Bushwhacker and Finnriver Farm & Cidery to Host Winter Showcase of Award Winning Lineup

Portland, ORBushwhacker Cidery is pleased to host Finnriver Farm & Cidery for a winter showcase of their fantastic lineup of ciders and apple brandy fruit wines on Thursday, November 21st. Located on the wild and rural Olympic Peninsula in Washington, Finnriver has a more diverse lineup than just about any other cidery and for one night you can indulge in a glorious assortment of beverages for cider and fruit lovers as well as take bottles and chocolates home for yourself or as gifts.

Finnriver’s lovely Jana Daisy-Ensign will be at Bushwhacker and able to answer any question about Finnriver’s extroardinary lineup while offering free samples from the bottles of their rare Artisan champagne style cider, port-style apple wine and apple brandy fruit wines. Meanwhile at the bar, Bushwhacker will have all 8 taps taken over by their ciders. These include the popular sparkling ciders from their regular lineup, limited releases and seasonal releases from their botanically infused line.

Vanessa of Smitten: Artisan Truffles is handcrafting custom chocolate “cordial cups” as an optional serving vessel for the Finnriver port-style and apple brandy fruit wines. She is also experimenting using Finnriver’s apple brandy fruit wines in chocolate truffles that will be for sale at the event.

There is no cost for this event and sampling is free. We encourage everyone to consider purchasing bottles or chocolates for home or as gifts for the holidays!

DRAFT:

Dry Hopped Cider

Bright cider, made with heirloom and organic dessert apples, blended with the bold citrus tang of organic Cascade hops. Some say it’s like sipping a meadow; some say it’s like chewing on grass. A hopped adventure.

Alcohol content 6.5%. Dry.

Sparkling Pear Cider

Enjoy the brightness of this cider, made from heirloom and organic dessert apples, blended with the elegant sweetness and subtle delights of organic pear. A timeless taste of the orchard.

Alcohol content 6.5%. Semi-sweet.

Sparkling Black Currant Cider

A light, lovely cider, with a purple blush, that blends heirloom and organic dessert apples with the tart mysteries of organic black currant. Immensely drinkable.

Alcohol content 6.5%. Semi-sweet.

Fire Barrel Cider

Finnriver is honored to present master cidermaker Drew Zimemrman’s award-winning Fire Barrel cider. Pressed from traditional bittersweet apples and aged in fire charred Kentucky bourbon barrels, this full-flavored cider offers a hint of whiskey, oak aroma, notes of caramel and vanilla, a lingering soft tannin finish.

Drew’s passion for cider helped ignite the cider rennaissance in the Pacific Northwest and now, here at Finnriver, we are grateful for his mentorship as we strive to carry on a rooted cider tradition.

Made with a seasonal blend of heirloom and traditional cider apples.

Alcohol content 6.59%. Limited Release.

Habanero Cider

This Habanero cider was inspired by the quest for something strange and a hankering for heat during the Strange Brew Fest that happened last winter in Port Townsend. Cidermaker Chris Weir, a man who likes his spice, surprised us one day by soaking chili peppers in cider and making it taste delicious! The combination of chili heat and tart apple, mellowed by a dash of sweet, offers a memorable fermented adventure. We encourage you to enjoy this strange and wonderful cider in any latitude with rice and beans, fish tacos, mole enchiladas, burritos of all kinds, or just a crackling bowl of chips and salsa. Made with a blend or organic Washington apples and habanero chilies. Spicy & Semi-Sweet. 22 oz. 6.9% abv.

Forest Ginger

Our Fall seasonal cider in the Elijah Swan series. This year, we added ginger to the fir mix to make Forest Ginger. The fir tips are collected from right here on the farm from evergreen trees on the land (90% Douglas Fir & 10% Grand Fir) and then the needles are steeped in the cider, along with a heap of organic ginger, for about a week and then strained, carbonated and bottled. The cider was also sweetened a bit with organic cane sugar. This cider tastes like a walk in the woods with a warm ginger heat added for a lovely taste of Fall flavors. 500ml 6.9% abv.

