A forward thinking hybrid cider maker from Denmark, Æblerov are one of the producers that are housed within the To Øl City complex in Svinninge.
Naturally utilising apples as a base for many of their ciders, they also stray outside of the box incorporating other seasonal fruits and ingredients to challenge the very notion of cider.
Named after the pastime that started their business venture, ‘Apple Robbery’ – where local apples were ‘liberated’ and then pressed in a home spun operation, Æblerov has grown from young anarchists, to…well, slightly older anarchists with a penchant for experimentation.
Taking the mad scientist role of flavour exploration and blurring the lines between what cider should and shouldn’t be, Æblerov are on the front line when it comes to progressive blends and combinations. Their philosophy sums it up (im)perfectly.
‘What do you get if you mix a giraffe and a zebra?‘
The answer is an okapi. And what about it? Well, we like zebras and giraffes, but it’s just as exciting that evolution has created a subtle hybrid that trudges around and eats leaves and ferns down in Central Africa. In the same way, we enjoy both beer, cider and wine, but that should not stop us from creating new hybrids and mash-ups that do away with the eternal tendency to box thinking and strict definitions of what, for example, cider can and can be.’
‘We see no contradiction between naturalness and playfulness and do not think that a cider becomes less ‘real’ because it is dry-hopped with Citra or mixed with grapes from Germany and Bordeaux. If we can offer the mouthpiece an even greater experience by putting together different pieces of nature into new, surprising taste expressions, well, then we do.’
What started as an adventure with scrumped and ‘stolen’ apples from various back gardens has led to a full scale production facility. That is now more Willy Wonka, rather than anything you might find in the backwaters of more traditional cider producing areas.
Because what happens when you recycle red peaches from beer production and pour it over with a variety of apples, pears, solaris, raspberries and a hint of sour beer? And could you really fire up the macaroons, cinnamon and cardamom and in a way to make a cider that tasted of apple pie?
The answers to these questions can be found in their range, side by side with the more classic, spontaneously fermented ciders. Welcome to 2nd Gen cider and fruit wines from Denmark.
