Apple Cider Beer Exists

This brewery in the Adirondacks has perfected the cider-beer hybrid we didn’t know we needed

The Adirondack Mountains in early fall is beyond compare as tree leaves turn brilliant shades of golden yellow, deep red and burnt orange, transforming the rural landscape into a tapestry of colors against the blue sky.

Autumn in upstate New York is also harvest time for the thousands of apple trees at orchards that grow over two dozen varieties.

Against this backdrop, Kevin Litchfield, director of brewing operations at Big Slide Brewery and Public House in Lake Placid, N.Y. has long wanted to combine his love for beer and apples into one special concoction to enjoy on fall days. Litchfield sought to devise a beverage with the rich qualities of beer while introducing the subtle sweet and tart flavors of cider. “Our goal was to create a hybrid cider/beer that utilizes our vast supply of local apples, creating something that has the unique characteristics of a cider while maintaining its beer forward qualities,” said Litchfield, who has worked at the Lake Placid brewery for 20 years.

Working at his small brewery tucked inside the brewpub just down the road from the Olympic ski jumping complex and a mile from the town’s famous “Miracle on Ice” hockey area, Litchfield has done it.

‘Dacks (named after the way many locals call the Adirondacks) is a smooth tasting, dry and crisp cider-beer that captures flavors of an ale and apples at the same time. Using half fresh pressed cider and half Weissbier wort blended together, Dacks is an apple cider kettle sour. But don’t let the name fool you, its only modestly sour.

The only trouble is Litchfield made just six kegs which would last barely more than 10 days this fall at the brewpub that most days has a line waiting outside to get in at its noon opening. A ‘Dacks went perfectly with my lunch last month of Korean style barbecue chicken sandwich and kimchi slaw outside the popular farm-to-table restaurant.

In this idyllic mountain village that in 1980 held the “the Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey game where the United States upset the heavily favored Soviet Union team, Big Slide and its sister location Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, which opened in 1996, are now top attractions in their own right.

In addition to scrumptious food and top-notch service on a drizzly and cool late September day, ‘Dacks is just one example of the far ranging beer menu at Big Slide that also includes a Hot Pepper Ale, a Leipzig Gose and a Maple Pumpkin Brown ale made with chocolate malt, local maple syrup and pumpkin spice puree.

But on this day, “Dacks is the show stealer. The 5.8% ABV brew with virtually no bitterness has been in the works for a couple years.

While Litchfield and the team at Big Slide devised the brew, it was done in close partnership with Rulfs Orchard in Peru, N.Y. about 30 miles from the brewery. Rulfs is an agricultural institution located just off the Northway — the interstate that runs from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to the Canadian border. The orchard that started in 1952 sells more than 15 varieties of apples along with its own amazing cider and numerous baked goods from its red farmhouse. Its corn maze and pick-your-own-apples make the orchard a popular attraction, especially in fall.

Rulfs pressed a Paula Reds variety into more than 60 gallons of unpasteurized cider and delivered it the same day to Big Slide to be added to the brew kettle. Litchfield explains that the sugar in the cider and malt get fermented out so the beer is only slightly sweet instead of overpowering. “We are very happy with it as it maintains the beer qualities but definitely has the apple cider ration,” he said. “It took way longer to make than it did to drink it all,” he said, noting the brew took about three weeks to produce. He said the wort was already fermented with yeast and hops before the cider was added.

Kevin Litchfield, photo by Big Slide Brewery

This won’t be the last batch of beer that Litchfield makes with apples and cider, hopefully in cooperation with the Rulfs Orchard. For Thanksgiving, he’s already planning a kettle sour brown ale version with pumpkin and spices.

“There’s a lot of options,” he said. “The hardest part he said is just getting the fresh cider to the Lake Placid brewery as soon as its pressed to introduce to the beer.

Take if from someone who was lucky enough to enjoy a pint of ‘Dacks before it was gone. It was worth the effort.

For more fall beer styles to try (that are a bit easier to get a hold of), please click here.