Canadian Ciders for the Holidays
December 21, 2020
Cider Summit Chicago Goes Virtual
December 30, 2020
Written by Lauren (@Laurinwanderland)
Ten Towers Cider is a cidery in Rickreall, Oregon owned and made by John Kruger. One of my most favorite aspects of cider is the makers and their stories, and I was blessed to talk with John for a bit. Here’s his story followed with my tasting reviews—
John began his conquest in the beverage industry in 1988 by home brewing beer, not aided by any formal education and without help from the internet. He worked at the correctional facility as a full-time officer, but still he dreamed of eventually becoming a brewmaster. As time went by, more and more microbreweries were making waves in Oregon. He sought to be different, yet not to be deterred from his beverage-making dreams. John’s family had been pressing apple juice in their home since 1972, so he took to experimenting with what he had and even was able to find a great educational book, “Cider”, in a local homebrew shop in Oregon to help him learn.
Fast forward to 2017, John was at Salem, Oregon’s local cider shop, 1859, and struck up a conversation with the owner, Patricia, about apples and cider. She encouraged him to take his homemade ciders to Steve at Eola Hills Winery for taste testing and feedback. John did just that, with little hopes for a good review and expectations of lots of feedback for improvements. Except, it didn’t go as expected—Steve told him it was commercial quality cider with only one slight flaw he could smell. This was the confidence boost John needed, and in the later part of 2017, with the help of NW Cider association, plans were made to create his cider company.
In 2018, Ten Towers Cider was born. After 20 years of working in a prison surrounded by 10 towers, the name just stuck and provided a great backstory. John spends a lot of time going from store to store, personally handing out samples and opening new accounts. Earlier this year, a wine distributor, NW Negociant Project, picked up Ten Towers and has been distributing it all over Oregon, rapidly growing the business. Now, John is in search of bottling and canning equipment to begin distributing to a larger portion of the PNW region and beyond.
My Ten Towers Cider Review
Voodoo Lady is a 5.8% ABV semi-sweet, golden pour. She’s made with one of my favorite apples, Pink Lady, balancing her out with a tart and semi-sweet, clean taste.
Gravita is a 6.3% ABV semi-dry, golden pour made from Northwest apples. She’s an aromatic cider that’s dry and slightly tart with a hit of funk.
Soulless Pear is a 5.8% ABV pale pour made with a combination of Northwest pears, Northwest apples and ginger. Very aromatic from the ginger—pungent and warm, yet contains light pear notes. She’s a semi-sweet cider, lightly carbonated and what I believe makes her a good cider is the balance. This cider is well balanced between the apple and pear flavors with the bite and sweetness from the ginger.
Southern Belle is a 5.8% ABV cider-tea infusion made with Northwest apples and peach tea. It’s a deep golden pour, slightly hazy and lightly carbonated. It’s a semi-dry cider with botanical and light peach aromatics. Upon tasting, it’s slightly tart and the peach tea flavor really sets in on my tastebuds after the drink is swallowed. This is my first tea-infused cider I have tried, and it won’t be my last. I’m sure John has more tea-infused beverage ideas.
The only cider thus far in the line-up I am missing is Shakti. John was experimenting with some new batches of Chai Tea when I reached out to him after not being able to find it. I look forward to trying another tea-infused cider, as I hear great things about this one.