(Albany, N.Y.) – Nine Pin Ciderworks, New York State’s first farm cidery, is very honored to announce the receipt of a grant from the latest round of the Empire State Development Grant Fund Awards, announced earlier this week.

Nine Pin was awarded $50,000 towards their shovel-ready expansion project to expand its indoor tasting room and create appropriate delineation and barriers for its manufacturing space.  The plan is to repurpose part of its current manufacturing space and to install a forklift wide half-gate separating the renovated public area from their manufacturing operation.  The renovations will include the installation of 2 new fully compliant gender neutral bathrooms as well as to connect the expanded space to the existing outdoor patio to create an event space that would contain both indoor and outdoor elements for private functions. The installation of another glass overhead door will also allow for more daylight, and enable patrons to view the neighboring park, Albany’s iconic Nipper statue, and other nightlife establishments nearby––enhancing the on-premise experience of its regular and agritourist customers.

“We’re very excited about this award, and are so thankful to Governor Hochul and the Regional Economic Development Council for their consideration,” said Alejandro del Peral, co-founder and cidermaker. “We’re entering into our tenth year of operation in 2024, and this project will launch us forward for another decade with the expanded space allowing for more entertainment and production to share our New York grown ciders with the community.”

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “New York State support for the growth of its robust craft beverage industry is helping cideries like Nine Pin Ciderworks expand to meet customer demand. As the state’s first farm cidery, we are thrilled to see their continued growth and success.”    

This will be the third renovation that Nine Pin will go through in this space on Broadway in Albany’s Warehouse District. In early 2014, Nine Pin first renovated part of its warehouse space to include a small tasting room. In 2016, due to its receipt of a grant from ESD in 2015,Nine Pin’s tasting room underwent a major renovation and expansion and the company was also able to purchase its seven 6000-gallon fermentation tanks. That expansion heralded an extended period of growth in both on-premise and off-premise sales.

Cider connoisseurs may enjoy Nine Pin’s ciders seven days a week in their Albany Tasting Room, located in the City’s Warehouse district, and from retailers across New York State, Massachusetts and New Jersey, as well as at bars and restaurants who proudly carry Nine Pin products. Residents in other states may purchase Nine Pin’s ciders through Nine Pin’s online store.

For more information about Nine Pin, visit, www.ninepincider.com.

Nine Pin Ciderworks, New York State’s first farm cidery, is bringing the taste of fall to cider-lovers a little earlier this year––and this one is for the apple lovers. Apple Pie-Secco was shared with distributors on August 14th so that regional stores will be fully stocked when the fall seasonal will be made available to the public in the Cidery’s tasting room on August 28th.

Apple Pie-Secco is crafted from 100% New York apples from Samascott Orchards, located in Kinderhook, N.Y. The cider is aged with vanilla and cinnamon to create that comforting fall flavor.

“We’re seeing more and more each year, an earlier and earlier release of fall flavors; from the classic pumpkin spice latte, to cider doughnuts now being available year-round,” said Alejandro del Peral, co-founder and cidermaker. “But apple pie is the most classic fall flavor, so we wanted to provide that to the apple lovers–and cider lovers–sooner as well.”

This classic fall seasonal beverage was released early to Nine Pin’s exclusive 26ers earlier this month. The growing group of more than 2,000, who regularly enjoy Nine Pin’s ciders, helped the cidery donate more than $11,000 to the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Summit Stewardship Program this past June. The mission of the Stewardship program is to educate the public about alpine ecosystems, maintain trails above the Adirondack Park and treeline, and perform scientific research. Funds are raised through a portion of the sales from the 26 featured ciders throughout the year.

True Nine Pin fans will notice something a little different about this year’s fall favorite. A new matte finished label will adorn the cans, replacing the previous shiny version, creating a certain comfort to the eyes and hands while enjoying the cider. Celebrate the harvest with Apple Pie-Secco.

Apple Pie-Secco cider is currently available in 12 oz. cans and on draught in Nine Pin’s Tasting Room in Albany, N.Y. with an ABV of 6.5 percent. Retailers throughout New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey will also carry the latest beverage. Residents in other states may purchase Apple Pie-Secco through Nine Pin’s online store.

Cider connoisseurs may enjoy Nine Pin’s beverages in their Albany Tasting Room, located in the City’s Warehouse district, across New York State at bars and restaurants, and from retailers who proudly carry Nine Pin products. For more information about Nine Pin, visit, www.ninepincider.com.

Our brand-new summer seasonal is Pink Lemonade – it's refreshing, it’s delicious, and of course... it’s pink! But how do we get that exceptional pink coloring from apples and lemons? Well, we don’t!  

It was important to the team to keep the color natural, without adding any extra flavor like strawberry or raspberry. When posed with this dilemma, our brilliant cider makers thought, “What else provides a beautiful pink hue when juiced?”

The answer? Beets!

Our orchard partner, Samascott Orchards, helped us out and juiced some of their Red Ace beet crop. As you can see, the color is incredible, and you need a very small amount to create that light pink hue we wanted for our cider.

So, when life gives you New York apples, you get creative to make Pink Lemonade!  

Nine years ago, we became New York’s first farm cidery and opened our tasting room to the public. Prior to that, New York law did not permit hard cider companies to sell directly to consumers in tasting rooms or attend farmers markets. During the past nine years, we've worked hard to help further change the law so cideries are permitted to cross-promote New York farm-based beer, spirits, and wine in their tasting rooms and sell related merchandise. New York State has also increased the production limit for New York farm cideries to 250,000 gallons from the original 150,000 gallon limit. To work with these changes, we've expanded our facilities from just 5,000 sq ft to 24,000 sq ft!

“We couldn’t be more proud of how far we’ve come in the last nine years,” said Alejandro del Peral, co-founder and cidermaker. “Thanks to our amazing customers and our dedicated staff, we’ve been able to grow our business and further Nine Pin’s mission of supporting New York agriculture and producing quality craft ciders using 100% New York apples and fruit. We’re looking forward to the next nine years!”

Join us for our ninth anniversary festivities on March 1 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at our tasting room, located in the Albany Warehouse District. There will be baked goods, drink specials, and more to commemorate nine years of Nine Pin!

As some of you may know, New York Fashion Week is wrapping up today! We had the unique opportunity to sponsor a VIP party for the fashion brand, AKINGS.

We attended the party to take photos and learn more about what goes into a Fashion Week event – which was quite the experience! It was incredible to see the launch of a new collection from an up-and-coming designer while showcasing our product to a new audience.

Although we’ve never sponsored an event or brand like this before, we thought it would be a great way to encourage the Big Apple to Drink NY Apples. Plus, we love supporting brands who care about their craft as much as we care about ours, and AKINGS certainly does.

Our public relations partner, Relentless Awareness, has been nominated for a 2022 Capital Region MARCOM Award in the video category. We partnered with Relentless Awareness to create a video that showcased our private campfire offerings at our downtown Albany tasting room.  

We put a request out on Facebook to recruit volunteers to come enjoy the campfire and be featured in the video. Relentless Awareness was able to shoot the video in one evening, giving it continuity and truly showcasing what a private campfire would be like at Nine Pin. We all had a blast with the production and were able to get some great candid film – including a flaming marshmallow!

Interested in learning more about the MARCOM Awards or attending the awards ceremony? Head to the Capital Region MARCOM Awards website.

Check the video out!

Capital Region farm cidery Nine Pin is expanding its business and opening a new cannery in downtown Albany.

Nine Pin has been crafting hard cider using locally sourced apples and fruits for a decade. Alejandro del Peral, an Albany resident, founded the company after college using apples grown on his small family farm.

The new facility is located in a former vacant building in the warehouse district and was built with a National Grid Main Street Revitalization grant. Co-founder Sonya del Peral, Alejandro’s mother, said the new cannery helps improve the company’s workplace efficiency.

“The cider that we packaged here supports main street revitalization efforts throughout the state of New York, where our cider is sold in other tasting rooms and bars and restaurants and mom and pop liquor stores that are part of downtown redevelopment. So, with this expansion, we've increased our production capacity for the premium ciders that the Nine Pin brand represents.”

The new 7,000-square foot facility brings Nine Pin’s total footprint in Albany to about 24,000 square feet. It will process about 32,000 12-inch slim cans per day.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said it’s important step toward revitalizing an area once known for its manufacturing that has been rejuvenated in recent years.

“It’s not possible without partnerships.”

Several major projects were announced this summer to bring businesses and hundreds of new apartments to the area.

“It shows what you can do, how you can revitalize a neighborhood like this warehouse district, but it’s not possible without partnerships.”

The Democrat noted the Albany County Legislature Monday approved a resolution to allocate $30,000 to create wayfinding signs promoting craft breweries, wineries and cideries along the Albany County Beverage Trail.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan noted before fellow Democrat Kathy Hochul became governor, Nine Pin was one of the first ribbon cutting ceremonies the then-lieutenant governor attended.

After the ribbon cutting ceremony there was a tour. Alejandro del Peral said the facility creates about 45 cans per minute, or 3,000 gallons of cider per day.

“On a wholesale level, we make our signature cider, our ginger cider and four seasonal can cider. On a retail level at our tasting room on Broadway, we make hundreds of different types of ciders every single year.”

A local cidery is giving back to the LGBTQ plus community tonight.

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Nine Pin Cider teamed up with Remarkable Liquids to donate more than $2,000 to OutHudson, a Columbia County-based non-profit.

