill approaches cider-making in much the same way a winemaker does his nuanced craft. The apple growers double as the cider makers at Farnum Hill, where the heirloom apples are grown and fermented on the same site to ensure top quality. Unlike most other American ciders, Farnum produces both sparkling and still beverages. Its “Dooryard” blends are more unpredictable—reserved for the customers who are willing to purchase small-batch, funky ciders straight from the barn. In addition to the “Dooryard” varieties, Farnum regularly retails around seven more standard ciders.
