I just tried Reverend Nat's Hard Cider this month at Summer Cider Day here in Port Townsend, WA, and I have to say I'm hooked! The Passion with passion fruit, vanilla, and coconut was so amazing! (It's a seasonal flavor, so keep a look out for it next summer). I wanted to know more about the person behind these complex, and unusually flavored ciders (the other two I tried were fantastic, as well), thus the idea to ask the maker for an interview was born.
Reverend Nat is Nat West. Yep, he is actually ordained (which happened so he could marry some friends). He became so passionate talking about, and promoting cider (and he was technically a minster after all) that Reverend Nat's Hard Cider came to be the name for his ciders. Read on to learn more about the man behind the cider. his thoughts on cider making books, cider making styles, and more.
Victoria Cooksey: On your website you mention having the largest cider book library in Portland. What are your top 3 fav cider books in the collection, and why?
Nat West: “The Apples of New York” by Beach, a first edition copy from 1905, both volumes. I love this set because of the fantastic color illustrations of long-forgotten apple varieties.
Also, “For the Love of Hops” by Stan Hieronymus. I’m a big hop head and love using hops in cider. There’s such a dearth of information on hops in cider so I have to use the beer works to learn.
I also really love James Crowden’s “Ciderland”. It is a beautiful set of vignettes about traditional cideries in England. He paints such wonderful pictures that anyone reading the book is undeniably drawn to visit that area.
VC: What core ingredients must be present for a cider to be considered a cider.
NW: Fermented pure/fresh apple juice. You cannot use apple juice concentrate or sugar or water and call it a cider, even though that is allowed in the US.
VC: What forgotten cider making styles do you currently incorporate into your cider making? Have you created some styles of your own?
NW: Ciderkin, and boiled cider are two styles I’ve dug up and used with great effect. I make a ciderkin blended with traditional cider for a local restaurant and it goes really well with Spanish-style tapas.
VC: Do sour beer making styles like gose influence your cider making?
NW: Gose is one of my favorite styles of beer, due in large part to the acidic, palate-cleansing nature of the drink. I don’t do much in the way of souring per se, although I do get some souring in some of my barrel aged offerings.
VC: When it comes to yeast are you currently into wild, cultivated, or a combination, and what determines which one to use?
NW: I do a small amount of wild fermentation, primarily Tepache (fermented pineapples). Other than that, I stick to exclusively beer yeasts. I don’t use any white wine/champagne yeasts anywhere in any product. Beer yeasts contribute such a wide range of flavors that so I’m always excited to add more flavor to my ciders.
VC: What ingredients, if any, do you consider to be off limits when it comes to cider making.
NW: None.
VC: What is your dream ingredient to use in cider that you haven’t been able to use yet?
NW: Gold flakes, ash from Mount St Helens, rocks, lots of saffron threads.
VC: Any failed experiments? What did you learn from them?
NW: See https://untappd.com/b/reverend-nat-s-hard-cider-angel-of-death/846818 and https://untappd.com/b/reverend-nat-s-hard-cider-kumiss-mongolian-milkwine/1128069
VC: How would you compare the US cider making movement to ciders made in Europe?
NW: Like most differences between the US and Europe, we are experimentalists and not afraid to fail. So our cidermaking style knows no bounds and tends not to follow any rules. Thankfully our customers are along for the ride and embrace new ideas.
VC: When your home do you drink beer, or wine? What are your preferred styles?
NW: I drink 95% beer, the rest cider, strongly skewed towards my own ciders traditional European styles.
Pictured below is my favorite, The Passion. Love it!!!
Look for Reverend Nat's tap room at 1813 NE 2nd Avenue, Portland, OR, and keep an eye out for them at cider events too!!
Reverend Nat's Hard Cider:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/revnatscider/?fref=ts
Website: http://reverendnatshardcider.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revnatscider/?hl=en
NW Cider events: https://www.facebook.com/nwcider/
Victoria Cooksey:
Check out my cooking, baking, wine, and fine chocolate review videos at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en
My fine chocolate bar review blog: http://darkmattersfinechocolatereviews.blogspot.com/
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