The Story of Tydeman's Early 2020

For many years we have pressed and fermented a tank of Tydeman's Early Worcester and used it as an aromatic blending component after fermentation. But this is the first year we considered pulling out a portion to bottle as a single varietal, pet nat style.

Tydeman's is an unlikely cider apple. One reason is because it ripens in August. One day the apples are still green and the next day they are ripe and falling off the tree in the hot summer sun. The heat means harvest and pressing must happen quickly...ironically, apples don't sweat well in the summer. Another reason is because it's a cross of McIntosh and Worster Pearmain and thus, officially a dessert apple. However, grown organically in deep gravely loam, it has a significant amount of tannin. Over the years we have come to prize its aroma/tannin combination. Early summer apples tend to be aromatic and low(er) brix and Tydeman's is no exception, which is why this bottling is (relatively) low in alcohol at 7%. Its a  gulpable fruit bomb with a refreshing tannic backbone.

The label art was created by our daughter, Leila Sherman. The painting of a Tydeman's Early apple with sea creatures crawling out of it is meant to evoke the way in which the history of the land is present in the cider; the shale that underlays our Finger Lakes region, and is the parent material of much of our soils, was laid down in a Devonian sea 400 million years ago.

Autumn Stoscheck Cider Maker/ Orchardist