Sahar R.
Yelp
This place is an absolute gem, and a must see if you are touring the breweries/wineries of VA.
Most of us are familiar with sweet store ciders such as Woodchuck or Strongbow, and this is not that cider. If John Adams were to walk into a tavern back in the day and order a cider, this is the cider he'd be sipping on. Think of it more like a dry sparkling apple wine.
We came in here on a Sunday where it was basically empty. We had missed a tour time (for tour times see here: http://www.bluebeecider.com/about-us/) but the amazing staff here gave us an impromptu tour anyway. We learned about the cider making process and how the owner Courtney had gone to cider school (a two week program at Cornell, which you can bet is now something I want to do).
We learned that cider making is just like wine making but replace apples with grapes. Each apple that is fermented expresses itself differently, just like each grape you ferment would be a different flavor. Thus the ciders here have a range of different flavors. After the tasting we had a tasting, and here's my impression of each of the ciders:
Charred Ordinary, the old fashion tavern style, absolutely mouth watering. After the first few sips you'll be wishing for the Mr. Thirsty saliva sucking machines (by the way is my dentist the only one who calls it this?) that the dentist has cause it's total overproduction. Great cider to pair with charcuterie. By far my favorite, although at first I did not know what to think of it, and then ended up with three bottles.
Mill Race Bramble, which is a raspberry blackberry infusion and smells like flowers
Hopsap Shandy, a dry hopped cider that is citrus-like
Fanfare, a wild mulberry infused cider
Aragon 1904, which is similar to champagne, but has the sweetness of the store ciders
Harvest Ration, our dessert cider. Comparable to brandy or an ice wine.Great sweet flavor and a bottle will last awhile.
As a price point most bottles run about $10 for 500 ml bottle to $15 for a 750 ml bottle. The harvest ration is the priciest at $33 for a 375ml bottle.
I could have spent all afternoon in this cutely decorated cidery with the friendly staff, but alas there were more breweries to visit in a short period of time. I would love to come back to try their spring time limited edition releases. Also if you don't feel like making the drive to Richmond but want to sample their ciders locally, there are sold in DC at one location: http://www.pipetowntraders.com/.