It was almost 30 years ago that I brewed my first batch of homebrew. I was given a copy of Charlie Papazian’s New Complete Joy of Homebrewing - I wonder if they knew how much of a classic this book would become or whether it was the only book they could find. It was pre-internet days! It was about that time I fell in love with “real ale”. However, the brew pub scene on the East Coast was in its infancy – in Baltimore, there was the Baltimore Brewing Company and one bar, the Wharf Rat, in Fell’s Point which sold a yeasty concoction called Oliver’s Ale. Overall, the beer was marginal, and the commercial products at the local distributors that offered any flavor were Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pete’s Wicked Ale, and of course, Guinness. My tastes, however, fell more toward English and Belgium styles, and names like John Courage, John Bull, Whatney’s Red Barrel could be found in specialty shops but that started to expand to classic English breweries like Young’s, Fuller’s, Sam Smith’s from the UK and Affligem, Lindeman’s, and Chimay from Belgium. My answer to all of this was to set out and explore the world of beer brewing on my own with “Uncle Charlie” in hand. This all fit naturally with being in graduate school in chemistry which yielded several advantages: one, a familiarity and understanding of processes and practices, though in reality, brewing is as much biology as it is chemistry, and two, a lack of responsibility outside of my studies, so I had ample time (and motivation) to make (and drink) a lot of beer! In my exploration of English and Belgian beers for my own consumption, I was drawn to classic English Bitters and several styles of Belgian ales. The history around these beers was as fascinating as the flavors that could be developed. Perhaps this love of beer from England and Belgium naturally acted as a gateway to the world of cider since England and Normandy and Brittany, France are homes to some of the best ciders in the world and the styles of those cider were appealing. I do remember one of the first ciders I had, which I consumed with breakfast prior to a rugby match. The crisp, tart, dry flavor went well with the eggs and bacon. My teammates looked at me a bit askance when I ordered it, but gave me props since they had not yet begun to explore beyond American rice-laden lagers. I began making yearly forays into the world of cider when fresh pressed cider was available. Since my first tastes of real ale, I have watched the commercial micro-brew world cycle up and down, often prodded by friends and family to make the jump into commercial brewing. But I found a satisfying career as a medicinal chemist working in drug discovery. You might see me mentioned as “The Professor.” In the past several years, I have been teaching (as an Adjunct Professor) graduate-level courses in Heterocyclic Chemistry and in Medicinal Chemistry. I decided to develop courses in areas of chemistry that were not really taught in graduate school, but extremely important to have a successful career in industry. This is not dissimilar to what we are trying to do with our cider: bringing a passion to a subject that we feel is under-served. The recent turn of microbrews towards insanely hoppy beers has been interesting to watch, however as I have grown older, I have come to appreciate a bit more subtlety in my beers. When approached by my now partners Manly and Josh about making a venture into the world of cider, my interest was piqued. The world of cider had expanded, not quite as much as beer. However, what drew me to this was a vision for cider that was dry, crisp, and well-balanced, which is far from the mass-produced varieties which can be overly sweet. I often refer to these sweet ciders as ‘Jolly-Rancher’ in a can. The direction of our cider requires patience and control of the process. As a chemist, I have been enamored with process as much as product, much like form and function combined. I like to think our ciders are reminiscent of a time when things were a bit slower and people had more patience to sit and enjoy a hand-crafted glass of cider with a good meal or a fine selection of cheeses.

Meet the Cidermakers: Greg

Cider Styles:

Meet the Cidermakers!