When life gives you a defunct meadery production space, you make cider. At least that’s what John and Brenda Gessner decided to do when Nectar of the Gods meadery closed in their hometown of Bend, Oregon and the space to embellish upon their cider passion became available. A homebrewer of more than two decades, John Gessner brought his understanding of fermentation to the table and launched Far Afield Cider. The cidery sources fruit from the Yakima Valley and produces European-style ciders, including one made with leftover honey (pre-mead) from Nectar and a bold, draft-style scrumpy called Valiant. The Valiant cider, a liquid ode to William Tell who shot an apple off his son’s head instead of bowing down to the aristocrats, requires “no need to rebel,” and provides ciderheads with a straight-forward, no-nonsense cider. Valiant is dauntless with plenty of fruit, skin, vanilla, earth, acid and tannin to proclaim it be taken seriously. All of the ciders are currently draft-only selections and offered at their tasting room in the new Maker’s District but the Gessners soon plan to bottle and widen their distribution.
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