Places I'm Visiting: Pomme Cider Shop and Tap Room in Sonoma

On a recent visit to the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and the nearby Modern Art West gallery, I noticed a cider bar a few doors down that I'd not seen before. (It had been several years since I'd been to the town of Sonoma, my last visit having been pre-pandemic). I stopped in to Pomme Cider Shop and Tap Room for a look around the clean, simply furnished interior boasting 18 taps at the bar and was impressed to find in addition to the offerings on tap a surprisingly large selection of ciders in cans and bottles from all over the world (although many are local). Co-owners Rick Tranchina and Jessica Olson-Ealy told me the Cider Shop and Tap Room opened in May 2022.

I struck up a conversation with Rick behind the bar and in passing mentioned I had made cider in 2013 from fresh apples and discovered recently that I still had several bottles of it unopened. I asked if cider develops in the bottle as many wines do. Rick was skeptical, but, he said "bring some in and we'll see" – which I agreed to do. 

The cider I made in 2013 I fermented using Pink Lady apples from the tree in our garden, Golden Delicious apples from a friend's tree, and a small, astringent, unidentified apple variety from a tree on the property where my brother lives. De-stemming, peeling, pulping, and pressing the apples was a chore, as was picking up and returning an apple press rented from The Beverage People. A few years later I made another batch of cider (in 2018) from local, unpasteurized apple juice, which was considerably easier. I fermented the fresh apple batch using an English cider yeast from White Labs sold refrigerated in a stoppered glass tube, purchased at Whole Foods. For the later batch I used a Mangrove Jack cider yeast in powder form. 

On my second visit to Pomme, several weeks later, I brought a chilled bottle of each of the two ciders with me. Both had retained their carbonation, letting out a satisfying mist of gas when Rick popped the caps from behind the bar. He poured out a glass of each for me, and for himself, and I encouraged him to let the woman seated beside me at the bar try them as well as she had joined the conversation. 

The older cider turned out to be in perfect condition and rather tasty. Apparently ten years in bottle had done no harm at least. It seemed nicely balanced to me, with attractive apple scents on the nose and, on the palate, it offered a good dose of apple sweetness tempered by some tartness and with a darker, liquorous quality on the finish with suggestions of caramel. Rick was impressed. He asked if he could share it with a couple of cider enthusiasts seated at a table near the front door that he said were regulars at Pomme and they, too, were impressed. Upon leaving, one of the patrons who had tasted the 2013 batch said she thought it among the best ciders she had ever tasted, which, I must admit, resulted in a little flush of pride in me. 

The 2018 cider made from pressed apple juice was not bad, but it didn't have the nuance and length of the older batch made from fresh apples. Rick speculated that using the wild apples from my brother's yard added tannin to the 2013 cider that was the key to its presence and longevity. I suspect he is right. 

A week later, I visited again to sample some of the ciders on tap and learned that cider today is being handled far more creatively than I had imagined. There are straight apple ciders and pear ciders as well as ciders co-fermented with a percentage of grapes to create cider–rosé hybrids. Some of the ciders are flavored with other fruits – a cherry–pear cider was popular on the day I visited. Some are fermented or aged in oak barrels for additional flavor enhancement. You could spend a lot of time here trying the more than 100 varieties on offer. Recommended. Well worth a visit.

Pomme Cider Shop and Tap Room is at 531 Broadway, Sonoma, CA, 707-343-7155) and Pomme has more than just cider, offering more than 20 Pét-Nats, grower Champagnes, rosés, and orange wines by the bottle. Some taps are kept just for beer and wine, and locally-made bites, charcuterie, and other nibbles are available as well. Open Sunday-Tuesday & Thursday 12-6, Friday 12-8, Saturday 11-8. Closed Weds. 21 and over.

Wines I'm Making: Not Exactly Wine (Cider Fermentation, Spring 2018)

Not wine, but hard cider. I was surprised recently when I opened a bottle of hard cider I made a few years ago to find its flavor greatly enhanced by the aging. (I first made cider in February of 2013 then again in November of 2013, so the bottle I opened was four to five years old). Greater depth, more complexity--all around more interesting. I was inspired to do another fermentation, as I suspect the cider I have on hand will now start to disappear. I inoculated three gallons of local apple juice with Mangrove Jack's cider yeast today, May 22, 21018. Fermentation will probably take about 10 days.

Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider--First Racking (December 6, 2013)

On Friday, December 6, I racked the hard cider I'm making off the gross lees. I started fermentation on November 18, so fermentation took about 18 days. The cider is working in two five-gallon containers. Although I inoculated 11 gallons of juice, I used the extra gallon to top up the two other containers after the racking, which reduced the volume of both somewhat.

Having used two different yeast strains (see the last post on the subject of hard cider for details), and having left the two batches in different parts of the house (one warmer than the other), the batch using the White Labs yeast, in the cooler location, was slightly behind the other, but bubbling has mostly stopped in both containers--although it's been so cold the past few days, even in the house, that lower temperatures may have suspended what final activity there was in both cases, activity that will have to start again once the liquid is bottled and a little sugar added back to feed a second, in-bottle fermentation to create carbonation in the finished product. So far, the White Labs batch tastes noticeably better than the other. I'm not sure exactly why. It may just be the slight amount of residual sugar in the White Labs vessel. Both have a slight hydrogen sulfide smell, however, which is not desirable--although I think  easily corrected. Hydrogen sulfide production is usually the result of inadequate yeast nutrients during fermentation. I did use the recommended dose of Fermaid K as well as DAP (diammonium phosphate), which together are supposed to prevent hydrogen sulfide production. It's time to call The Beverage People for advice. It's still much too early to know what the finished cider will be like.

Wines I'm Making: Pressing Apples for Cider

Last Sunday we pressed apples for hard cider. Earlier this year, I made cider by fermenting store-bought organic apple juice (Sonoma County is blessed with many apple orchard, so excellent juice is easy to come by), but this year I decided to make cider from scratch. I rented an apple mill to process 200lbs of apples harvested from our own tree, a tree at my brother's home, and a tree belonging to a friend. I used about 70lbs of Golden Delicious apples (sweet, but low in acid), about 90lbs of Pink Lady apples from our own tree (sweet but quite tart as well, very aromatic), and about 40lbs of an unknown, older tree, in Sebastopol, probably planted in the 1960s, although not a Gravenstein, the apple most closely associated with Sebastopol (again tart and aromatic). The result was a good blend, I hope--sweet enough to make a fairly alcoholic cider (the juice tested at 17 degrees Brix, which should result in an alcohol level of about 8.5%), but also with enough tartness and apple aroma to keep things interesting. The top photo shows the raw material.

It took the entire day. Most of the time was consumed washing apples. Apparently commercial juice and cider makers don't bother, but I wanted at least to get the dust and occasional splatter of bird droppings off the fruit.  Once cleaned, it was just a matter of dropping apples into a chute above a rotating masher that pulps them and drops them into a press basket for pressing. Two-hundred pounds of apples yielded about 12 gallons of juice. One gallon I gave to the friends with the Golden Delicious tree. The rest I sulfited lightly and let rest overnight. That juice is now fermenting in the living room, well on its way to becoming cider. The second photo shows juice samples--Golden Delicious, unknown Sebastopol, and Pink Lady, left to right.

I used two different yeasts. On Monday afternoon (November 18) I inoculated five gallons with the same yeast I used to make the cider from store-bought apple juice--WLP775 "English Cider Yeast" made by White Labs, in San Diego (I hope that's not Walter White Labs), a liquid yeast in a glass vial. The remaining six gallons I inoculated with a powdered yeast from Mangrove Jack's--"Craft Series MO2 Cider yeast." It will be interesting to see if the two yeast strains produce different results. The liquid yeast has so far produced a much more vigorous fermentation. I filled the containers somewhat too full. I've had to repeatedly empty the air lock of bubbles and juice spilling out the top of the White Labs fermentation, making something of a mess, but it's all under control now. The juice fermenting with the Mangrove Jack's yeast hasn't been quite so exuberant. I expect the initial fermentation to take about three weeks or so in either case. For now, it's a waiting game.

Wines I'm Making: Cider Again, But This Time Using Fresh Apples

Last February I made some very tasty hard cider by fermenting store-bought organic apple juice. This year our apple tree had a lot of fruit, so I thought I'd try making cider from scratch, using apples from the tree. These pictured are "Pink Lady" apples from our back yard. Tomorrow we pick up a rented apple press and some more apples from my brother and from a couple of friends with trees. I figure we'll need about 200 pounds to make it worthwhile. 200 pounds of apples should yield about 10 gallons of juice. That will translate into 107 12-ounce bottles with a retail value of about $140. Renting the machine costs $45. The yeast costs about $8. So, for a little more than $50 (discounting time and labor) we'll get a more or less three-fold return. Hope it all goes well. More soon....

Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider Success (March 31, 2013)

Success. Yesterday I opened the first bottle of the hard cider I've just finished making--my first attempt. It was a great pleasure to hear the whoosh! as I lifted the bottle cap and to see a rush of bubbles rise to the surface of the liquid, indicating that the in-bottle, secondary fermentation had gone as planned. I was a bit skeptical two weeks ago when I dosed the cider with a little sugar and sealed it up to wait for a silent fermentation to work its magic. I had feared something overlooked, some mistake would result in a cider as flat as when I put it in the bottles.

I giggled. I was reminded of my first real chemistry experiment. We precipitated a bright yellow lead compound out of colorless liquids. Magic, indeed. I felt the same giddy pleasure looking at my cider that I felt then, in high school chemistry class, when the classroom experiment worked just the way the teacher said it would.

I suspect this batch will disappear quickly and that I'll want to do it all over again. In the fall, I hope to use real pressed apples rather than store-bought apple juice (albeit of a very good quality; after all, we're only a stone's throw from the apple orchards of Sebastopol).  

The cider has a good apple aroma. Delicate apple flavors on the palate. Quite dry with a light carbonation that adds interest. Overall, subtle and delicious. Exactly two months start to finish. The first related post is here. For more, use the search box to search for "cider."    

Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider Bottled (March 16, 2013)

Bottled the hard cider yesterday--my first attempt at making the stuff. I dosed my three gallons of fully fermented liquid with 78 grams of dextrose to fuel a secondary fermentation in the bottles--which will give the cider a little sparkle. I hope I've calculated the sugar correctly; the proper amount is supposed to be 3/4 of a cup of sugar to five gallons of cider. I converted that to grams and reduced the amount appropriately for three gallons. Too much sugar will mean too much fermentation, which will mean too much carbon dioxide production and possibly more pressure than the crown caps can hold. I hope the bottles don't burst. I've been told that I should leave them at room temperature for about two weeks to do their thing (until March 30). Then I'm supposed to throw a couple bottles into the 'fridge and give 'em a try when they're nice and cold--that's the delivered theory anyway. Fingers crossed.

Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider--Second Racking (February 25, 2013)

Yesterday, I racked the hard cider I'm making--the second racking ("racking" refers to taking the liquid off the lees and transferring it to a new container, part of the process of using gravity to clear it of sediment). I siphoned the liquid off the rather fluffy deposit at the bottom of the container and into a new, clean container. The first time I racked the cider I had to top up the vessel with nearly a pint of new liquid. I used fresh apple juice, which added sugar back that subsequently began to ferment again. That activity had mostly stopped.

This time, I filled the gap at the top of the container with finished local cider (only a small amount was required). I suspect I will have to rack my cider once more to get it completely clear, but it's mostly there. As the days have been a little warmer recently, I'll be watching for signs of ongoing fermentation, but I think it's mostly finished. After the final racking, I will bottle the cider and dose it with a touch of sugar to induce a final fermentation in the bottle, which should give it a little effervescence. I've never tried in-bottle fermentation before and never closed bottles with crown caps, but I will rely on the good guidance of the people at our local wine, beer, mead, cider, and cheese-making supply store, The Beverage People. Having just harvested about 60 pounds of honey from our (sadly dead) beehive, I may try making mead next.

Wines I'm Making: Cider Racked (February 19, 2013)

My first attempt at making hard cider is coming along nicely. The fermentation had mostly stooped (after 20 days), so I racked the cider off its lees today. There was quite a lot of sediment in the bottom of the container, so I had to top it up after the racking. I used apple juice, fully expecting the new sugar to revive the fermentation a little, but so far there has been no reaction. It may just take time. We'll see what's going on tomorrow. In the photo, taken while siphoning the cider into a clean container, you can see the deep layer of sediment.

Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider (January 31, 2013)

At Whole Foods (the Coddington Mall store) yesterday I noticed a growing section devoted to brewing supplies. I was intrigued by a vial of "English cider yeast" I found there. I made the assumption that it was a strain of yeast particularly suited to making hard cider. On the spur of the moment I bought the yeast and three gallons of pasteurized (but preservative-free) apple juice thinking I'd try to make my own cider. I have no idea if it will be any good or not, but, being used to fermenting grape juice to make wine, and having all the equipment already at hand, I thought I'd give it a try. I inoculated the juice last night (on the 30th) and a frothy fermentation is already under way. Stay tuned....