STEVENS POINT, Wis. — It was only a matter of time before the Ciderboys got around to blending blackberries with crisp apple cider to create yet another tempting “fruitful pairing.”
That day has come, because wherever Ciderboys hard ciders are sold you will now find a brand new path to unimaginable fresh fruit flavors with Ciderboys Blackberry Wild, a delicious blend of crisp apple and plump, ripe, sweet blackberries you might find while hiking a wild forest trail. This new fall seasonal is available from September through the end of November on draft and in six-packs of 12-ounce longneck bottles.
Why blackberries? “Blackberries pair with apple cider just as well as other berries,” said Julie Birrenkott, Ciderboys’ Marketing Manager. “Ciderboys already offers refreshing Raspberry Smash, Cranberry Road, Strawberry Magic and Royal Blueberry hard ciders, which our loyal customers love, so we decided to take a walk on the wild side and add Blackberry Wild to our family.”
Making Blackberry Wild
Ciderboys Cider Co.’s unique “fruitful pairings,” blend unexpected fresh fruit flavors with the crisp taste of apple cider, and that’s the recipe for Blackberry Wild, too.
Chief Cidermaker Gabe Hopkins and his team blend pure blackberry juice at the fermentation stage and add more just before packaging. The flavor result is sweetness with a layer of tartness, according to Gabe.
“One very nice thing about Blackberry Wild is that when you open a bottle or pour a glass, it floods the room with a pleasant blackberry aroma,” he said. “When you taste it, you’ll get blackberry on the front of the pallet, and then it finishes with crisp, tart apple cider.”
Ciderboys Cider Co.
Ciderboys Cider Co.’s unique “fruitful pairings” blend unexpected fresh fruit flavors with the crisp taste of apple cider. A subsidiary of the Stevens Point Brewery, the Ciderboys Cider Co. makes its carbonated hard ciders with natural fruit and apple juice from fresh Washington State apples. The apple juice is heated to pasteurize it then fermented at cool temperatures in shining stainless steel tanks.
Ciderboys is fermented with a hard-cider yeast imported from France, where hard ciders have quenched thirsts since the Middle Ages. The fermentation process is cool and slow, and takes approximately two weeks per batch. Once fermentation is complete, the cider runs through a filtration process that renders a clear, sparkling liquid. No sugar is added to Ciderboys products, which are naturally gluten free.
In addition to new Blackberry Wild, the Ciderboys family includes First Press, a year-round traditional hard cider; Strawberry Magic, a combination of fresh strawberries and cider that is also available year-round; summer seasonals Peach County, a pleasing blend of peaches and apples, Pineapple Hula, which pairs fresh Hawaiian pineapple with cider, and Royal Blueberry, made with blue sky blueberries; spring seasonal Raspberry Smash, a fruitful pairing of crisp apple cider with tart raspberries; Cranberry Road, an inspired pairing of apple cider with cranberries for the fall; and winter seasonals Mad Bark, spiced with cinnamon, and Grand Mimosa, made with juicy oranges.
For more information and where to find Ciderboys products, visit www.ciderboys.com.