The Art of Barrel Aging

Finnriver Cidermaker Chris Weir has experimented with barrel aging cider for over a decade, starting from his early days at Finnriver. His barrel aging  journey began with Fire Barrel, crafted with a blend of seven cider apple varieties aged in barrels. Finnriver acquired both the original recipe and the trees for this cider in the winter of 2013 from Drew Zimmerman, who was retiring from his Red Barn cider operation in the Skagit Valley. Chris was part of the crew that dug up all 1,000 trees, 19 varieties of cider apples, and then drove them back to Chimacum where they were planted in our current organic orchard (photo at left shows Chris in 2013 with a truckload of the trees they transplanted). This deep-rooted experience has shaped Chris’ expertise and passion for barrel aging and the story has come full circle as Chris is now barrel-aging cider made from those same trees.


After working for Finnriver as a young cidermaker, Chris went to make wine in California for several years before returning to WA to work as a brewer and then head cidermaker for another cider company before returning to Finnriver two years ago. Along the way, he experimented with barrel aging wine, beer and cider. He shares, “Wine is more stable in a barrel since it has a higher ABV. In my experience, cider is the most challenging. With a lower ABV it isn’t as shelf stable and requires a little more babying. We have to check on them regularly and keep them topped off. It is a meticulous process that requires regular monitoring to ensure the cider develops the desired flavors without compromising its stability.” Chris prefers the gradual infusion of flavors from barrel aging over some other methods, like using wood chips. "I like being able to taste it as it ages and remove the oak right when it hits the point I want. It’s a fine line to walk."

"The kind of wood matters," says Chris, highlighting the importance of choosing the right barrels to complement the flavor profile of the cider. “For example, American oak brings more baking spices- clove, cinnamon, and notes of caramel. It’s a bit spicier and a little more bold. French oak is often more delicate, with a honey-like sweetness and a little more of a herbaceous spice. This is all before we even get into the additional complexities you can add when you start playing with different toast and char levels. Right now we are aging some Pommeau on Garry oak, which is super interesting since it has a very distinctive flavor that leans more into dried stone fruit, BBQ smoke, and chocolate. We also have a 10 year old Pommeau in French oak we’ll be releasing in a few months. I love the way different woods interact with different ciders. With the right knowledge and care I feel many ciders can benefit from this process, developing richer and more nuanced flavors.”


This coming September we have two small-batch releases of  Barrel Aged Keeved Perry and Spirited Pear Wine, which are both aged in Westland single malt American oak barrels. These special releases will only be availble to cider club members and in limited quanitites. The upcoming vintage of Black Oak cider will be available to everyone and is a blend, partially aged in American oak barrels and with French oak staves. This results in a complex flavor profile, leaning into the red wine notes Chris aimed to achieve with this vintage. 


We hope you get a chance to try some of these ciders and enjoy exploring the depth and complexity of barrel aging! 

"The kind of wood matters," says Finnriver Cidermaker Chris, highlighting the importance of choosing the right barrels to complement the flavor profile of the cider.

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WORKING WITH BEES

May 1, 2020
We couldn't do it without the bees! According to the Pollinator Partnership, "Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles,, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather and support other wildlife." At Finnriver, our farm and orchard rely on the work of pollinator, whose quest for pollen and nectar helps both feed their families and fertilize the trees. In our orchard, we provide home nests for mason bees, whose particular flight patterns and belly hairs make them very effective and thorough cross-pollinators for our fruit trees. We also have a handful of honey bee hives that promote pollination and make honey for the farmers. As organic farmers, we use an integrated pest management system to target pests and avoid or reduce the impact on pollinators and other beneficial insects, and we work to promote pollinator-friendly practices, such as planting the purple cover crop Phacelia. This wildflower produces lovely foliage topped with deep blue-violet flowers that produce heaps of nectar and attract an array of pollinators. Phacelia's common name is a translation of bienen-freund, German for "bee's friend." How Can You Help? You're helping pollinators by supporting small, local organic farms like Finnriver and all our neighboring farms. Grow your own pesticide-free garden with flowering plants, purchase organic foods and certified organic cotton clothing when you can, buy honey from local beekeepers, engage in citizen science and support legislation that protects pollinators.