Nine Pin Ciderworks, New York’s first farm cidery, announced the return of their Apple Pie-Secco cider just in time for the fall. Crafted from apples from Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, N.Y., Apple Pie-Secco symbolizes life’s simple joys, with explosions of apple flavor and autumnal aromas.

“We especially enjoy crafting our seasonal ciders,” said Alejandro del Peral, co-founder and cidermaker. “Being able to offer a crisp, refreshing cider that ties into the tastes and smells of the season is both challenging and rewarding.”

Apple Pie-Secco cider is currently available in 12 oz. cans and on draught in Nine Pin’s tasting room in Albany as well through retailers throughout New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Residents in other states can purchase Apple Pie-Secco through Nine Pin’s online store.

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Article by Shelby Rosenberg from the Albany Business Review

Read the full story by Cider Culture here!

Read the full story below!

Full Story by Emily Kovach of Cider Culture

Read the full story by Steve Barnes, head writer of Table Hopping in Times Union.

(Beacon, NY, May 7, 2021) – Cider Week New York 2021, produced by the New York Cider Association, kicks off for the spring on May 15th and runs through Memorial Day weekend, May 31st. For the first time ever, Cider Week events will be hosted across the entire state. There are a variety of events including both in-person and virtual tastings, dinner pairings, panel conversations, cider seminars, orchard tours, cider yoga sessions, and more. For more information, a listing of the 37 cidery participants, the event calendar, and where to buy cider, visit www.ciderweeknewyork.com. Virtual Cider Week programming can be viewed at New York Cider Association TV Channel on YouTube.

Directly tied to New York’s agricultural cash crop of apples, cider in New York has seen an unprecedented growth explosion of over 450% over the past ten years and now has a $1.6 billion economic impact to the NY state economy. With over 140 producers making over 5 million gallons of cider every year, New York continues to rank first in the country for the number of cider producers.

Presenting Sponsor, Marianne Brennan of Beak & Skiff/1911 Established says, "The Beak & Skiff/1911 Established families have been building and supporting the apple industry in New York State for over 100 years, so it is a natural evolution to now be a part of Cider Week as a Presenting Sponsor. As a farm and cider producer, we are proud to contribute to the growing hard cider industry and the people that make it so fun and rewarding. Along with the New York Cider Association, we look forward to educating experienced and novice cider drinkers through creative virtual and in person events.”

Following is just a sampling and highlights of Cider Week New York 2021 events:

AN INTIMATE EVENING AT 1911 ESTABLISHED – A TASTING AND DINING EXPERIENCE

Wednesday, May19th from 6pm to 8pm - As a presenting sponsor of New York Cider Week, 1911 Established is hosting a special night with Head Cidermaker, Yann Fay, and new Executive Chef, Carl Helgersen, to guide attendees through a 1911Cider & Spirits tasting and food pairing. Attendees will also get a firsthand account of the rich heritage behind Beak & Skiff with a talk from 5th-generation company president himself, Eddie Brennan. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-intimate-evening-with-1911-tickets-153536952157.

Beak & Skiff & 1911Tasting Room, 2708 Route 20, LaFayette NY, 13084 (Finger Lakes Region)

CIDER AND PAELLA BY THE POND AT TWIN STAR ORCHARDS

Sunday, May 16from 1pm to 2pm - Join for delicious Seafood Paella, made with shrimp, calamari, chicken and chorizo, perfect when paired with Brooklyn Cider House’s Raw or Little Wild cider. The usual wood-fired pizzas and burgers will be also be available along with craft cider and local beer and wine. Tickets are limited and can be purchased in advance at https://www.twinstarorchards.com/menu.

Brooklyn Cider House, 155 N Ohioville Rd #3402,New Paltz NY, 12561 (Hudson Valley)

CIDER APERITIF WITH SOUTH HILL CIDER AND ISIGNY STE-MÈRE

Monday, May 17from 4pm to 6pm - Join for a cider Aperitif hour with Isigny Ste-Mère dairy cooperative from Normandy, France. Learn about the century old dairy cooperative from the French cider capital. Offerings include a special paired cider flight showcasing French style ciders with traditional cheeses from Isigny Ste-Mère. Normandy is known for the high quality of its milk and there will be pairings with their cheese, butter and cream with South Hill ciders. Free to attend. Formore information, visit https://www.southhillcider.com.

South Hill Cider,550 Sanbank Rd, Ithaca NY, 14850 (Finger Lakes)

URBAN TREE GRAFTING NIGHT AT NINE PIN CIDER

Monday, May 17from 5pm to 6pm - Live tree grafting event in front of Nine Pin’s tasting room. Learn about tree grafting from Michael Leidy, a local Cider Enthusiast and Treekeeper. During the presentation, Mr. Leidy will graft cuttings from various cider apple varieties on to the ornamental crab apple trees in front of the cidery with the goal of creating a “frankentree”. Learn about specific cider apple varieties and how they are propagated. Free to attend. For more information, visit https://www.ninepincider.com/tasting-room.

