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.

The post Apples for Adults | In the Cups appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Relief from the hot days here often comes in a glass. Enter – the cider slushie. While the other “slushie” was a gas station item meant just for children, the adults are getting in on the fun.

It’s best to experience the cider slushie in a cidery, surrounded by experts in the field and with socially distanced cider fans. Cideries are meeting the demand and marketing their new drink to the masses. Patios grew to accommodate singles and families, and restaurants entice us with a lush slice of cider heaven. If you don’t have time to sit, just get one to go. 

Local restaurant staffers agree this trend is on target. “The slushies are extremely popular here, especially with how hot it has been. Who doesn’t love a good frozen drink?” Sara Timmer from Stem Ciders asks. 

“If you take a look at our Instagram, you can see how excited our guests get for a new slushie. Aside from releasing a new cider, slushie posts usually get the most traction. It helps that they are quite vibrant and beautiful as well.”

Indeed, the colors pop on social media as much as the flavor does in real life. Stem Ciders offers a Watermelon Lime Basil Slushie, with more in the pipeline.

In Longmont, another cidery has entered the slushie dialogue. The more the better.

With stone fruit season in full swing, the St. Vrain Cidery in historic downtown Longmont has blended a Colorado Peach Slushie with their dry ginger cider. It’s a perfect tonic for warm evenings on the porch or on St. Vrain Cidery’s own patio. They also sell the Berry Cherry Freeze, which is a berry blend mixed with a dry chokeberry cider. 

“They have definitely been a fun item to have on the taproom and perfect for the ninety plus degree days,” Jordan Lind with St. Vrain Cidery says. He reminds guests that the slushies are seasonal and are prepared for dine-in customers right now.

With dozens of cider blends on tap at local cideries, the possibilities are endless. There are options for all cider fans, such as stone fruit, herbs, spices, floral, and citrus flavors. They are evocative notes of childhood, fun, and comfort. Maybe it’s the tonic we didn’t know we needed. 

We think the adults are gonna be alright, thanks to the power of cider and ice.  

The post Cider Slushies appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.