b'It all starts here. A good crowd was on hand for theTwo Blokes soft opening on June 17.Two Blokes(continued from page 11)Theirvisionandpatiencewilltheir product. thetastesouraudiencewants,and finally be rewarded in 2021. Ciderswellentrenchedinthequantitiesweneedtoproduce Weve got six and a half acres inEuropeanculture,butnotsomuchto satisfy those two elements.There production now, about three or fourhere. Partly the North American pop- are only a few cideries in Ontario, so thousand trees, Matt says.Wereularity of cider was hurt during theto a fair degree, were in uncharted onlyproducingsixrecipestostart,Prohibition era, but also its becauseterritory.but therell be more to come. cider was associated with farms.BeerRight now, our focus is on build-Andy sketches a comparison be- brewers had a significant advantageing awareness.tween the closely comparable worldsbeing able to manufacture anywhereOneobviousmeansofcreating of cider- and wine-production. they could find an open building, likeinterest in their products is to market Ourciderswillblenddifferentin urban centres where there were athem through LCBO outlets, he says.apples,justlikeyoumightdoinlot of prospective customers.So beerSo far, we have only one of our creating,say,acabernetsauvignon.took off, cider declined. varietiesour Hex Press Dryon And like wine, you want to balanceCider,Andyadds,straddlestheliquorstoreshelves.Gettingyour out three factors in the fruit: tannin worlds of wine and beer. products there is a long process.thats what gives it that body whenWe can make a cider with beer- Achieving broader popularity also you taste itastringency, which giveslike qualities: by adding carbonation,means overcoming cultural barriers, it a hint of tart, and phenolics, thoseforexample.Ciderisin-betweenthey agree.provide aroma and depth.The lingowine and beer. A lot of people think of cider as for wine and cider are pretty muchLikewineandbeer,ciderpairssweet and fizzy, but theres a much interchangeable. best with certain foods. widervarietythanthatstilland And just like wine, each growingPork is a natural, Andy explains.carbonated, sweeter and drier.year provides slightly different per- It also goes well with cheese, andAs of June 19, the public had an sonality to the finished product. dessert-styleciderspairwellwithopportunity to decide for themselves. The same as wines, ciders havechocolate. The cidery, located at 21300 Simcoe vintages.We print that date on theMatt and Andy agree that theyreStreet in Seagrave, is open Thursdays labels of some of our varieties. learning as they go, with mainly theirand Sundays, 12-6, and Fridays and Butunliketheestablishedwinegut feelings to guide them. Saturdays, 12-8, with a tasting room industry,MattsaysthetwoblokesWereshootingforamagicavailable.have their work cut out, marketingtarget, Matt says.Well determineI normally dont like cider, but 12FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2021'