Nine Pin Cider, 929 Broadway, Albany NY, 12207 (Capital Region)

OUTDOOR PATIO LAUNCH AND LIMITED-EDITION TREASURY CIDER CYSER TASTING

Saturday, May 22from 11am to 5pm - Join at Treasury Cider, Fishkill Farms for the season re-opening of the outdoor patio bar with a special sneak preview of upcoming Treasury Cider’s new Cyser. Food will be available and live music on the patio, as well. Reservations

are strongly recommended and can be made at https://www.fishkillfarms.com/.

Treasury Cider, 9 Fishkill Farm Rd, HopewellJunction NY, 12533 (Hudson Valley)

STRETCH THEN SIP AT PENNINGS FARM CIDERY

Saturday, May 22 from 11am to 11:45am - Celebrate Cider Week New York at Pennings Farm Cidery. In partnership with Jenese of Lotus Yoga and Wellness, enjoy a relaxing outdoor yoga class on the hill and some delicious cider! Purchase of a ticket includes the yoga class and one cider following the class. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit penningscidery.com.

PenningsCidery, 4 Warwick Turnpike, Warwick NY, 10990 (Hudson Valley)

NAKED FLOCK CIDER COCKTAIL CLASS ON FACEBOOK LIVE

Saturday, May 22at 6pm - Join Michele and Dylan for a special Cider Week edition of Naked Flock’s Facebook Live show where they will discuss some of the cider cocktails on their seasonal menu!

Cider cocktails are also available for purchase at Naked Flock’s tasting room Wednesday –Sunday 11am-5pm. For more information, visit exploretock.com/applewoodwinery. FREE.

Applewood Winery and Naked Flock Cider, 82 Four Corners Rd. Warwick NY, 10990 (Hudson Valley)

HISTORY OF APPLES AND CIDER IN SULLIVAN COUNTYWITH JOHN CONWAY

Sunday, May 23at 4pm - Join local historian and columnist John Conway for an overview of the roles that apples, cider and cider making have played in the lives, culture and agriculture of Sullivan County over time. FREE to attend. For more information, visit https://www.seminaryhill.co.

Seminary Hill Orchard &Cidery Tasting Room, 43 Wagner Lane, Callicoon NY, 12723 (Catskills)

AMERICAN CIDER, TASTE & TALK

Wednesday, May26 from 7pm to 8pm - Join Heritage Radio Network online, in celebrating the debut of “American Cider: A Modern Guide to a Historic Beverage” by Daniel Pucci and Craig Cavallo. The first of its kind, the book chronicles the history of cider making in the United States, offering essential knowledge on what to drink and where the cider market is heading. The authors will dive into history and flavor in conversation with Jimmy Carbone, host of the award- winning HRN podcast, Beer Sessions Radio. In the second half of this event, Pucci and Cavallo will be joined by Angry Orchard’s head cider maker Ryan Burke for myth-busting about this beverage and an interactive cider tasting. Every ticket includes a copy of “American Cider” from Books are Magic. For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-cider-book-party-and-tasting-tickets-151734904183?aff=jimmy.

To order a cider bundle and taste along with the authors, visithttps://vinoshipper.com/shop/angry_orchard_cider_company_llc?list=

5 BORO PICNYC FEATURING CIDER ALLEY

Saturday, May 29from 11am to 4pm - Food Karma Projects, the producers of Pig Island NYC and Brisket King® NYC, are bringing you the ultimate Memorial Day barbecue and picnic, with cider! Join for a full day of ribs, vegetarian dishes and a cider alley featuring Original Sin Cider and many others. One ticket price provides all-inclusive food and drink tastings and VIP tickets are available for early admission. For more information and to buy tickets, visithttps://cookoutnyc.com.

Snug Harbor Heritage Farm, 1000Richmond Terrace, Staten Island NY, 10301 (New York City)

BLT X WÖLFFER TASTING EVENT

Ongoing through Cider Week through May 27 - BLT Restaurant Group toasts to the start of Rosé season with the introduction of a new brand partnership with Wölffer Estate, a sustainable vineyard in the heart of the Hamptons. As temperatures rise and flowers bloom in New York City, the international hospitality group is bringing Wölffer’s iconic Rosé Stand to BLT Prime to offer New Yorkers a taste of the Hamptons. The Wölffer Rosé Stand will be open to the public with three of the New York brand’s most beloved rosé products, including Wolffer’s Dry Rosé Cider. To make a reservation, visit https://www.opentable.com/r/blt-prime-new-york-2

BLT Prime, 1032 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10021(New York City)

For even more events and new events posted daily, visit www.ciderweeknewyork.com. Virtual Cider Week programming can be viewed at New York Cider Association TV Channel on YouTube.

