Award-winning brewery adding cider as an extension of its barrel-aged offerings and expertise

With the waning popularity of mixed culture farmhouse ales, Eugene, Oregon’s 7-year-old Alesong Brewing & Blending is diversifying with a natural extension into hard cider. On Saturday July 29th the countryside Alesong taproom/barrel-room will be debuting a dry and a semi-dry oak-aged ciders on draft and in bottles available for consumption on-site and to go.  Both ciders have been matured in oak and display the complex, yet balanced and food friendly, character that defines Alesong beers.

“Building on our experience making barrel-aged beer with all manner of fruit co-ferments, cider felt like a very natural progression for us,” says founder and production manager, Brian Coombs.  “We’re excited to continue our explorations in fermentation and barrel-aging with apples and other fruit, alongside our beer production.  Similar to our beers, our hope with these ciders is to provide an elevated experience with a thoughtfully crafted beverage that showcases our region’s bounty and the magic of oak-aging.”

For their first foray into cider, Alesong reached out to their friends and Pacific Northwest heavy-hitters, 2 Towns Ciderhouse out of Corvallis, to assist with their expertise in fruit sourcing and initial fermentation.  Selecting a base cider made from fresh pressed, Northwest grown apples, Alesong’s production team worked to mature the cider over several months in French oak before assembling final blends that are tart and refreshing with a medium-toasted oak character and a light, spritzy, carbonation.  And with the release of both a fully dry version and lightly sweet, “semi-dry” variation, cider lovers will find that there’s a flavor profile that suits their palate.

What: Alesong debuts its first oak-aged cider

When: Saturday, July 29 from 1pm – 8pm

Where: Alesong’s country brewery at 80848 Territorial Hwy in Eugene, Oregon

More details: Production staff from Alesong will present the ciders and share in the celebration.  The new ciders will debut alongside a curated selection of Alesong beers and thoughtful food offerings from their newly opened kitchen. The event is open to all, with no reservations required (or accepted) to attend.

ABOUT ALESONG BREWING AND BLENDING: Alesong Brewing and Blending is a small artisan brewery and cidery based in the heart of Southern Willamette Valley wine country with a second tasting room in downtown Eugene. With 100% of production spending time in oak, Alesong crafts unique and small-batch blends, producing styles that span the flavor spectrum. As the beer or cider in barrels matures, the team samples and selects each barrel individually to make up a final blend. Paying homage to old-world Lambic blenders and artisan winemakers, Alesong strives to achieve complex and balanced final blends that are much more interesting and complete than the sum of their parts or any individual barrel by itself. For more information, visit www.alesongbrewing.com.

ABOUT 2 TOWNS CIDERHOUSE: 2 Towns Ciderhouse was founded on the belief that the long history of cidermaking demands respect and deserves to be done right. Starting with the highest quality, whole ingredients from local farms, they take no shortcuts in crafting their ciders. Over the years our company has retained these core values to branch out into different segments within the alcohol beverage space to become a premium total beverage company. Their goal is to create the best craft beverages on the market and continue to develop and evolve the beverage space in innovative new ways. For more information on 2 Towns Ciderhouse, visit www.2townsciderhouse.com.