Cheers to NY’s First Farm Cidery: Nine Pin!
We spoke with Joshua Whelan, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Nine Pin Ciderworks, to give you a closer look into their operations and sustainability. Keep reading our blog to learn more about them and where you can try their tasty ciders!
Where it Began
Nine Pin Cider Works is New York State’s First Farm Cidery!
Located right in Albany, they opened their doors to the public on February 28, 2014. Since then, Nine Pin has been dedicated to creating exceptional off-dry ciders. NY orchards help to make this possible! Apple varieties from local apple farms and other seasonal ingredients used in their ciders are carefully selected and blended to achieve a complex, balanced flavor with a clean and pleasantly drinkable finish.
Nine Pin’s mission is simple: “we support New York agriculture by producing quality craft ciders using 100% local New York apples and fruit.”
From Tree to Glass
Sustainability of apple production and cider making is an important part of Nine Pin’s business. Cider production overall is incredibly healthy, not only for the orchards Nine Pin buys the fruit from, but also for the local environment.
There are 3 categories of apples that come in a harvest: Grade A, Grade B, and Grade C. Grade C apples are the apples that have already rotted, which makes them totally unusable, unfortunately. Grade A apples are the ones we see at our local market. These are the apples that “look pretty” and are aesthetically pleasing in both shape and color.
Grade B apples are where Nine Pin comes in! These are the apples that are perfectly good to eat and/or to make juice with, but maybe misshapen or have some small blemishes.
Apple farmers use to either have to make juice with these and sell them to large juice companies at a loss or would have to just throw them away, which would lead to a build up of waste and anaerobic respiration, leading to greenhouse gas emissions.
Since Nine Pin is a cidery, they can buy these Grade B apples from the orchard and pay the orchard fair market value so they still profit from this juice AND they help eliminate excess fruit waste.
Of course, the more local Nine Pin sources, the lower their carbon footprint is, which also leads to a healthier climate impact!
Is Alcohol/Cider Vegan?
Not all alcohol is vegan. Oftentimes, commercial alcohol and cider companies use animal products in the clarification process. Additionally, some companies may make alcohol with honey or dairy.
At Nine Pin all of their core and light ciders are vegan! They also make limited amounts of their seasonal cans, such Peach Tea for their summer collection and Apple Pie-secco their newest fall flavor! The seasonal cans may contain honey, so we recommend checking the ingredients for these as they change. They also have a new cider sauce collaboration with Ric Orlando, of which the Ginger sauce is vegan too!
Where to Find and Follow Nine Pin
Visit the Nine Pin Ciderworks website for more information or follow them (@ninepincider) on:
Let us know what Nine Pin cider is your favorite!
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Thank you Nine Pin for helping to support VEG OUT 2021!
Credits:
- Images: Nine Pin Ciderworks
- Information was provided by Joshua at Nine Pin
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