Story by Jim Franco at Spotlight News

On Saturday, April 24 the Nine Pin Mobile Bar made a debut at a small wedding in East Greenbush.

It has been an interesting journey with the mobile bar.

As with everything, it started out as just an idea. At first it seemed so simple: let’s provide a way for people to access a unique New York cider bar at their private, outdoor events during an *almost* post-COVID summer. We sensed there was plenty of celebrating in the works to make up for a long year of social distancing and zoom gatherings.

Of course, we could have taken an easier road by buying already-to-go trailer, making some minor adjustments, and giving it a subtle Nine Pin branding touch.

But no, no, at Nine Pin we must take the road less traveled, start from scratch and create our own, unique trappings. In this spirit, we invested in a used horse trailer, and trust us, it was USED!

The first task was cleaning. If you know anything about horse care, you are aware that it is quite the messy job. To wash the aftermath is not pleasant. But we powered through, encountered a couple surprises along the way, and were finally ready for the next task, welding.

Luckily in this department, we have a good friend who owns his own welding business, Mack Daddy Fabrications. Chris Patterson is an incredibly talented welder. The only problem is that his usual welding work involves massive steel tanks in nuclear power plants; an amazing skill set to have, but a little too much skill for our little horse trailer.

Chris did amazing work on the bar, and our cider mobile is now as strong as a military grade tank, ready to go into battle. Who knows, depending on the party we attend, we may need this type of brawn!!!

After Chris completed his work, it was time to paint and refurbish the inside. Alejandro and his father, Casiano, worked around the clock to prepare for our first event. There was a bit of nail biting suspense at the end, but we were able to accomplish our goal.

All in all, it took us almost three months of hard work to get the Nine Pin Mobile Bar event-ready and we rolled into our first event fit to bring all the fun, excitement, and exceptional New York cider a wedding deserves. But wait, there’s more!  Even though the mobile bar was complete and primed to serve a slew of Nine Pin Ciders to feverish party goers, we faced a final challenge…

How do we get a full-sized horse trailer into a small suburban back yard?

The answer is three grown adults, including an incredibly good-natured groom himself, carefully backing the bar into the yard, physically lifting it at points to pivot it into place, all while trying to maneuver it around the already set up wedding tent. We managed to achieve a perfect position, though it may or may not have required deconstructing a fence in the process to fit the bar through. (Luckily the fence was easy to put back together).

So, after all the ups and downs, the question of “What have we gotten ourselves into,” and the uncertainty of whether we would actually pull this project off, we had, indeed, done it. We got the Nine Pin Mobile Bar to the wedding and immediately we knew that all of our hard work was worth it.

Tehresa and Pierre, the bride and groom, could not have been better hosts. They, like so many couples who had planned weddings in 2020, decided to get married via a private ceremony last summer. Their celebration on the 24th was an intimate gathering among their closest friends and family to commemorate the occasion that everyone missed due to the pandemic. And boy, did they make up for lost time!

The entire time we were there, there was not a frown on anyone’s face. People were just so happy to be in one another’s presence. The cider poured beautifully, and gave everyone that extra liquid courage to tear up the dance floor. I will admit, it was hard to not just jump in and join in on the fun myself, having not danced with a group since my mother’s 60th birthday party two weeks before the shutdown in 2020.

The night ended without any hiccups. We said our farewell to Tehresa and Pierre with a beaming sense of triumph, knowing our first event had gone perfectly.

And in the end, it was an Instagram message from Tehresa that truly reminded us why we had put so much work into the once beaten up horse trailer. It read simply: “Y’all seriously made our day”.

-         Joshua Whelan, Director of Marketing

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Nine Pin throws dozens of events every year (2020 excepted). They range from food pairings, tastings, craft nights, and more. Among all the fun and exciting experiences, nothing to me is more rewarding than our annual Warehouse District Clean Up, which we lead annually on the Sunday of Earth Week.

The cleanup began in 2015 with a crowd of approximately fifteen eager volunteers, ready to get their hands dirty with the promise of crisp, refreshing Nine Pin cider at the end.  

We gathered around our then relatively tiny tasting room on a bright and gorgeous spring Sunday, welcoming the warmer weather after the lingering cold of winter in Upstate New York.

We broke into teams; Nine Pin employees led their respective groups to each of the nine cleanup zones we had designated. I was assigned to a team of young women, all friends, and we made our way to clean up Manor Street. Although a small street for Albany, it sure put us to work!

At first, being assigned to group of strangers was not exactly how I envisioned my first cleanup adventure. If I was going to be picking up trash on Sunday, I wanted to be with my fellow co-workers or, even more preferably, my girlfriend (now wife).

However, it did not take long to discover the magic of the day. Before I knew it, my team and I were cracking jokes, getting to know one another, and laughing about all the literal junk we were handling. We spent only two hours together, but by the end, I felt I was part of their “girl” gang.  

