Lowtide


Galley Essentials with Amanda


Hawk and Suzy Pingree of Westcott Bay Cider


As it’s cyclone season


in the South Pacific Mahina Tiare is tucked up in her off-season home in New Zealand and John and I get to spend time at our home base at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. It’s a pretty quiet place in winter and on my morning run on a frosty sunny morning along Anderson Lane, the large normally dormant barn has its big side doors open. Look! There’s a sandwich board on the roadside saying “Cider Tasting Today”. In my excitement to see activity I


rush into the barn calling out “Morning, morning!” It’s full of people who quickly introduce themselves as the Friday Harbor Walkers then warmly invite me to join in the group. The barn houses the small cider works of Suzy and Hawk Pingree and Rich Anderson and I’ve lucked upon a tour and tasting of their award winning Westcott Bay Ciders. In 2000 Suzy and Hawk moved


to the island on a retirement plan and often enjoyed the walking loop from Roche Harbor around the shoreline of Westcott Bay. Suzy especially admired the apple orchard that stretches along the bay and that admiration seeded a dream of how wonderful it would be to make apple brandy in their retirement. After ten years of mulling over the idea, last year they decided to invest in the existing cider works with owner Rich Anderson. The two acre apple orchard is


home to nearly 1,200 trees and in addition to having great names, the 16 apple varieties help produce a fine traditional-style English cider. Apples like Yarlington Mill, Brown Snout and Dabinett are “Bittersweets” low in acid but high in tannin. Kingston Black and Browns are “Bittersharps” having both acid and tannin. Some varieties like Sweet Coppin are “Sweets” just sweet 48° NORTH, FEBRUARY 2011 PAGE 34


stainless tanks where yeast is added to begin the fermenting process. Once the yeast has been eaten up by the sugar in the apple juice the cider is transferred into a larger tank to mature for a couple of months before being bottled. Three varieties of cider are


Westcott Bay Cider by Amanda Swan Neal


with little acidity or tannin. Others like Porter’s Perfection are “Sharps”; acidic with little or no tannin. A cider without a balance of acidity and tannin is like a wine made from a Thompson seedless grape – bland. Crab apple trees at the end of each


row are used as pollinators since most apples are diploids requiring pollination from another variety to bear fruit. All the trees are on dwarfing rootstocks, will not grow over 10 feet high and their slender limbs yield a high quantity of apples. This is a good thing as ladders are not required to prune or pick. The apple varieties fall from the tree between September and November and since the owners of Westcott Bay Cider are kind of retired, apple picking is a leisurely activity. Hawk, being on the tall side picks the higher apples while Suzy picks the apples at mid-range and Rich sits on a bin picking lower apples and grounders. A 4x4 foot bin takes an hour and a half to fill. The apples are washed, ground


and mashed before being squashed in a hydraulic press skillfully operated by Suzy. The juice is piped into large


produced. Traditional Very Dry is a “bone dry” cider, crisp, with a bit of effervescence; an excellent addition to any meal where a dry white wine would be served. Tradi t ional Dr y i s a dry, cr i sp, ful l -bodied bi t ter sweet cider with hint of sweetness a n d l i g h t effervescence


that complements any meal, as well as being an enjoyable drink to have with friends and appetizers. And Traditional Medium Sweet a full-bodied cider that has a clean “appley” taste with light effervescence; a pleasant drink and complement with fruit and cheese. Making apple brandy is not a simple


process and this month Suzy and Hawk’s ten year dream will come to fruition with the purchase from Germany and installation of an impressive copper still for producing Eau de Vie; an intensive, fruity and fiery distillate that will then be put in oak barrels and aged to produce apple brandy. But in the meantime, they will infuse the eau de vie with local berries and madrona bark to produce Spy Hop Gin. If you find yourself on San Juan


Island, Westcott Bay Cider welcomes visitors on Saturdays from 3 to 5 pm, starting on Memorial Day weekend. You can also to call ahead to arrange a visit. In the meantime you may purchase


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