BUILDING COMMUNITY WITH FOOD

August 1, 2019
Finnriver Orchard crew member Sam Scheidt and his partner Katelyn Porter were looking for an opportunity to get their hands in the soil, deepen their experience with production vegetable growing, and provide a needed resource for the local food bank. They found the connective tissue for their goals at the Finnriver farm when owner Keith Kisler suggested they dig into some underutilized space near the orchard. With the support of Finnriver, the Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County, Sam and Katelyn began their first growing season this year.  They are currently responding to a need for an intentional grow of greens, lettuces and salad vegetables for the Tri-Area Food Bank in Chimacum. This is different from gleaning unwanted, overripe, or lesser quality foods from farms and supermarkets—how much of the food makes its way to the food bank. Sam and Katelyn feel passionate addressing the divide between people with means and people without means and the land’s capacity to provide for everyone. The same land can and does provide food for the food bank as well as for the Finnriver kitchen Sam says. Vegetables don’t make distinctions based on income and class. Perhaps humans can learn something from that. Either way, Sam is interested in blurring the boundaries, and feels good about all the labor he puts into growing food when he feels it is a needed resource. The food bank and this Finnriver partnership has also provided Sam and Katelyn a relatively low-risk environment to hone their farming knowledge and experiment with what they enjoy growing. Experiences like this can be vitally important and encouraging to young farmers, Sam says. He wants to encourage more farms to partner with newer farmers to better utilize extra space, address challenges of land access, and grow food for everyone in this community that needs it. This food bank garden has been producing a variety of lettuces, kale, collards, cabbages, and summer squash so far. A bounty of onions and winter squash are growing bigger everyday and will supply both the food bank and the Finnriver Kitchen later this fall. Looking toward future seasons, Sam and Katelyn are hopeful to put in more perennial crops like herbs and berries.

PARTNERING WITH THE SUN

July 1, 2019
Finnriver relocated our tasting and tap room in 2016 to a historic dairy farm at the central intersection in the rural community of Chimacum. Our goal was to show how rural economic development, land and resource conservation and sustainable agriculture can all converge and thrive. The old cow feeding trough was converted, using reclaimed barn wood, into a 75 foot long community table and the space covered by an open air pavilion. Alongside the pavilion, we restored an old feeding shed into our cidery tasting and taproom. These and other structures make up the Cider Garden, which looks out over the 50 acres of organic farm and orchard. This Cider Garden has now become an all-ages gathering space, music venue and local food court, offering a welcoming space for neighbors and visitors to gather and reconnect to the land that sustains us. In order to continue the mission of educating and inspiring wise land use, we worked with local renewable energy advocates and Power Trip Energy company to apply for the USDA Rural Energy for America program (REAP). With matching funds from REAP, federal tax credits, support from a Barnraiser crowdfunding campaign and loans, Finnriver was able to install an expandable, grid-tied 65-kilowatt system, using 212 solar panels. These panels cover 3,000 square feet of roof space here at the Cider Garden. Initially, we estimated that it would produce 65,000 kWh of electricity annually which would produce enough electricity to supply more than half of our annual power needs and send green energy back into the grid. After one year in service, the solar panels have in fact produced around 74,500 kwh – which is enough electricity to cover almost 80% of Finnriver’s portion of electricity use at the Cider Garden property. To commemorate this feat, a Sol Mandala was crafted by the ceramic artists at Millbrook Clayworks and with metalwork by Abraxas Crow. It celebrates the generous contributions of supporters of Finnriver’s renewable energy campaign. We recently installed an educational display that will teach visitors about the benefits of renewable energy near our North entrance.  We hope that this renewable energy system will provide a venue to educate our community about the benefits of solar energy and give us an exciting opportunity to 'walk our talk' about sustainability and to showcase how the local food economy can integrate land conservation, renewable energy and watershed restoration!

