Cider club

WIld Seasonal 6

MARCH 2025

spring is on the way!

Winter is slowly loosening its embrace of Salt Spring. A heavy snow and a couple of very chilly weeks kept the ground blanketed in snow for the first half of February after a sunny and dry January, at least by our standards. Now the rain has returned and things are starting to warm up. Daffodils and crocuses are poking through the ground, and the first little buds will soon start to take shape on the trees. After a busy Valentine’s Day weekend, the visitors to the cidery are beginning to increase. We’re still a long way from the hustle and bustle of summer, but the tide has shifted, however subtly.

We’re delighted to share this season’s ciders with you as we head into springtime. Our Rhubarb Cider is back as a spring seasonal release. Right about now the first shoots of Rhubarb are coming up, so it’s a fitting cider for this time of year, and the crisp, tart flavour is great for the warm weather that we hope is soon to come. We’re also including a small-batch, bottle conditioned Apricot Saison cider. It’s an apple cider co-fermented with a hint of apricot puree using a saison yeast. Saison yeasts are normally used to ferment saison beers—farmhouse ales that are typically dry with a hint of spice and fruit, and they tend to have a lively carbonation. The yeast has a somewhat similar effect on the cider, and it ferments to a crisp dryness with a similar subtle note of spice (think coriander and white pepper). Historically, saisons were enjoyed by farmhands in France and Belgium after working in the fields, and their crisp, dry flavour made them super refreshing. Even if you’re not a farmhand, this is still a great cider to enjoy as the weather turns warmer, maybe after a hard day’s work in the garden this spring or summer.

From the cellar, we’ve got another look at our Wild Pear & Quince. We first included this one in our June 2024 shipment, and it was pressed in 2023 and fermented over the winter with native yeast. It’s a blend of perry and eating pears, plus a hint of quince, all from Salt Spring Island, and it’s ageing nicely.

After a successful first run last December, we’re again inviting you to pick the rest of the ciders. Just click on the button at the bottom of the page to go to our special Cider Club shop where you can make your selections for this shipment.

We hope the winter has been kind to you and send our best wishes for beautiful spring ahead! Thanks for your continued patronage. Cheers!

Featured Ciders

  • Apricot Saison

    Salt Spring Island apples were pressed and fermented on apricot puree using saison yeast. Very dry, with fruity notes from the apricot, and a subtle hint of spice from the yeast. Bottle conditioned to bring out the lively effervescence of traditional saisons. 6.7% ABV

  • Wild Pear & Quince

    Made with hand foraged Salt Spring Island wild seed pears, tannic cider pears, Asian pears, and quince. Cold fermented using native yeast, then bottle conditioned. Gently sweet due to the natural residual sugar from the pears. This is a juicy cider, with notes of melon, white pepper, and manuka honey.

    Originally a very cloudy cider, many of the solids have now settled out over the past year. If you’d like to relive its original cloudy juiciness, give it a good swirl and shake a few minutes before you open it. You might taste some almost rosy notes that have emerged from the quince if you do. Or, if you’d like something clearer, subtler, and a hint drier, leave the solids at rest in the bottom of the bottle. 5.7% ABV

  • Rhubarb

    Made from organic apples, fresh rhubarb, and a little organic sugar to finish. This cider is gently tart and super tasty, with a balanced sweetness and not too sweet and tastes simply of rhubarb and apples. 6.4% ABV

PICK YOUR THREE CIDERS!

All shipments will include the ciders listed above. You get to pick the rest.

Click the button below to visit our Cider Club store. Select three ciders from the choices there, and we’ll include them with your shipment. Please only select three ciders— additional ciders will be excluded from the shipment.

If no selection is made by March 10th, we’ll pick them for you. (Don’t worry, they’ll be good ones!)

Shipments will be put in the mail by March 14th, or after your card on file is processed on its reoccurring subscription charge date if it normally falls after the 14th.