When we returned to the tasting room to retrieve our complimentary cider reward, the bonding continued. Now we were joined by all the groups who had returned from the other cleanup areas. We sat outside the tasting room, sipping our ciders and trading war stories of what we had, thankfully, removed from the streets of the Warehouse District. We basked outside in the warm sun, while admiring the literal mountain of trash we had collected. Albany DGS was soon there to haul the trash away to a proper disposal site.

Fast forward six years later and our group has grown to approximately 40-50 fabulous volunteers each year.  I am delighted to have the opportunity to rekindle bonds with returning friends and to establish connections with the new faces that join us each year.  

This year I was lucky enough to meet a friendly gentleman named Wes. At first a stranger, I asked Wes to hop in the Nine Pin pickup truck with me to help retrieve the “big ticket items”. We recovered an entire couch, several rotting pallets, an old concrete fountain, and many more bulky objects, not suitable for the hefty bags that Albany DGS had donated. By the end of our mission, Wes and I were joking around and realizing our shared musical taste for classic Hip-Hop.  

We then joined other volunteers in the tasting room, and there was no denying the comradery between groups of complete strangers, all conversing about our shared experience. Just as with our first year, we all reflected on our hard work this year and how we couldn’t wait until next year’s cleanup!

• Joshua Whelan, Director of Marketing

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Welcome to the eighth episode of PUT CIDER IN IT!

We have had the pleasure of working with Rob and Alicia from Upstate Cookie Shack since they busted onto the Upstate New York scene the past few years.

They have featured their delicious cookies at numerous cider pairings in the tasting room, but we have never tried baking their incredible cookies with Nine Pin...

Let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

Stay tuned for a recipe so you can make this delicious creation at home.

Tune in for final PUT CIDER IN IT episode of season 1 with Tipsy Moose Tavern on Wednesday, January !

Welcome to the seventh episode of PUT CIDER IN IT!

This past summer, we teamed up with Chef Ric Orlando to create our Signature Cider BBQ Sauce and our Ginger Cider BBQ Sauce.

We have been dying to create some dishes with Chef Ric with these new sauces...

Let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It as well!

Here are the recipes:

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Signature BBQ Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and waffles to me always needs something to pull the dish together.

In this dish the creamy goat cheese and tangy Signature BBQ sauce take a basic dish to the sublime level!

Serves 2

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Ingredients:

- 4 belgian waffles, toasted

- 1 cup milk

- ½ cup Nine Pin Signature Cider

- 8-10 chicken tenders or breast strips

- 1 cup flour, or rice flour for gluten free version

- 2 tbls Ric Orlando’s BEST Q-RUB BBQ seasoning *

- 2 tsp salt

- Safflower or other vegetable oil for frying

- ½ cup goat cheese

- Ric Orlando’s Signature BBQ sauce as desired

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Directions:

- Cut the chicken into strips.

- Mix the flour, salt and QRUB seasoning in a separate bowl

- Put the strips in a bow with the milk, QRub Seasoning and cider and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes or up to two hours.

- In a heavy skillet heat enough oil to come up about ½ inch in the pan until just shimmering, to about 340 degrees.

- Dredge each chicken piece in the flour mix and carefully lay into the hot oil.

- Cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5-6 minutes.

- Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

- Put two waffles on each plate.

- Top with crumble goat cheese.

- Lay the hot chicken pieces over the waffles.

- Drizzle on the Signature BBQ Sauce. Don't be shy!

Recipe by Ric Orlando

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Ginger Cider BBQ Clams:

This is an amazing pear round dish, and with a hunk of bread and a crisp salad, it makes an easy and delish one pot dinner.

Look for smallish Littleneck clams for this.

Serves 2

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Ingredients:

- 16-24 littleneck clams, scrubbed under cold water

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 4 oz Andouille or other spicy sausage, sliced into rings

- 1 medium sweet or red onion, diced

- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced medium, to yield about 1 ½ cups

- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, about one sprig

- 8 oz Nine Pin ginger cider

-  3-4 oz Ric Orlando's Ginger BBQ Sauce

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Directions:

- In a heavy pan or pot with a snug fitting lid heat the oil over medium high heat.

- Add the sausage and onions and cook until shiny.

- Add the diced sweet potatoes and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally until almost tender

- Turn the heat to high. Add the thyme and the cider and cover.

- Let The clams steam about 4-5 minutes or until they have all pepped open.

- Swirl in the Ginger BBQ sauce and serve in bowls.

Recipe by Ric Orlando

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Try other amazing Nine Pin BBQ dishes this Friday, December 10 at 5 p.m. at our Nine Pin Cider Sauce Pop Up with Ric Orlando - December!

Tune in for our next PUT CIDER IN IT with Upstate Cookie Shack on Wednesday, December 22!

