The Story of Bauman’s Cider
“Who’s making hard cider?”
This was the question Christine discussed with family members at many a gathering at the farm. It seemed that everyone wanted to enjoy hard cider, but no one had quite volunteered to undertake the unique process of making this special beverage. Motivated by her own curiosity, Christine began to probe into the family tradition of making hard cider after the apple harvest. As it turns out, in the early to mid 1900’s Great-grandpa Stephen had perfected the method for making hard cider in the barn using the traditional method of fermenting apples in barrels.
At the time that prohibition was passed, many of the apples grown on the farm were in fact cider apples. As the effects of prohibition took hold, the family farm moved into growing dessert fruit. Thus, Great-grandpa Stephen’s traditional method of making hard cider faded into the background. Upon learning of her family history of producing hard cider, and armed with a degree in biochemistry from Lewis & Clark University, Christine became determined to revive Great-grandpa Stephen’s tradition of making hard cider while at the same time utilizing modern scientific cider making methods to bring this unique family beverage into today’s marketplace.
Christine Walter, Bauman’s Cider founder
Drawing from the incredibly rich experiences of her childhood as one of six siblings growing up on the family farm, which included learning the value of hard work (picking berries at 4:30am), making cider from a hand-cranked cider press, and the time spent at her uncle’s nearby fresh market stand, Christine simply got to work and began perfecting the modern version of Great-grandpa Stephen’s hard cider. While always mindful of keeping his tradition intact, Christine declares “It’s a scientific adventure to make hard cider today and bring it to market.”
This blending of modern hard cider making with the best of traditional methods developed on the family farm spanning five generations is now lovingly perfected in every bottle. The result of Christine’s efforts is truly a hard cider of which we hope Great-grandpa Stephen would proud.
My Grandpa Clyde was born in 1921, on the farm where he would live his entire 92 years. Clyde’s Dry cider is my tribute to his life and his love of the farm. It is a blend of more than a dozen varietals, including sweets and sharps grown on the family farm and loved by Grandpa, farming until his very last days. It draws it’s tannic character from the blend and the addition of some locally-picked Manchurian Crab apples.
Stephen Bauman was my Great-Grandfather, who put in the early cider apple orchards on the farm. My Dad has shared stories of his childhood memories of Grandpa Stephen’s cider barrels in the barn. These stories of friends and family sharing pints of cider were my inspiration for wanting to make and share cider now. This cider is a blend of apples from the family farm and just a splash of fresh juice from the latest pressing of our winter dessert apples. It’s nicely balanced with a subtle sweetness and a dry finish – just like an apple from the farm.
Enjoy this slightly sweet, refreshingly tart blend of Obsidian blackberries, picked right here on the farm, with our traditional hard apple cider and a drizzle of honey from our neighborhood bees mixed in. The berries remind me of many fond memories with my siblings, cousins and I racing to pick our quota of blackberries so that we could go swim in the Pudding River on summer afternoons. And note this cider is rich with real berries from the farm – don’t be surprised to find a seed or two!
Family lore has it that I really wasn’t much of a berry picker as a kid, but I remember things quite differently! Logans are generally one of the first berries of the season, and making this sweet, fruity cider floods me with memories of picking them behind where the farm store is today. Logans can’t be picked with a machine as they are too delicate and soft, and those attributes come out in the cider as a sweetness from start to finish.
This cider is made with Nugget and Perle hops provided by our neighbor, lemon thyme from the farm and is blended with our traditional dry cider. It’s a refreshing summer drink that reminds one of squeezing a lemon into a light beer on a warm summer day.
The delicate flavor of Bosc pears and the warmth of cinnamon ensure this perry will go nicely with Holiday music and twinkling lights. Slightly sweet, it can be enjoyed with food, or sipped alone, or even mulled with cinnamon and cloves.
Juicy red cranberries from the Everest family farm in Sixes, Oregon, fermented together with apples from our farm.
The perfect compliment to a long winter, we started with our base cider, pressed from over a dozen varieties, and then added winter peaches and a splash of raspberries during
