Victoria Cider Co. officially opened its cidery tasting room in August 2022 and since then, business has been blossoming as large as the apple trees.
Located on a five-acre property in North Saanich, the cidery tasting room is bright and light with natural and pastel colours, offering a selection of both traditional and modern flavoured ciders that can be found in more than 30 local liquor stores across Greater Victoria.
One of their most popular, arguably, and what really sets them apart, is their prize-winning keeved cider, which took home a bronze medal at the Portland International Cider Cup in 2022. The cider is only available in their tasting room.
含羞草研究社淚t sells like hotcakes,含羞草研究社� owner Wayne Ralph said.
Keeved cider is a traditional French-style cider with a sweetness Ralph described as a 含羞草研究社渟oft and round含羞草研究社� perception of butterscotch coming from malolactic fermentation. It is rare for cideries to touch it, mainly because it含羞草研究社檚 time-consuming, particular and risky compared to making other types of ciders.
However, Ralph and his family knew they wanted to give it a shot from the start of creating their business, a lifelong dream which budded after a neighbour said their trees grew the best apples.
含羞草研究社淲e learned from the get-go, as part of our research of getting into cider, that our favourite style of cider is French-style cider. During our investigations, we picked appropriate trees that would have the correct tannins and acid levels. Now we含羞草研究社檙e harvesting the benefits of that.含羞草研究社�
Ralph left his 30-year career as an engineer for BC Ferries to pursue cider, reaching a master含羞草研究社檚 level training in the UK.
Ralph explained that a typical cider takes two weeks to ferment and is done in 18 C to 20 C temperatures.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 very easy to control, it happens naturally. While the ferment is happening, it含羞草研究社檚 like you含羞草研究社檙e simmering something on the stove. It almost looks as though it含羞草研究社檚 boiling. So when that happens, you含羞草研究社檙e basically boiling off the flavour.含羞草研究社�
Meanwhile, a French-style cider is fermented at a really low temperature.
含羞草研究社漈o capture the flavour, the French came up with this idea of fermenting the cider over a very, very long period of time 含羞草研究社� five months.含羞草研究社�
To slow down the fermentation process, keeved cider has to be fermented at a much cooler level 含羞草研究社� about 6 C to 7 C, in Ralph含羞草研究社檚 case. But the process can be quite nerve-wracking; there含羞草研究社檚 a danger that fermentation can stop due to the cold, so Ralph has to check every few days for tiny bubbles on the surface to show that fermentation is still going.
No chemicals or yeast are used 含羞草研究社� just the natural yeast of the apples.
含羞草研究社淭he danger is, when you含羞草研究社檙e checking it every week, when you go to take a sample, there含羞草研究社檚 the potential of introducing bacteria that are airborne 含羞草研究社� You can be four months into it and ruin the whole thing because you get bacteria in it. So you actually become quite paranoid, especially towards the end.含羞草研究社�
Keeved cider is also carbonated. In order to get it bubbly, the cider needs to be bottled before it finishes fermenting.
In total, Ralph said it takes five months for the initial ferment and then two months for the carbonization, or 含羞草研究社渂ottle conditioning含羞草研究社� process.
If all goes smoothly, the Ralphs end up with around 98 cases of their premium keeved cider, making it well worth the risk.
含羞草研究社淭here are only three other places in B.C. that make it,含羞草研究社� Ralph said. 含羞草研究社淔or us to be able to produce that style of cider in our first year, right at the get-go, we are pretty proud to have been able to do that.
含羞草研究社淧eople appreciate the effort we go to. In the final analysis, quality wins every time, in my opinion.含羞草研究社�
After a successful first year, Victoria Cider Co. opens again on May 5 and will run on weekends. This year, they also have a new quince cider, and have imported two oak barrels from Europe to make a new port cider and a sherry cider.
Visitors to the tasting room can lounge on a bright open lawn with picnic tables, willow trees and games. For more information, visit .
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