Apples for Adults | In the Cups

Crisp, flavorful apples are one of the best parts of Fall. Picked from orchards, baked into pies and cakes, or sliced with cheese, we’ll take it all. But one of our favorite ways to enjoy apples is fermented and with a kick. Colorado local ciders range from crisp to sweet, made with pure apples or blended with other fruit, and there are plenty of craft options from skilled cideries.

We’ve listed autumn-appropriate options from three of Boulder County’s most well known cideries and from one cidery that requires a road trip. Then we finished it off with our favorite apple-based winter warmer, that’s also made in the state.

St. Vrain Cidery
350 Terry St. #130, Longmont

St. Vrain Cidery has been operating out of a taproom and production facility just off of an Alley in Terry Street since 2016. Enjoy their ciders in their taproom, or find it at select restaurants or in liquor stores.

Ginger cider – Dry but with a kick of ginger, it’s tart, refreshing and citrusy. Perfect for those fall days that still feel like summer.
Gingerbread – Showing off the sweeter side of ginger, this is the cider to turn to when the weather cools. With cinnamon and dark sugars, it’s less refreshing, more apple pie.

The Old Mine
500 Briggs Street, Erie
4035 NE County Line Rd, Erie

With two taprooms both based in Erie, The Old Mine is a locals favorite. The main location includes a full menu and is packed with families and parents during farmer’s markets, parades and other community events. A second, adults-only location called The Factory, opened a few blocks away next to it’s production facility for imbibers who want a quieter night out.

Handlebar Cider – The Old Mine’s flagship cider is on the sweeter side, but still offers crisp, refreshing flavor. It also works well blended with other cider flavors, with dark beer, with kombucha or in cocktails.
Dry Hopped Vanilla Colorado Sunshine – A lighter, more refreshing version of the Cidery’s original.
Vanilla Bourbon – This is the cider version of a winter warmer. It’s the Old Mine’s Handlebar cider, aged in Bourbon Barrels with Vanilla.

Acreage by Stem Ciders
1380 Horizon Ave., Lafayette

Cider makers don’t get any larger than Stem Ciders. With a full menu and an uplifted outdoor town that boasts a bonfire, playground and elevated views of Lafayette, it’s a place families and singles can relax with friends. If you can’t get to their taproom and production facility, their cider is packaged and widely available

Off Dry – This is stem’s pure take on hard cider. No fruit additions, just fresh pressed apple juice that’s fermented. It will please drinkers who like their cider on the sweeter side but not cloying.
LaChene– Stem has pressed juice from four carefully selected varietals including the Jonathan heirloom apple. It’s fermented dry and aged in charred red wine barrels for 2 years. It’s dry, complex and interesting.
Pommeau – Apple-based dessert wine, originally made in France from fermented apple juice and apple brandy. If you’re trying it for the first time, expect tastes of baked apple, winter spice and brown sugar and a warm, alcohol-laden finish.

Big B’s
39126 Highway 133, Hotchkiss

Though many front range drinkers know Big Bs for it’s juice, including ciders, it’s production facility and taproom site is a satisfying Fall road trip destination for hard cider lovers. The taproom is accompanied by a farm store, restaurant with a full menu, a performance stage for musical acts, u-pick orchards, and camping sites located right in the orchard.

Harvest Cider – A semi-sweet cider made with fresh pressed, organic apples. It’s a traditionally classic approach to hard cider.
Grizzly Brand – Bourbon Barrel Aged Hard cider is unfiltered and bottle conditioned, with a combination of bourbon, apple, wood and vanilla.

Spirit Hound Distillers
4196 Ute Highway, Lyons 

Boulder County is lucky enough to have proximity to this award winning distiller, located just outside of downtown Lyons. Though the company just expanded into Denver, we have a preference for the original location with has been newly renovated with expanded seating.

Bourbon and warm, Big Bs non alcoholic cider – Bourbon and fruit are a winning combination perfect for the cooler fall season. We’ve found that warming high-quality, rich apple cider and adding a shot of smooth bourbon is simple and ideal. Spirit Hound’s Bourbon was made in a copper still and aged on American oak It goes perfectly with a nonalcoholic cider, no need to add anything else or use a hard cider.It’s dessert in a glass.