Willie Smiths Blog

The largest organic apple orchard in Australia and the makers of both Willie Smiths Organic Apple cider and Stonehouse Craft Cider. Located in Huon, Tasmania.

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Tasmanian Regions - November 2013

Simon de Salis wrote a great article about the evolution of the Tasmanian apple industry and the move toward cider production. The ciders of the Huon Valley, a traditional apple growing region were featured in this informative article including Red Sails, Franks, Lost Pippen and ourselves. Vive la cidre!

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Sydney Craft Beer Week - Tasmanian Providore Lunch

During Sydney Craft beer week we teamed up with our mates at the Royal Albert Hotel in Surry Hills and Moo Brew to put together a Tassie Providore luncheon where we launched our Whisky Aged Cider.

Was a great lunch that also included Mt Gnomon pork and Spring Bay Mussels. 

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Willie Smiths Limited Release Lark Distillery Whisky Aged Cider: 9.9% ABV

Collaborating with Bill at Lark Distillery, we have launched Australia's first Whisky Aged cider. It sat in Lark Distillery 100L casks for 7 months before we bottled a limited release of 888 bottles of this amazing liquid.

Tasting Notes: 

Strong speyside whisky aroma’s upfront, it has soft, delicate apple on the front palette with a hint of sweetness coming from the beautiful blend between the apple and whisky. Through the mid palate the oak starts to make an appearance and continues to build towards the back palate with a dry oaky tannin structure to finish off. Despite its relatively high alcohol it remains balanced throughout and is never overpowering the drink. 

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Willie Smiths BONE DRY Organic Cider: 6.9% ABV

We launched another cider based on our trip to France and the UK and trying to go the more traditional 'real cider' direction vs sweet & fruity.

Tasting Notes:

Willie Smiths Bone Dry is an English style cider, inspired by Rowl & Sam’s visit to Somerset & Herefordshire in summer 2013. Fermented out to dry, it is oak aged and vat conditioned for 3 months giving a super dry flavour profile with a smooth clean finish.

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European Cider Tour

Anna, Sam & Rowl were lucky enough to go on a cider tasting adventure in Normandie, the Basque Region and Somerset and Herefordshire in June 2013. It was a research trip with the aim of experiencing the many different regions and styles of cider in Europe and hopefully learn something that could help us improve our cider when we cam home. 

We met an incredible amount of people who were so open and friendly, and we were truly humbled by how open and willing people in the industry were to share their time and knowledge with us. Watch this space for some further developments based on our cider tour.

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Country Style Magazine - June 2013

Andrew, Ellie and the family were featured in a great expose about living on the farm in the Huon Valley. Some great pics and Harry & Ruby always seem to be on their best behavior when the camera is out! ;-)

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Gourmet Traveller Hot 100 2013

We were excited to get a mention in Gourmet Traveller's Hot 100 things to do in 2013, and the most exciting thing is that they are right! There is so much boutique / craft alcohol production happening down here right now that in one day you can visit a brewery, distillery, winery and cidery which sounds like a pretty good day to us!

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2013/4/the-hot-100-2013,-1-25/

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ABC Radio: Bush Telegraph Interview

Margot Foster from ABC Bush Telegraph came down last week and did a great interview following the apple from the tree to the bottle. You can listen to it at this link.

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Our Latest Review by the Global Playbook

We think Kenny has hit the nail on the head when he says that our cider is 'Not for Everyone'

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The Premier Lara Giddings visited the farm today to announce a $70,000 grant to expand our production facilities.

Amazing recognition of the job we are doing for Tassie and the apple industry in such a short period of time which we are very proud of.

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Epicure Review: Top 5 Australian Ciders

We were written up by Jane Faulkner in Epicure as one of Australia's top 5 ciders. Humbled and honored to be mentioned alongside some other great Australian ciders!

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Our first Festivale in Launceston

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Photos from our Melbourne Launch at the Local Taphouse

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We had some special guests at Farmgate Market today

They haven't got a name yet but they made great use of the Willie Wagon!

