Located in New Paltz, in the Hudson Valley, Brooklyn Cider House was founded in 2014 by siblings Peter Yi and Susan Yi. The were originally located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, making boutique, nano-batch ciders, and had a small restaurant. In 2015 they acquired the Twin Star Orchards, and began revitalizing the orchard and farm. It was then that they moved all operations to the Hudson Valley. They built a cidery, tasting room, farm store, and pond-side pavilion. Their award-winning ciders can be enjoyed throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC and Florida.
Paige Firori introduced me to their ciders back in the day when you could only buy a single bottle, usually tagged, not labeled back then. It was amazing. Today, Brooklyn Cider House comes in cans, and they are killing it. Among one of the best cider producers in the valley. I recently taught a class at Hudson Valley Community College on cider and apple brandy and applejack. Of course, one of the ciders I included was from Brooklyn Cider House.
Brooklyn Cider House Half Sour is one of their flagship offerings. It is made from a blend of Winesap, Esopus Spitzenburg, and Rhode Island Greening apples. This fizzy, off-dry cider, offers a lovely big dose of lemon citrus zippiness, balanced with a kind of pickled, salinity. The nose starts off with a floral touch, , with notes of Granny Smith green apples, and a hint of honey. It leaves a nice big clean pop at the end. A terrific food pairing cider, perfect for roasted chicken, porch chops, a green salad, or salmon or sushi.
Brooklyn Cider House Half Sour is a fantastic cider, unique but absolutely a terrific accompaniment to food or just drinking it straight by a camp fire or a poolside. But it absolutely is one of my favorite food ciders.