Now, I have nothing against hard cider (i.e. cider with
alcohol). It can be delicious and comes in many variations. Cider (apple, pear, pineapple…) can be refreshing and paired nicely with food.As a sub-market of the adult beverage industry, it is
booming. And that is good to see. I
hold no ill will towards cider millers. More power to them, and I hope they
enjoy success. But, cider is not beer.
Not even close.
Hard Cider is riding the coattails of craft beer and its incredible boom. I see
ciders at beer fests, beer magazines and just about everywhere one finds beer.
Why? Cider is not beer. It is not brewed
and more closely (very closely) resembles wine: Fruit is crushed into juice,
which is fermented then blended and packaged. Beer has many more steps that
(should) adhere to precise scientific measurements. The only commonalities they have are alcohol,
liquid and packaging.
Big deal, right? Wrong…well, somewhat wrong. In the grand scheme of things it is no big
deal. But the constant integration of cider with craft beer blurs the line
separating craft beer and cider. Too many times customers ask me for cider-beer. Never heard of it, guy, sorry. It also
minimizes the efforts, techniques, skill and art of brewing beer, which are
widely misunderstood (or unknown) anyway. Brewers are the most underappreciated
artisans of the adult beverage industry, mostly due to the complicated and
specific production cycle of their craft and the depth of knowledge of
chemistry it requires. Plus, the massive
effect a minor miscalculation or error can have on the product. In other words,
it takes precision, patience, vigilance and integrity.
(Recently, I was at a beer festival that had several cider
companies showcasing their products. I boycotted them at first, but decided
that was kind of dumb. Strange thing,
though, when I asked about the pear cider as to what kind of pear juice did it
contain--Bosc, Bartlett, D'Anjou…. The reply from the owner of the company did not know!!
Say….what??)
It's also a personal matter to me. As the beer buyer at Grapes and Grains in
Denver, I have worked with the owner to expand the craft beer choices for our
customers. Ten years ago, it seemed each color had its own door; silver for
Coors Light, gold for Coors Banquet, blue for Bud Light, red for Budweiser,
white for Miller Lite, gold/black for MGD. Then separate doors for these
companies' respective "premium brands" (Michelob, Blue Moon, Natural
Light…). The bottom line was that 3
brewers commanded 7+ doors, and there was little difference in flavor among
them.
Today, we can see our progress in expanding beer choices
from, say 6, to well over 100 brews. This wasn't easy. Bud, Miller and Coors
(BMC) surely did not want to give up their spaces, nor their color coded
displays. They bullied, manipulated,
lied and tried to strong-arm us into ordering for their benefit. But we
persisted and now boast a very nice array of Colorado breweries, who themselves
worked hard to arrive on our shelves…only to see shelf space dwindle a bit to
make room for cider.
KKAAAAHHNNN!
While sometimes delicious (and often too sweet), cider can
be a great beverage. But it's not beer or cider-beer or beer-cider. If cider producers want consumers (and others)
to appreciate their product, then perhaps they should develop their own
identity. It can only help them.