Cranberry Rosehip

Finnriver’s seasonal Cranberry Rosehip cider blends a lively fermented apple base with tart, transitional organic cranberries and wildcrafted rosehips from the Olympic Peninsula. Celebrate the season with the succulent herbal notes and crimson color of this semi-sweet craft cider. 500ml 6.9% abv.

Mystery Draft Cider!

TBA

BOTTLES:

Artisan Champagne Style Sparkling Cider

Crafted using the traditional, labor-intensive méthode champenoise, this bright, naturally carbonated brut champagne-style cider offers an effervescent apple bouquet, tart elements of the orchard, and a crisp, clean finish. To make this cider, we learned old world methods of secondary fermentation in the bottle that require daily hand turning of each bottle on wooden riddling racks (constructed by our boat-building neighbor Pete), and then disgorging residual yeast sediment one bottle at a time. This is ‘slow cider’ that results in golden clarity and enduring bubbles in every glass. A unqiue alternative to champagne that features Washington organic dessert apples at their most sparkling! 8% abv.

ACCOLADES

Double Gold Medal, 2011 Seattle Wine Awards.

Silver Medal, 2011 Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition.

Silver Medal, 2011 Northwest Wine Summit.

‘American Champagne Toast,’ 2012 Good Food Awards

Silver Medal, 2013 Seattle Wine Awards

‘Best of the Northwest, Dry Cider,’ 2013 SIP Magazine

Port-style Spirited Apple Wine

The wholesome apple may surprise you with the sultry side revealed in this sumptuous spirited apple wine, handcrafted on our Olympic Peninsula family farm. After fermenting the fruit, we capture the tantalizing sweetness of the apples by fortifying with custom-distilled apple brandy. May this bottle of Finnriver Spirited Apple Wine bring you warmth and good cheer. Alcohol content 18.5%

Our Spirited Apple Wine won a Bronze Medal from the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition.

Pear Apple Brandy Wine

We believe there is an alchemy to making a fine fermented drink. First, sun, rain and soil work earthly magic to produce fruits full of possibilities. Then we handcraft our fruit wines by pressing, fermenting, and blending with apple brandy to bring forth the vital flavors of the fruit. We call these wines “fruit for grown-ups.” Enjoy sipped, as a sweet complement to dessert or as dessert itself! Alcohol content 18.5%

Black Currant Apple Brandy Wine

We believe there is an alchemy to making a fine fermented drink. First, sun, rain and soil work earthly magic to produce fruits full of possibilities. Then we handcraft our fruit wines by pressing, fermenting, and blending with apple brandy to bring forth the vital flavors of the fruit. We call these wines “fruit for grown-ups.” Enjoy sipped, as a sweet complement to dessert or as dessert itself! Alcohol content 18.5%

Black Currant Wine, Silver Medal from the 2011 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.

Black Currant Wine, Silver Medal from the 2011 Northwest Wine Summit.

Blueberry Apple Brandy Wine

We believe there is an alchemy to making a fine fermented drink. First, sun, rain and soil work earthly magic to produce fruits full of possibilities. Then we handcraft our fruit wines by pressing, fermenting, and blending with apple brandy to bring forth the vital flavors of the fruit. We call these wines “fruit for grown-ups.” Enjoy sipped, as a sweet complement to dessert or as dessert itself! Alcohol content 18.5%

About Finnriver Farm & Cidery

Finnriver Farm & Cidery is an organic family farm and artisan cidery, producing handcrafted hard ciders and fruit wines on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Finnriver ciders offer a tribute to old world tradition while exploring fresh perspectives on the possibility of the fermented apple. We also explore the sophisticated side of the fruit in our sumptuous, brandy fortified fruit wines made with small batch custom distilled apple brandy. http://www.finnriver.com/

About Bushwhacker Cidery

Bushwhacker’s is America’s first urban Cider Pub. Featuring their own inventive housemade, barrel-aged ciders and 8 rotating taps from all over. Bushwhacker also has the largest selection of bottled ciders in the NW at over 280 as well as a friendly pub that is a perfect place to host a game of darts, board games and pointless conversation. http://bushwhackercider.com/