Family produces American staple
SLIPPERY ROCK — Apples have been a longtime American staple. In the mid-1800s, hard apple cider was arguably more of an American icon than apple pie.
For Slippery Rock farmers Derek and Autumn Kellogg, the resurgence in the alcoholic drink in recent years was a small part of why they began producing and bottling cider. This September marks their third press season at Rebellion Ciderworks, an extension of Kellogg Farms, a couple of miles north of downtown Slippery Rock.
While it's a stand-alone business, it works hand in hand with the farm.
“To me, it's just another farm product,” said Derek Kellogg, 29. “This is part of farming.”
While commercial ciders have made the drink more common once again, Rebellion Ciderworks makes the drink the same way it was made hundreds of years ago: on the farm. Kellogg compares it to a microbrewery, except here, it's more of a “nano” cider production.
“You make cider like wine, but you drink it like a beer,” said Autumn Kellogg, 27.
Just as wine and beer, there are many flavor variations in the drink. The Bittersweet Liberty is a semidry cider, made with a blend of bittersweet apples, while the Haymaker is a semisweet drink, made with dessert apples. Derek Kellogg said while cider can be easily compared to beer or wine, it's a drink that's all its own.
“Cider is its own category,” he said. “Cider has a rich history. ... Every farm had a press.”
Cider's history is rich and complex. It was the drink of choice during much of the 1800s. President John Adams claimed to drink cider nearly every day. But in the late 19th century, immigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe made beer more popular in America, competing with cider. But the most devastating blow to cider was during Prohibition. By the time Prohibition ended, many of the orchards used for cider no longer existed. While barley and other beer ingredients could be readily produced again the next year, it can take upward of a decade or more for orchards to begin producing apples.
Derek Kellogg is fascinated by the long history of the drink. The ciderists named their company after the Whiskey Rebellion. He and his wife, who have a seven-month-old daughter Mackenna, use a renovated barn for cider making and tasting.
On one side is a 1920s-era press, and on the other is a finished maple countertop from a tree that once stood on the farm. And shelves, displaying several royal blue Rebellion Cider growlers and bottles, provide a contrasting backdrop.
The family produced 1,800 gallons of cider last year. This year, they're hoping to double the amount. The four brews that are currently made translate into thousands of growlers and bottles and also kegs for large events and nearby bars that carry the ciders.
Cooing Mackenna is the namesake for another flavor, the Mackenna's premiere semi-sweet drink. And there's the Wagon Wheel, a dry drink that “pairs well with bluegrass music,” according to their website. In the future, they hope to produce a bourbon- and a champagne-like drink.
That means more pressing and fermenting, which the family loves doing most.
“The smell of the fermentation is magnificent,” Derek Kellogg said. “I love the yeast turning it into an entirely different thing.”
The Kelloggs create an assembly line of activity, along with Derek's friend, Rob, and his parents, Joe and Jill Kellogg. From September all the way through February, using cold storage apples, the group makes the cider.
“It's good, hard work,” Autumn Kellogg added.
The couple buys their apples from providers to make cider. But in the future, they hope to use some apples from their newly planted, 2-acre orchard on the farm. The trees, now about three years old, should begin producing apples within the next couple of years.
Once that begins, some of the ciders available will be locally grown, produced, bottled and, likely, drunk.
Rebellion Ciderworks, located at 499 Grove City Road, Slippery Rock, has tasting hours from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays. After Labor Day, tasting hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, go to www.rebellionciderworks.com, or call 724-967-1609.
