Jericho Cider Mill, Blue Point Brewery create Apple Crumb Pie Sour Ale
Often apples come to mind when it comes to an autumn snack.
And where is a local place to find an autumn snack? The Jericho Cider Mill, which serves apple products like their famous apple cider, which has no preservatives, all year long.
“We’ve been around for 202 years,” Jericho Cider Mill owner Kerry Ketsoglou said. “Like every year is when everybody comes out to get apple cider. Apple cider doughnuts is one of our big items. We specialize in apple pie and apple crumb pie. We do sell our cider not only on Long Island, but into the city, multiple different supermarkets and gourmet supermarkets as well. Our pies and our doughnuts can also be found in different locations throughout the island and the city.”
Now, not only can one score an apple crumb pie from the cider mill, they can grab Apple Crumb Pie Sour Ale, which has eight percent alcohol by volume content, courtesy of a partnership between Blue Point Brewery, based in Patchogue, and the Jericho Cider Mill.
Brewery Experience Manager Shelby Poole called this new product from Blue Point an “exciting one.”
“Blue Point Brewery reached out to us back in December of last year,” Ketsoglou said. “They were looking into exploring this type of territory.”
(Photo courtesy Blue Point Brewery)
Poole said the collaboration was special because the co-founder of Blue Point’s wife, Alycia Burford, grew up near the cider mill, and the idea came from Blue Point Innovation Manager Adrian Hot, who had tried various fruited sours before.
“Pastry beers are a thing,” Poole said. “So it just kind of became a connection… We tried a couple things. We tried a berry cobbler. That was one of the tests. But once we started working with the Jericho Cider Mill, we knew we wanted to use their signature product.”
Blue Point Brewery has been venturing into seasonal collaborations with other companies in the area such as The Doughnut Project, a famous West Village doughnut shop; Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack in Eastern Suffolk; and The Subtle Tea Company based in Ronkonkoma.
The Apple Crumb Pie Sour Ale is made with the Jericho Cider Mill’s apple cider.
“All the apple flavor comes entirely from Jericho Cider Mill’s cider,” Poole said. “There was no additional flavoring as far as the apples go.”
The test run ultimately went incredibly, Ketsoglou said. And the final results is what tasted just like an apple crumb pie.
“About two months ago, we squeezed the cider for them,” Ketsoglou said. “We shipped it over in totes to their facility in Patchogue, where they made the Apple Crumb Pie Sour. They canned it and did the co-branding on the can itself. And it’s been selling out of stores ever since.”
At both Jericho Cider Mill and Blue Point Brewery, the Apple Crumb Pie Sour has been flying off the shelves.
“They come in a four-pack,” Ketsoglou said. “People can’t keep it on the shelf… I never thought that it was going to blow up as much as it did, but it’s definitely one of the more popular drinks, I think.”
Poole agreed that the beer is “flying,” so much so that Blue Point Brewery will be making another surprise batch because of the popular demand.
“People are saying that it’s their favorite beer we’ve ever made,” Poole said. “The Jericho Cider Mill has been amazing to work with. Something we try to do is make sure our collaborations are truly collaborative. They’ve made it so easy to make it happen. They’ve been wonderful.”
About the Jericho Cider Mill
This fall, the Jericho Cider Mill will have new apples to browse.
“We only use New York State apples,” Ketsoglou said. “Which sets up apart. Right now we have 12 different types of apples. And in two weeks we’re probably going to go up to 24.”
As previously reported by the Syosset Jericho Tribune:
The original Jericho Cider Mill was located on Route 106 about half a mile north of Jericho Turnpike. George Doughty, was a Florida contractor whose grandfather and father owned the mill.At the turn of the century, it was bought by George Doughty’s grandson, Benjamin Doughty. The mill’s big moneymaker for many decades was an alcoholic product called champagne cider. Unfortunately, the coming of prohibition in 1919 closed down the old cider mill. After the closing of the mill, another Jericho farmer, John Hicks, opened the cider mill about 1,000 feet farther south along Route 106.
The cider mill gets its apples from the Hudson Valley, one of the major apple producing areas in the country. The apples that are pressed for cider are washed and loaded into the Willmes press. They are grounded and pressed, and the cider is then pumped into tanks. After settling and chilling, the cider is filled into jugs, which are refrigerated until sold.
