Q&A: Talking Cider with Aiyana Knauer
If youâre a fan of craft beers, spirits and wines, then itâs likely youâve crossed paths with ciders as well. Cider is experiencing a renaissance of its own, with new cideryâs popping up left and right, bars and restaurants expanding their cider lists considerably, and establishments â like Wassail in NYC â now opening that are cider-focused. And that doesnât even touch on all the cheesemakers who are making cider-washed cheeses, a traditional method which has seen a growth in popularity in parallel with the rise of cider (you can read about cider-washed cheeses in my âbooze-washed cheesesâ story for Edible Brooklyn). Â
One of my go-to cider gurus is Aiyana Knauer, Specialty Beer & Cider Representative at Union Beer Distributors. I first met Aiyana when she was the beer buyer at Stinky Brooklyn, before sheâd moved on to UBD. Sheâd always been someone with the deep cuts on hops and bretts, saisons and stouts, but with her new position sheâs become particularly knowledgeable on the finer points of all things cider. As someone who for a long time worked in cheese shops, with cheesemakers and affineurs, and at the intersection of beverages and curds, sheâs also well versed in cider and cheese pairing.
In this Q&A we talk the differences between the cider and cheese worlds, new cideryâs to keep an eye out for, top pairings for cider and cheeses and much more!
Q. What was your path to cider?
Iâve worked with specialty food and beverage for about seven years in many different capacities: holding tastings, writing pairings for magazines, cheesemongering, beer-buying, teaching classes about alcohol and cheese parings, consulting for affineurs by way of recommending different alcohols to wash cheeses in. Last April, Union Beer Distributors hired me to represent their small, generally esoteric, artisanal cider producers. This year, I also am working with our small, generally esoteric, artisanal breweries.
Q. How is the cider/beer world different from the cheese world?
There are two primary differences Iâve noticed, at least within the local region:
One, the alcohol industry is massively male-dominated. I mean massively. The cider world on its own has a very heavy female presence and has lots of awesome women who make, drink, and promote cider, but itâs ultimately part of a larger industry that is overwhelmingly male. Iâm usually the only industry woman, or maybe one of three at the most, at the majority of the beer events I go to. I really miss working with women. Our periods sync up and everything!
Two, folks in the domestic cider and cheese world seem to care more about environmental sustainability than those who are squarely in the beer world. As an artisanal cheesemaker or orchard-based cidermaker (i.e. one who grows their own cider apples), you have the most intimate connection to raw, unprocessed material. As a brewer - on nearly every scale, from industrial to nano-sized - on a daily level youâre usually working with grain that is already malted or roasted, and hops that are dried or in pellet form. Sometimes youâll have fresh hops, but thatâs impossible to sustain year-round. You choose the processed materials that you are working with. If you need to, you can change them.
Of course there are some exceptions to this within beer, and there are in fact many breweries that are committed to sustainability, but this is still fairly standard. Small cheesemakers, dairy farmers, and orchard-based cidermakers donât have the luxury of simply switching up ingredients to find something better or something that can substitute in a pinch. Youâre stuck with the milk, the land, the fruit, the harvest, etc., and not only is that all reflected in the end product, you canât just change it next week if something goes awry. Itâs your responsibility, if you want to make amazing things, to ensure that you can do so with the highest quality ingredients and in such a manner that can be maintained.
Q. Which ciders should we be looking out for in 2016? any new makers or new ciders youâre particularly excited about? Â
Farnum Hill, who are the true OGs of the American cider world, recently released a fantastic dry Perry (pear cider), and will soon be releasing their Kingston Black, which is a single-varietal cider that is always highly anticipated. But I think their Extra-Dry, which is always available, is really one of the best American ciders, period.
Oyster River is a new winery, vineyard, and orchard thatâs very committed to organic, old-school, pre-industrialization techniques. They plow the fields with horses. I really enjoyed their pet nat, Morphos, and the Hoboken Station cider. Particularly since they grow some of their own fruit, itâll be interesting to see what their wines/ciders taste like further down the road when they have higher yields and when the vines and trees have been influenced more by the climate and land.
Black Duck and Urban Farm Fermentory are also two new Northeast cideries who are making interesting stuff.
Q. Any bars or restaurants that you recommend for having standout cider lists?
If I include descriptions itâll take up too much space, so here are some places based on either draft offerings or extensive bottle selection: Wassail, Cooperâs Craft & Kitchen on 8th Ave, Jimmyâs No. 43, Broadway Dive, The Ginger Man, Gramercy Tavern, The Owl Farm, Delaware and Hudson, The Pines, Covenhoven, The Queens Kickshaw.
(Wassailâs âNorman Holeâ, aka apple sorbet with Calvados, pictured below)
Q. What are the challenges of pairing cider with cheese, compared to beer or wine?
The main challenge is the acidity of certain ciders, but I really believe that cider is the best libation to pair with cheese. Itâs incredibly nuanced and complex, but far less cloying on the palate than wine or beer. Of course, thatâs not to say that you canât have magical cheese pairings with other alcohols, but cider is far more versatile. Itâs my favorite to do pairings with.
Q. Can you give us some cider and cheese pairings?
Normandy ciders with Normandy cheeses - like Etienne Dupont Bouche Brut with a nice ripe Camembert or Pont l'Eveque.
Basque and Asturian ciders with Basque and Asturian cheeses. Only the volatile acidity of a Spanish cider can match the intensity of a strong, aged Spanish cheese. Thatâs the beauty of Old World ciders (and wines!) - so easy to do pairings by region.
A bright, acidic cider like Farnum Hill Extra-Dry with young goat cheeses, such as various Loire valley imports (if only they were raw!), or domestic goat cheeses like Cremont. This cider also goes well with higher-fat, mixed milk cheeses such as anything from Caseificio dell'Alta Langa, or maybe a ripe piece of Kunik from Nettle Meadow.
I also think Pommeau - that is, a blend of Calvados with fresh, unfermented (or just barely fermented) cider - is a great pairing with blue cheese, taking the place traditionally occupied by a Madeira or Port. Pommeau pairs with a wide range of blue cheeses, from something as sweet and rich as Willi Schmidâs Jersey Blue, to something spicy and robust like Rogue Creameryâs Caveman Blue or a French Roquefort.
Q. Bonus question: When youâre not slinging ciders, you give stick-and-poke tattoos (@littlepokes); have you done any cider-themed inkings?
I wish! Iâve given a 40 oz malt liquor tattoo. Close, but no cigar.
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