Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

“John Adams drank a pint of cider every morning. Should we do any less?”

In the splash zone of the high cider pour

Guest at Cider Pour afternoon attempts his own “aerating” pouring of the cider.
Guest at Cider Pour afternoon attempts his own “aerating” pouring of the cider.

“They’re pouring!” says my friend Kim. We all stand up — some to get out of the splash zone, some to see just how people have been doing this for hundreds of years. We’re in San Marcos, at a little outlet not far from where they process local apples into cider, and also honey from local beehives into mead, maybe the most ancient alcoholic drink of all.

Dave Carr, who grows most of the apples that become the cider, has what looks like a magnum of champagne and — ulp — he’s turning it upside-down above his head. A golden gurgle comes out of the bottle mouth, drollop by gloopy drollop. But Dave is staring down, not up, his gaze fixed on a pint glass he’s holding in his other hand. And miraculously, each drollop whizzes down beside his chest and slides cleanly into the glass.“Cider needs to be aerated,” he shouts above the claps of everybody. “This is how they’ve done it for hundreds of years. You’re not a man if you don’t know how to pour a cider! This is how the Spanish do it in Asturias.”

How it should be done: Raging Cider’s Dave Carr air-pours into backward-held glass.

We’re up here in San Marcos for a sidra (cider) celebration. Already the cider is pouring, and Dave’s colleagues bring tapas snacks out to help the 20-30 of us in attendance to keep drinking the different samples. Dave and his colleagues have apple orchards nearby, and every harvest season, they turn those apples into cider. This afternoon, it’s our pleasant duty to opine on the results.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Actually, the first couple of cider pours are a bit rough. “That’s because they are the most recent,” says Dave. “Each pour, we’re going back in time. It will get smoother.”

Dave, who’s from the UK, says the cider is stronger here in California. “We have more sun and less rain. In England it might be 5-6 percent alcohol. Here, it’s about 9 percent. It’s also gluten-free and naturally fermented, which happens only because of our wild yeasts.”

“And remember,” says Kim. “We’re doing this for patriotic reasons. John Adams drank a pint of cider every morning. Should we do any less?”

“Right!” says Dave. “Ladies and gentlemen, you have seen how the pour is done in Asturias, in northern Spain. Now the rest is up to you.”

There’s a general groan, but each of us has to take the bottle and a glass and try to pour from on high. It makes for a wet and hilarious afternoon, especially after downing a couple of our own efforts.

Dave says he’s trying to persuade local apple orchard owners to sell him more of their apples for pressing. “We are making good sidra now. If people will take their orchards seriously, San Diego County could become a respected cider region. It’s healthy, like gluten-free wine. Salud!”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
Next Article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Guest at Cider Pour afternoon attempts his own “aerating” pouring of the cider.
Guest at Cider Pour afternoon attempts his own “aerating” pouring of the cider.

“They’re pouring!” says my friend Kim. We all stand up — some to get out of the splash zone, some to see just how people have been doing this for hundreds of years. We’re in San Marcos, at a little outlet not far from where they process local apples into cider, and also honey from local beehives into mead, maybe the most ancient alcoholic drink of all.

Dave Carr, who grows most of the apples that become the cider, has what looks like a magnum of champagne and — ulp — he’s turning it upside-down above his head. A golden gurgle comes out of the bottle mouth, drollop by gloopy drollop. But Dave is staring down, not up, his gaze fixed on a pint glass he’s holding in his other hand. And miraculously, each drollop whizzes down beside his chest and slides cleanly into the glass.“Cider needs to be aerated,” he shouts above the claps of everybody. “This is how they’ve done it for hundreds of years. You’re not a man if you don’t know how to pour a cider! This is how the Spanish do it in Asturias.”

How it should be done: Raging Cider’s Dave Carr air-pours into backward-held glass.

We’re up here in San Marcos for a sidra (cider) celebration. Already the cider is pouring, and Dave’s colleagues bring tapas snacks out to help the 20-30 of us in attendance to keep drinking the different samples. Dave and his colleagues have apple orchards nearby, and every harvest season, they turn those apples into cider. This afternoon, it’s our pleasant duty to opine on the results.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Actually, the first couple of cider pours are a bit rough. “That’s because they are the most recent,” says Dave. “Each pour, we’re going back in time. It will get smoother.”

Dave, who’s from the UK, says the cider is stronger here in California. “We have more sun and less rain. In England it might be 5-6 percent alcohol. Here, it’s about 9 percent. It’s also gluten-free and naturally fermented, which happens only because of our wild yeasts.”

“And remember,” says Kim. “We’re doing this for patriotic reasons. John Adams drank a pint of cider every morning. Should we do any less?”

“Right!” says Dave. “Ladies and gentlemen, you have seen how the pour is done in Asturias, in northern Spain. Now the rest is up to you.”

There’s a general groan, but each of us has to take the bottle and a glass and try to pour from on high. It makes for a wet and hilarious afternoon, especially after downing a couple of our own efforts.

Dave says he’s trying to persuade local apple orchard owners to sell him more of their apples for pressing. “We are making good sidra now. If people will take their orchards seriously, San Diego County could become a respected cider region. It’s healthy, like gluten-free wine. Salud!”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Holiday Market At Petco Park, Will Smith’s Dance in the Darkness Tour, Light Shows, Snowfall, Caroling

Events December 12-December 13, 2024
Next Article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader