Middletown Cidery Wins International Recognition

MIDDLETOWN, CT — Middletown-based cidery Spoke + Spy Ciderworks recently won several major awards on an international stage for their local hard cider. Spoke + Spy won three awards at the recent Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition (GLINTCAP), the world’s largest cider and perry judging competition, that took place in May in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At GLINTCAP, 1,584 entries from cidermakers around the world were judged.

Amid a record-breaking amount of competitors, Spoke + Spy brought home three awards: a gold medal and Best in Class win for their Kingston Black cider (a traditional single varietal dry cider) and silver medals for Love Shouldn’t Hurt (a semi-sweet strawberry-rhubarb fruit cider) and Tepache Mode (a semi-sweet specialty fruit cider made with apples, pineapples, spices and hot peppers) respectively.

Spoke + Spy also earned accolades at the Big E, which plays host to a yearly cider and perry competition that had entries from more than 55 different cideries from the Northeast. Spoke + Spy took home a Silver Medal for its Kingston Black and was one of only four Connecticut cideries to score a win, according to a press release.

“With the Big E win under their belt, they plan to pour their award-winning ciders alongside Connecticut craft beers in the Connecticut building this September during the fair,” the release states. “The key to winning such high acclaim lies in the quality of the apples and the skill of the cidermaker. Kingston Black apples are highly prized in the cider community, first grown in Somerset (South West England) in the early 19th century. These sought-after apples are not grown for eating, but for fermentation in the production of cider. They feature a ‘bittersharp’ profile that flaunts a near perfect blend of tannins and acids. This means the Kingston Black is capable of producing a ‘single-variety’ cider, or cider made from only one type of apple rather than a blend (as most ciders are). When you take a drink of the award-winning Kingston Black cider, you should expect a completely dry cider with a balance of tannins and acids that highlight the flavors of crisp apples with hints of citrus and subtle funky and earthy flavors.”

The tasting room at Spoke + Spy Ciderworks is open every Friday and Saturday. Spoke + Ciderworks is located in the R.M. Keating Historical Enterprise Park (formerly known as The Remington Rand Building) at 180 Johnson St. in Middletown. The cidery shares the historic industrial location with two breweries: Stubborn Beauty and Forest City Brewing.

For more information, visit the Spoke + Spy Ciderworks website here.