COLLABORATING WITH PLANTS, BACTERIA AND FUNGI TO CLEAN OUR SOIL

June 1, 2019
That patch of yellow-flowering, wild mustard greens behind the Finnriver Kitchen aren’t just growing tall to look pretty; they’re working hard! Results are in from the first round of testing on our bioremediation project, revealing the decontamination efforts are meeting our goals of clean and healthy soil! The Remediators, one of Finnriver's land partners, took up the task of removing toxic levels of petroleum and lead from an area of the property where farm equipment was historically repaired. A network of specially selected plants, bacteria and fungus (locally sourced willow, rapeseed, PDN-1 bacterial endophytes, and a mushroom strain similar to the edible Stropharia rugoso-anulata) have significantly reduced the high levels of toxins detected on the site since the project began two years ago. In a decontamination method known as the Integrative Biological Approach, mycoremediation and phytoremediation are used in tandem to leverage each organism’s purifying talents. These living beings have proven abilities to grow in contaminated soils and take up or break down petroleum and heavy metals. “By combining this suite of organisms together, they work better than on their own,” said Howard Sprouse, CEO of The Remediators and lead of the project at Finnriver. For example, the chosen fungi strain are able to transform heavy metals into a soluble form that the plants can then take up and store in their tissues. In general, the methods of bioremediation transform toxic organic materials at the molecular level, converting them into more innocuous compounds. While full mineralization of contaminants is desired, it is sometimes not possible, as in the case of heavy metals. In these scenarios, the hyper-accumulating plant material can be removed from the soil and taken elsewhere to decompose. This will be the method utilized at Finnriver. The biomass of the plant and fungal matter will be significantly less than if the contaminated soil were to be removed directly, as is the case in more conventional forms of remediation. In some cases, the plant or fungi material utilized in remediation create useful byproducts, such as bio oils that can be turned into fuel. There is even consideration that edible mushrooms can be harvested as a food crop byproduct in instances where the organic soil contaminants might be decomposed without so imparting toxicity. Soil contamination, particularly involving heavy metals and petroleum, pose huge health burdens to society and to the earth. Conventional clean-up invokes a sizable financial strain as well. Through observation, appreciation and application of the natural capabilities of some specific plants, bacteria, and fungi, we can remediate the damage as we work in partnership with these incredible beings. The samples collected from the Finnriver farm this spring were from areas of the project where plants were growing well and that were expected to be cleaner. More complete testing will occur at the end of this year’s growing season.

FEEDING THE SOIL ORGANICALLY

March 1, 2019
Last Fall’s rains and harvests may have depleted our soils of the nutrients that will determine the fate of our crops and the health of our garden this year. Early spring is a great time to add soil amendments because the rain and warmer temps will awaken soil microbes and bring those nutrients into the root zone. It is often said that we need to put a healthy dose of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) fertilizers on our lawn and gardens every year. However, it is important to first know the components of your soil in order to understand what you may or may not need to add. At the Finnriver orchard, we test our soil every year as it lets us track how our soils are improving or being depleted by our fertility management program. With a soil test in hand, you can apply the appropriate amounts of amendments. By adding amendments such as lime (for alkaline) and sulfur (for acidic), you help "unlock" fertilizers that are bound to soil particles and increase the absorption of other amendments you add this year. It is essential to be careful about over-applying which can cause problems downstream when leached nutrients travel into storm water and aquifers that ultimately pollute river mouths and other bodies of water. This is why we encourage the use of organic means to amend soils. For example, a gentle means of replenishing nitrogen is to apply a 2-inch layer of compost onto your beds or around perennials. Earth worms and other arthropods will break down the compost and slowly release its nutrients to your plants. After a few years of composting this might be the only source of nitrogen that you need to add. Homemade compost from kitchen scraps, coffee grounds and leaf debris is a fine way to start. Other good commercial options are NutriRich (pelletized chicken manure) or Mushroom Compost in bulk. For more detailed information about the health of soils, I recommend “Teaming with Nutrients" by Jeff Lowenfells and “Soul of Soil" by Grace Gershuny.
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