Renaissance Orchard's Keeved Cider is a lightly carbonated cider that's delightfully fragrant with excellent aromas. This sweet cider is robust with complex bittersweet apple characteristics including balanced tannins and acidity, and a complex caramel finish. A beautiful example of a fine, Keeved cider - a process that's difficult to do well and rare amongst American cider makers, but highly common in French cider making. Absolutely delicious when done well, and this cider is an A example. 

This cider was made using estate grown apples and fermented by the cidermaker in Ferndale, Washington (near Bellingham in the Northern part of the state, just south of the Canadian border and Vancouver, British Columbia). A blend of pure bittersweet apples (mostly French varieties including Mettais, Nehou, Berthcourt, Boutel de Lessux, and Bramtot) and fermented using wild yeast. Naturally carbonated, with a slight fizz to it reminiscent of what the French call Cidre Bouché (naturally carbonated). 

Keeved Cider, or the Keeving Method, is the process of halting the fermentation before the yeast has a chance to convert all/most of the fresh juice's sugars into alcohol. During alcoholic fermentations, yeast will naturally continue to multiply and "eat" most all available sugars. The Keeving process interrupts that, traditionally by way of repeatedly racking of the cider away from the active yeast (which usually rests at the bottom of the fermentation vessel and bubbles atop the fermenting cider) by pulling the juice from the middle of the ferment into another vessel. This process slowly starves the yeast remaining in the cider from the nutrients needed to continue growing and fermenting. 

The result is a sweet cider, lower in alcohol, that retains loads of fruit character from the apple varieties used. This batch from Renaissance will appeal to fans of traditional Cidre Doux ciders from France. 

Each of the recent previous vintages of Renaissance Orchard's Keeved cider has won a Gold Medal at Sip Magazine's Best in the Northwest Cider Competition (Heritage Cider category), as well as a gold medal and Best in Class trophy at GLINTCAP (Traditional Cider - Sweet).