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Our first and most exciting review

So along comes another Tasmanian cider hailing from the Huon Valley, located just 35 minutes from Hobart (Tasmania’s capital). But this little cider is different and when I mean different I mean in a very good way. It boasts four generations of apple growing history, it’s made entirely with organic fruit and is made replicating the methods of traditional Normandy cider. Willie Smith’s Organic Apple Cider was founded by apple grower Andrew Smith and Sam Reid a former Marketing Manager at drinks giant Diageo. The Huon Valley is fast becoming cider country in Australia with superior apples growing in perfect conditions. Couple this superior fruit with a producer like Willie Smith’s who are willing to push the boundaries of style, and then you have a cider revolution. What do I mean by revolution you ask? I’ll explain a little later, but I am really excited by this cider and excited to what the future holds for this company.

The Willie Smith’s Organic Cider is made using an arsenal of methods which only aid in strengthening the complexity and originality of the product. The apples are milled and pressed with the juice left to oxidise (which is a common technique to gain colour and minimise harsh tannins). Cold fermentation is in stainless steel tanks using white wine yeasts which usually have higher alcohol tolerances and are more often than not powerful fermenters – such as EC1118. I was surprised by the cultured yeast choice, as using wild yeast (or wild ferment) is a very traditional technique in Normandy. Post ferment, portions are divided into brand new French oak (which impart wood tannin structure and complexity), with the rest being able to undergo malo-lactic fermentation. What fermentation you say!!?? Malo-lactic fermentation (or MLF) which is most commonly found in wine is very and I mean very, uncommon in Australian ciders. It’s considered a ‘secondary’ fermentation, which converts malic acid - which is very sharp and found in copious amount in apples, to lactic acid which is much softer. Hence it leaves a softer mouth-feel on the palate. It also gives off some buttery/creamy or diacetyl characters in the cider, aiding in complexity. After six months, all the differing components are blended together, with the cider sweetened up with fresh natural juice and NOT concentrate and carbonated in bottle.

Now all these processes and procedures really do amount to an amazing product, with tonnes of complexity and originality. Revolution? I think so! The term ‘real cider’ is getting thrown around fairly loosely right now on products which don’t warrant the privilege. Willie Smith’s Organic Cider however can proudly wear this ‘real cider’ badge with honour, as this is truly the future of Australian cider.

The immediate thing you’ll notice about this cider is the classy and very informative label. It’s beautifully presented with no flashy gimmicks, whilst proudly displaying its organic heritage. The cider pours a deep cloudy golden orange with a light, but persistent carbonation bead. The nose is just layer upon layer of complexity and excitement. Were do I begin? Juicy apple characters along with orangey citrus notes of guava, grapefruit and tangerine all burst out at you. There is a nice level of wood integration too which is by no means overpowering or domineering. Other lovely aromas consist of fresh pears, ginger spice and apple/cinnamon pie. You’ll also find hints of an earthy mould which compliments all the fresh, ripe fruit aromas. This is a serious nose, and continues to open up its secrets as each minute goes by.

The palate was just as exciting and full of little surprises which make you sit back and go ‘Ahhhh’. I was expecting to see a real thick and rich palate but was surprised to see that the mouth-feel was actually quite light. The whole palate feel did seem just a little watery, but this is not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination. There was no real bitterness to speak of, but a tiny bit of textural astringency did shine through. The balance between the carbonation, sweetness and acidity was really good, with the acid levels being a little lower to what I am used to. The alcohol (at 5.4 per cent) gave off a little heat on the back palate too. I can only really describe this palate as biting into a juicy apple. This sweetness, combined with the acidity and long apple length all united to make this a truly wonderful experience. There is also some lovely creaminess and woodiness which round out the palate quite nicely. This is seriously delicious, attractive and innovative.

Well what can I say? This cider is made to emulate the traditions of Normandy, and I think its hit the nail on the head. I will go out on a limb here and say that nine times out of ten you would easily mistake this for a traditional Norman cider. I would also describe this cider as being a traditional farmhouse, but with a contemporary edge. It is flavoursome, it makes you think when you drink it and it’s perfectly made. It has been made by intelligent people. This would have to be the finest farmhouse cider in Tasmania currently, and I can’t see it being knocked off this mantle any time soon. Congratulations Willie Smith’s on bucking the trend, and making cider which pays justice to not only the apple, but also to the consumer. At the end of the day, the consumers are the real winners here. Pure Australian (and Tasmanian) magic

Rating: 10 out of 10

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We are proud to say that Andrew was named as one of the top 10 Tasmanian Innovators of 2012

Great recognition for his ability to find ways of doing things differently and better!