Northshore Magazine

November 2015

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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38 | NOVEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com CO N TAC T Downeast Cider House 200 Terminal St. Boston 857-301-8881 downeastcider.com is its Original Blend, an unfiltered cider with no added sweeteners or flavors. It's cloudy and slightly thick, thanks to miniscule apple pieces. It's sweet without being cloying, with a touch of tartness and just the right amount of gentle fizz. Ale yeast gives it a round finish. It tastes of fall on the farm, and doesn't let you forget that it actually came from a fruit, not a jug of juice concentrate. "I like it because it's not just alco- hol and Motts apple juice," Brock- man says. That fresh, whole-apple flavor is appealing to hard cider drinkers. But, Brockman points out, unfiltered cider can also be slightly polarizing, and he knows that many customers are used to drinking mass-market ciders that are filtered. He concedes that filtered ciders might be clearer and crisper than unfiltered cider, but they're also blander, and lose "some of that orchard stuff " in the filtering process. "It's a lot closer to water," Brock- man says. "You're stripping all the good stuff out." The "weirdness of an unfiltered cider," as Brockman puts it, is some- thing that the Downeast Cider crew, including Brockman and co-founder Tyler Mosher, first hit on when they started experimenting and "messing around making cider" in the basement of their Bates College dorm as seniors in 2010. They tested hundreds of combinations of apple varieties and yeasts before landing on their Original Blend. Five years after those dorm days, Downeast Cider has outgrown two locations and is about to outgrow a third. The business now has three co-owners—Brockman, Mosher, and Brockman's brother, Matt, who were all named in the Forbes "30 Under 30" list for 2014—and they are outputting 50,000 gallons of cider a month, Brockman says. "We have no room left in here," he says of the Charlestown facility, adding that they're looking for a new, larger location to replace the current 8,000-foot one. The com- pany has also added several other ciders to its repertoire, including the year-round Cranberry Blend and a number of seasonal and limited- edition blends, such as Pumpkin Blend, Lemonade, Hard Honey, and the spiced and oaky Winter Blend. Downeast Cider is also happy to open its doors for free tours, sampling, growler hours, a running club, yoga classes, trivia nights, festivals and concerts, and char- ity events, and even as a stop on the Boston Brew Tour. Brockman is careful to warn visitors, though, "Don't expect Harpoon," with its fancy taproom. The Downeast Cider House's production facility is lo- cated directly underneath the Tobin Bridge, and is filled with tanks, kegs, cans, puddles, and hoses. But even as the business contin- ues to expand, one thing Brockman promises they'll never outgrow is a commitment to their customers. "I am such a stickler for customer service. I want to treat everyone really, really well," he says. "All I want as a customer is that the company I'm giv- ing my money to cares about me." Left to right, Tyler Mosher, Matt Brockman, and Ross Brockman Barrel House and Depot Liquors, Beverly Coastal Greengrocer, Ipswich The Grog, Brine, and Leary's Fine Wine & Spirits, Newburyport LO C A L S O U R C E S

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