Welcome to the sixth episode of PUT CIDER IN IT!

For years, we have worked with our close friends, fin - your fishmonger, having them over for seafood pop ups at the cidery. Josh decided to stop over to their storefront in Guilderland for a change and see if the fin team had anything special cooking. Isabel was preparing some AMAZING fish and chips...

Let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

Want to make these Nine Pin Cider-Battered Cod home?

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Ingredients

- (4) 6oz fresh Icelandic cod fillets

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- ¾ cup rice flour plus extra for dusting

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1½ Cans Nine Pin hard cider

-  1 teaspoon white sugar

- Salt to taste

- Lemon wedges and chopped parsley for garnish

- Enough canola oil to fry each fillet

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Directions

✓ In a large bowl, mix both flours, baking powder and sugar.

✓ Add cider and salt and mix until batter binds together and is smooth. Don’t over mix!

✓ Dust with extra flour until completely covered.

✓ Heat a sauté pan of oil to 350F (oil should be high enough in the pan to fry one side at a time.) Use a thermometer to check for temp OR dip the end of a wooden spoon into the oil – if it bubbles, it’s ready!

✓ Dunk fish into batter and place carefully into hot oil…SLOWLY!

✓ Cook on each side for 4 – 5 minutes. You may have to cook fillet one at a time.

✓ Once completely golden brown and delicious, remove from sauté pan and place on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

✓ Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley.

✓ Enjoy!

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Tune in for our next PUT CIDER IN IT with Ric Orlando on Wednesday, November 24!

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Welcome to the fifth episode of PUT CIDER IN IT!

Recently, we added some delicious homemade Lidia's Empanadas onto the menu in our tasting room. Josh wanted to head over to Lidia's kitchen and see where the magic happens! To Josh's surprise, Lidia was not cooking her famous empanadas today...she was baking flan!

Let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

Want to make this Apple Pie-Secco Flan at home? Here are the ingredients and directions:

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This recipe created a dozen small flans

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Ingredients for custard

6 large eggs

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 tablespoon of vanilla

Ingredients for New York Apple mix

2 chopped New York apples

1 can of Nine Pin Apple Pie-Secco Cider

2 tablespoons of apple spice mix

Ingredients for Caramel

3 cups of white granulated sugar

1 sliced New York apple

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Directions for baking

- Preheat oven to 350°F

- In a blender mix all the custard ingredients and set aside

- On medium heat place 3 cups of sugar in a non stick pan. Let the sugar sit without moving it under medium heat. Once you see some of the sugar liquify and turn brown keep mixing until all the sugar has dissolved and turn brown. At this point the Carmel sauce will be very very hot.

- The next step you will have to do fairly quickly or else the Carmel will harden

- Pour hot Carmel into the small ramekins and swirl it around so to coats the ramekin. Then place apple slices in the bottom before Carmel hardens, then set them aside.

- On medium high heat placed chopped apples, apple spice mix and a can of Nine Pin Cider in a sauce pan and cook until mixture has thickened.

- Set aside and cool.

- Once cooled mix apple/cider mixture with custard mixture together and place the mixture into ramekin.

- Cover each ramekin with aluminum foil separately.

- Cook in the water bath, also called bain-marie, for about 60-70 minutes. Check one ramekin after 60 minutes by looking under the foil. It should jiggle when moving like jelly or pudding. Don't overbake. Check back every few minutes if not done after 60 minutes.

- Then remove from the water bath and let cool to room temperature. Afterward, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

- After chilling and before serving, run a knife around the sides where the flan is connected to the ramekins. Then place a plate on top and flip over the plate. Then slightly shake the ramekin that the flan is falling on the plate. Watch the video above to see how I did it.

- The sugar syrup will run over the flan.

Try this AMAZING flan and all of Lidia's famous empanadas at our Pins and Empanadas Pop up on Saturday, November 20.

You can also try Lidia's Empanadas seven days a week now in the Nine Pin Tasting Room!‍

Tune in for our next PUT CIDER IN IT with fin - your fishmonger on Wednesday, November 24!

Welcome to PUT CIDER IN IT Episode 4 - Halloween Edition!

In this spooky fourth episode, Josh travels to our friends in Albany: Stacks Espresso Bar.

Josh popped over to see Sue and talk about the upcoming Stacks Seasonal Showcase: Autumn this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m at 488 Broadway in Albany.

At the event, there will be special Nine Pin Cider and coffee pour-over tastings, a seasonal marketplace pop-up by Make It Upstate, and insider tricks for treats by Chef Sue Dunckle from Stacks!

Sue will be showcasing an incredible Pork Normandy this Saturday...let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

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Recipe for the Nine Pin Pork Normandy:

Place pork slices between plastic wrap. Using mallet, pound pork slices to 1/4-inch thickness. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate.)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in another heavy large skillet over high heat. Season pork with salt , turmeric, and pepper. Add pork to skillet and sauté until just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.

