Drinking and enjoy this often forgotten gem
You all have heard me talk about cider before. Straight up, I’ll love it. The dryer the better and the more funky that it tastes, the better it is for me. It’s a perfect drink to have on a cool Autumn night and or with a nice snack in the afternoon.
Maybe you’re not sold yet on the whole cider thing. Maybe, if you’re absolutely crazy, maybe you don’t even like apples. I’m not really sure why you wouldn’t like apples, but to each their own or whatever.
So you tried the sweet cider that’s cheap and bubbly when you were 20 years old and now you have avoided it ever since. You walk by it in the liquor store and never think twice about avoiding it on the shelf. I think people just need to get this through their heads. Cider is delicious and refreshing and pairs so well with food, it’s almost as good as drinking wine.
Sometimes we think it’s only appropriate to drink it in the summer, but I disagree. For me, it’s perfect on a cool day when the leaves are wet. If the world didn’t stop this year, you would see me drinking it in a pub beside the fire place on a day like today.
Canadian ciders are good, like very good. They are producing naturally fermented ciders as they do in northern Spain and using apples that are local to our province. You may see it mixed with other fruits like cherries or other berries. This year, I have even seen it blended with Pumpkin. Yes there is pumpkin in literally everything in the fall (not to shoot it down, because it was actually quite good.
Today I’m going to go through a few of my favourite places that make cider, how to drink it with what you eat and even where you can drink it with some friends.
Cooking with cider
When figuring out what to eat with Cider, try to get out of the beer world. Even though some ciders come in a can, the flavour profiles are closer to wine that beer. They have things like tannin and bitterness and mouthfeel, all words associated with wine rather than beer.
Cider can be used in anything from marinades to dressings for salads and sauces. It is perfect to be used in soups and braises. For me, it’s not the best with beef or game. The flavours clash too much and the acid won’t really compliment the flavours of the meat too much. It goes well with vegetarian food and can easily be paired with pork, chicken or fish.
I love eating curries, braises or stewed things with cider. The acid cuts through rich foods so well and leaves your mouth feeling fresh instead of being weighed down.
*A perfect winter pairing is a dry cider with a seared pork chop. Serve it with mashes potatoes, braised purple cabbage, roasted Brussel sprouts and a mustard sauce.
Cider with cheese is the bomb. Get a cheese board together of 3-4 cheese and serve it with nuts and compote, maybe even include some pieces of fresh apple. I would say a couple aged cheeses like cheddar or oka are great. You can also try a Gouda style or goat cheese that is either hard or soft. Pick 2 cheeses that are hard and 2 which are soft, to get a bit of diversity in the tasting.
Favourite Cideries
We have almost 60 different places to find cider in Ontario and the number will keep growing. A few of my favourite producers are Duntroon Cyder House, Spirit Tree Estate Cidery, West Avenue Cider, Revel Cider Company. I just recently had a great cider from Loch Mor Cidder Co and it was very good. So nice to have with a bit of cheese before dinner.
You can see some of the ciders I have mentioned more frequently in the liquor store, but some stuff still might only be available directly from the cidery. Brickworks is always a safe bet as well as No Boats on Sunday, which are both available at the LCBO.
Where to drink it in the city
Cider House on Roncesvalles has a great selection of Ontario ciders on tap. The food is also really great too. Some of it is even influenced by the previous business which was Indian cuisine. They have cider on tap and pour it in flights, which is a great way to taste different types.
Birreria Volo on College Street is another great spot for Ontario cider and craft beer. The guys who run it, have a hand in Cask Days, the giant beer event that happens every (well almost every) year in October. Producers release their latest casks for the public to taste and there are also producers who make cider. When I go I usually end up trying like 4 or 5 ciders, because they really are tasty and super cool. * Bar Volo is also a good bet (they are both owned within the same family)
Her Father’s Cider Bar + Kitchen on Harbord Street is a cute restaurant with a large patio and a full menu for dine in and takeout. They have draft and bottle cider available from all over Ontario
On a beautiful day in the fall, it makes a great day trip to drive and see some of the cideries on the list above. Don’t be afraid to try some of it. You might not like it, or you may love it, but we have a lot of good stuff to drink here, so try and get it.
*Ask your local pub if they have any craft cider in the bar. Chances are if they have good craft beer from Ontario, they will probably have good craft cider as well!
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