Sep. 23, 2014 - PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia, PA – – Sir Charles Hard Cider, the inaugural brand of local craft hard cider producer and startup Original 13 Ciderworks, is launching their first batch of American craft hard cider at the second annual Pour the Core cider festival being held at the Philadelphia Naval Yard on Saturday, September 27th, 2014.
Sir Charles is the brain child of owner and founder John Kowchak, a native of the greater Philadelphia area, who is continuing his family’s tradition of brewing craft hard cider. John’s grandfather Charles had a tradition of brewing hard cider in his basement and giving his special brew to all of his neighbors as gifts during the holidays. John has continued the family tradition by launching his brand of craft cider here in Philadelphia.
Original 13 Ciderworks formed in 2013 and has been working to establish the groundwork for a craft cidery. John graduated from the University of Scranton in 2000 with a degree in History and received his MBA from Drexel University in 2012. As well as being an avid home brewer, John traveled to England where he attended the International Cider and Perry Academy in 2013.
John states that “After 3 years of training, traveling overseas, studying, researching, and planning; we are finally seeing the rewards of our hard work. To see everything you've worked so hard for finally coming into reality is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am looking forward to brewing some great cider and seeing what the future holds, but most of all I'm looking to have a lot of fun in the process."
Original 13 Ciderworks is working in partnership with Tamanend Winery in Lancaster, PA to produce Sir Charles hard cider utilizing 100% locally grown fresh pressed apples. This initial batch of 120 gallons will be brewed in in two varieties; an American sweet cider and a traditional English dry cider. John says “We are looking to use the cider festival to both introduce ourselves and to garner feedback on what people would like to see from us in their cider”. The company plans on launching a Kickstarter campaign in the fall and begin distribution in 2015.
I attended the Pour the Core Festival on Saturday 27 Sep 2014. I have enjoyed cider for years and lived in England for six years, sampling many of their ciders. I think I have a good cider background. I tasted every cider at Pour the Core. ( A tough job becasue some were shall I say less than palatable.) Sir Charles Dry Cider was #1 and their Sweet Cider was # 2. And I am an unabashed sweet cider fan. In a distant third place was Ace Cider. But Sir Charles was heads and shoulders ahead of all of their competition. If they can translate that to what they craft for distribution they will be a powerhouse. I talked to John and his father, (I think) and they seem to have the commitment.I am looking for the Kick Starter announcement.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the updates. It sounds like it was a lot of fun.
ReplyDelete