Bill Lundstrom
Bill Lundstrom
my brother, jeff, was class of 95.
Wassail
- Thread starter Sharon Bowman
- Start date
my brother, jeff, was class of 95.
kirk wallace
kirk wallace
If it were closer to me, so would I. As it is -- a forty minute walk or about 22 by train -- I am holding steady at once a fortnight, with occasional greater frequency.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Todd Abrams
Todd Abrams
Good stuff and makes a bunch of sense. We Americans are a fiercely untraditional lot as a general rule.
The famous nurseryman John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) made his name by planting apple trees for cider ahead of westward expansion. Maybe if he lived another hundred years things would be different.
Christian Miller (CMM)
Christian Miller
Fascinating article, thanks. The intersection of the temperance movement and rural WASP culture sounds like a pretty good theory on the fading of cider. A couple of quibbles:
>>Perhaps the most often heard theory is that German immigrants arriving in the 1840s and 1850s brought with them superior methods of brewing which produced better beers which "just" tasted better and therefore replaced cider. Why this would happen in the United States, however, and not in the other British cultural outposts, or in England, remains a mystery unexplained by the "just tastes better" theory.
scottreiner
scott reiner
looked him up on the facebook. i remember him; i believe he was a tke.
Steve Guattery
Steve Guattery
I didn't start here until 1998, but I know faculty members who were around in the early '90's, including economists and at least one person in IR (Steve Stamos). I don't recall meeting Richard Peterec, though.
Jay Miller
Jay Miller
What's the noise level like?
Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
So, I was back at Wassail last night for the first time since the first time.
Their rent is nuts, and they were supposed to close last week for that very reason, but a prospective buyer backed out, so they are still open and will be through May.
You'd think with that profile, the spot should be an "avoid," but they're still turning out really tasty food. They've gone from vegetarian to not (chorizo with my red beans), but otherwise the ethos is similar (black rice with maitake and an egg on top with mustard cream).
I had two ciders and a pommeau, and got to try my friend's two different ciders and pommeau. It's exciting to see American cider-makers doing pommeau, in fact.
Eve's Cidery "Wild Crab" - made from foraged crabapples, this cider is an acid bomb. The faintest fizz, but not much. Just puckering fruit galore.
A sip of my friend's Weidmann & Groh "Grohsecco" - sparkling German cider; savory, with a sweeping little undercurrent of brett. A contrast to the Eve's Wild Crab.
Shacksbury "Millrace" - made from foraged "lost" apples* (I guess that was my theme for the night), native yeasts, undergoes malo (O!), also very stern, but with more body than the Wild Crab. I really liked this one.
A sip of my friend's Oyster River. I think this was my favorite of the four tried (actually, the bartender gave us each a shot of it to try out; it was not on the list). I'm not sure which bottling it was from this producer (it was dark in there, and the bottle was on the other side of the bar). Sparkling but dense and funky. Just my thing.
Then, in lieu of dessert, we ordered pommeau.
Black Diamond "Porter's Perfection" - I steered away from another offering that was younger for this. A mistelle (i.e. the apple juice's fermentation is stopped with apple brandy, then it's aged in oak for one year). Porter's Perfection is apparently the name of the apple variety. This was great stuff, balanced between a bit of sweetness and great acidity, and that slightly (verrrrry slightly) caramelly thing you get from oak. It had a lot going on.
My friend had never had pommeau, so went for a classic: Adrien Camut Pommeau - apple juice with 4-year-old Calvados. This had longer oak aging, which was obvious, and it was a little thicker than the Black Diamond, but it was also gloriously peacock-tailed.
I loved the alchemy of the apples, last night. It was kind of magical.
*See their website for an interesting description.
Their rent is nuts, and they were supposed to close last week for that very reason, but a prospective buyer backed out, so they are still open and will be through May.
You'd think with that profile, the spot should be an "avoid," but they're still turning out really tasty food. They've gone from vegetarian to not (chorizo with my red beans), but otherwise the ethos is similar (black rice with maitake and an egg on top with mustard cream).
I had two ciders and a pommeau, and got to try my friend's two different ciders and pommeau. It's exciting to see American cider-makers doing pommeau, in fact.
Eve's Cidery "Wild Crab" - made from foraged crabapples, this cider is an acid bomb. The faintest fizz, but not much. Just puckering fruit galore.
A sip of my friend's Weidmann & Groh "Grohsecco" - sparkling German cider; savory, with a sweeping little undercurrent of brett. A contrast to the Eve's Wild Crab.
Shacksbury "Millrace" - made from foraged "lost" apples* (I guess that was my theme for the night), native yeasts, undergoes malo (O!), also very stern, but with more body than the Wild Crab. I really liked this one.
A sip of my friend's Oyster River. I think this was my favorite of the four tried (actually, the bartender gave us each a shot of it to try out; it was not on the list). I'm not sure which bottling it was from this producer (it was dark in there, and the bottle was on the other side of the bar). Sparkling but dense and funky. Just my thing.
Then, in lieu of dessert, we ordered pommeau.
Black Diamond "Porter's Perfection" - I steered away from another offering that was younger for this. A mistelle (i.e. the apple juice's fermentation is stopped with apple brandy, then it's aged in oak for one year). Porter's Perfection is apparently the name of the apple variety. This was great stuff, balanced between a bit of sweetness and great acidity, and that slightly (verrrrry slightly) caramelly thing you get from oak. It had a lot going on.
My friend had never had pommeau, so went for a classic: Adrien Camut Pommeau - apple juice with 4-year-old Calvados. This had longer oak aging, which was obvious, and it was a little thicker than the Black Diamond, but it was also gloriously peacock-tailed.
I loved the alchemy of the apples, last night. It was kind of magical.
*See their website for an interesting description.
Bill Lundstrom
Bill Lundstrom
what the heck is pommeau? (yeah i know, google is my friend but i'd rather wine gurl's explanation)
Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
Pommeau is an apple version of Pineau des Charentes, if you've ever had that?
A mistelle, it's made by adding apple brandy (well, in the AOC, Calvados) to apple must before it ferments. The blend is then aged in oak. It's about 17% or 18% alcohol and in France is usually drunk as an apéritif, though here I think people also have it with cheese and/or dessert.
A mistelle, it's made by adding apple brandy (well, in the AOC, Calvados) to apple must before it ferments. The blend is then aged in oak. It's about 17% or 18% alcohol and in France is usually drunk as an apéritif, though here I think people also have it with cheese and/or dessert.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Pommeau sits between cider and Calvados in the hierarchy of getting smashed.
Bill Lundstrom
Bill Lundstrom
i'll have to seek one out. sounds delicious.