All posts by Charles McGonegal
Bottling Barn Swallow Cider 4/6/13
We will be open from 10am-2pm while we bottle up some draft cider.
Barn Swallow Cider Has Returned to ÆppelTreow!
Barn Swallow has returned to the Tasting Room! Hurray! 750mL bottles are back on sale.
And if you are interested in sixth barrels for your home bar/kegerators, this is the time to pre-order.
2013 GLCPA Competition Results
Milissa and I had a great trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan last weekend. Setting up for the Cider Sensory Seminar that I teach, along with Gary Awdey and Dick Dunn, was intense, but I think it was worry well spent. The seminar just keeps getting better.
Oh, and the competition results? ÆppelTreow took three medals for three entries. 100% medal rate!!
(Okay, they were all bronzes – but no traditional perry, like Orchard Oriole, got better than a bronze this year. And no brandies took a gold. Tough judges this year. We must have taught them too well 🙂
Great Lakes Cider Competition This Weekend
Charles and Milissa will be in Michigan this weekend to train cider judges, and steward and judge one of the worlds biggest cider-exclusive competitions.
Which means there will not be any appointments available this weekend.
But we’ll be back next week.
NPR: Amy Stewart / Drunken Botanist Interview
Heard this story this morning. Our Brown Dog Whiskey is distilled from WI grown Sweet Sorghum, and aged with oak, apple, cherry and chestnut wood. Lots of plants.
We obviously need to get Amy some.
http://m have a peek here.npr.org/news/front/174642359
Winery Open 3/9/13 while we bottle Perry
We’ll open today from about 10-4. It’s Muduary on the farm, so be forewarned – the driveways are a bit sloppy.
Barn Swallow Cider love at Cider Summit
A little recognition for our Barn Swallow Draft Cider from the Chicago Reader.
http://m.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/02/13/striking-gold-at-the-cider-summit
Cider Summit Chicago 2013
Last weekend, we had a great Saturday on Navy Pier at Cider Summit Chicago. That’s right, we dragged our butts down to Illinois to see our fans, rather than vice versa.
It was a long day, with attendance about double expected. That made for lots and lots of pouring Barn Swallow on tap and Appely Doux and Perry from bottle. It was tiring, but great fun. We love to pour for lots of smiling people – and it was a terrific crowd. Special thanks to Cidery Friend and Bottling Corp member Aleta Hagman, who fetched us lunch.
I only managed to get one picture of my own, but I have a couple more sent by a long time fan from the Great Lakes Brewfest in Racine.
Can’t wait for next year.
<a href="http://aeppeltreow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/20130213-094432 click this link here now.jpg”>
Honesty Pear Brandy
A white pear brandy, or eau de vie.
A white spirit means, you guessed it, no oak aging. ‘Honesty’ goes nearly directly from still to bottle. We also bottle it a bit warm. 95 proof. We ‘re trying to get as much as pear into the bottle as we can.
So what’s honest about ‘Honesty’? A more traditional French, German or Austrian ‘Poire Williams’ would have been distilled from 100% Bartlett (aka Williams) pears. Those have a very distinct and powerful aroma. AeppelTreow Honesty comes, in great or lesser part each year, from distilling the stuff at the bottoms of our pear wine and perry tanks. And what’s left over in the filters and pumps during transfers. While we take great care in local-sourcing Brown Dog Whiskey and WI Apple Brandy, Honesty just kind of happens.Movie Fifty Shades Darker (2017)
Light pear bouquet followed by fire. Honesty is pear lightning. Not as brilliant ‘pear skin’ flavor as the best of its class, Honesty does have a nice balance and a lingering hint of spice that makes for a nice digestif or cocktail spirit.
Bottled in 375mL at 95 proof.