Add shallots , apples, cranberries , walnuts and thyme and sauté 2 minutes. Add  Nine Pin and honey and simmer until reduced to glaze, scraping up any browned bits, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange a few pork slices on each plate. Spoon sauce over. Top generously with sautéed apple slices and serve!

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Want to try this Nine Pin Pork Normandy first hand? Come out to the Stacks Seasonal Showcase this Saturday, October 30! See the full details on https://www.ninepincider.com/tasting-room.

Next Put Cider In It episode will be released on Wednesday, November 10 with Lidia's Empanadas!

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Welcome to PUT CIDER IN IT Episode 3!

In this third episode, Josh travels to our friends in Stuyvesant Plaza: PRIMAL: Your Local Butcher.

Josh met up with Andy to see if he was working on anything special to do with all of his local meats.

Andy was crafting an amazing brine for his locally sourced pork tenderloin...let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

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Nine Pin Brine:

- 3 cups Nine Pin Cider

- 2 cups Water

- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

- 1/4 cup Salt

- 1/4 cup Worcestershire

- 1 TBL Garlic Powder

- 1 TBL Onion Powder

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Recipe for 2 pork tenderloins:

- Let Pork Tenderloins sit, fully immersed in the brine for at least 24 hours. Smoke at 250F, until internal temp of 145F is achieved (approximately 2 hours) or cook in oven at 350F to reach temp. (Approximately 35 min)

- Cooking times are an approximate guideline only. Always keep a watchful eye on the internal temp, as ovens and smokers can vary greatly.

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Want to try local meats cooked from Primal with this Nine Pin Cider brine first hand? Come to our upcoming pop up with Primal on Wednesday, October 20! See the full details and menu on https://www.ninepincider.com/tasting-room.

Next Put Cider In It episode will be released on Wednesday, October 27 with Stacks Espresso Bar!

Welcome to PUT CIDER IN IT Episode 2!

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In this second episode, we travel to Troy, NY to hang out with our old tasting room cider slinger, Jake, and his husband, Alejandro, at their new coffee shop, Jacob-Alejandro.  

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Jake and Alejandro were working on a delicious cheesecake...let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

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Stay until the end to see some good Great British Baking Show humor!!!

Here is the recipe for you to try at home:

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Nine Pin Strawberry Cheesecake Glaze with Fresh Strawberry & Basil

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For 1, 6” cheesecake

Ingredients:

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For the Strawberries & Basil:

1/2 lb Fresh Strawberries, sliced

5 leaves Fresh Basil, chopped

2 tbsp White Sugar

2 tbsp Nine Pin Strawberry Cider

For the Strawberry Glaze:

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1 each 6” Prepared Cheesecake

1 lb Fresh Strawberries

1 cup White Sugar

8 oz  Nine Pin Strawberry Cider

1/2 pkg Gelatin powder

Whipped Cream

Method

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1) Prepare the strawberries & basil ahead to let the flavors blend.  Combine sliced strawberries with chopped basil, sugar and Nine Pin Strawberry Cider. Toss with a fork and let rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.

2) Meanwhile, prepare the glaze:  Quarter 1/2 of the strawberries and combine with sugar and cider and bring to a boil

2) Bloom the gelatin in cold water.

3) Once the strawberry mix is at a boil, remove from heat and stir in bloomed gelatin.  Let cool until warm.

4) Blend cooked strawberries in a blender, should be pretty runny and let cool to almost room temp.

4) Slice the remaining 1/2 of strawberries and fan over top of cheesecake.  Pour glaze over strawberries and over the side of the cheesecake.

5) Topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberry and basil mix.

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Next Put Cider In It comes out Wednesday, October 13 with Primal!

Over the past 8 years, Nine Pin has produced high quality craft ciders using 100% New York apples and fruit. We have experimented with all the different fruits, hops, teas, etc. that can be put in our New York hard ciders. But one question remained... What can we put our cider in?!

Through this video series, we will talk with some of the Capital Regions most talented chefs, bartenders, bakers, and beyond to see all the amazing ways Nine Pin's Cider can be used in their creations.

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In this first episode, we went out to our neighbor across the street, Lost and Found, to speak with Jesse and learn about his amazing Blackberry Margarita Slushy he has been working on. Let's see what happens when we Put Cider In It!

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Want to make this delicious Nine Pin Blackberry Margarita at home? Here is how you can PUT CIDER IN IT:

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"Nine Pin BlackBerry Ciderita"

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- 1 oz Tequila
- 1/2 oz Triple Sec
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 4-6 fresh blackberry’s
- Nine Pin Signature Cider

Muddle blackberry’s and simple syrup together. Add tequila, triple sec and lime juice and shake with ice. Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass and top with Nine Pin Signature Cider.