Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Location, Product, Staff
Cons:
I had the opportunity to visit Blue Bee Cider's magnificent location on two seperate occasions in May. The first was as a customer, trying glasses of their Aragon 1904 cider. The second was for a private tour of the back to write an article for Richmond.com. Both experiences were amazing and truly blog-worthy by themselves. But that is a lot of redundency that can be condensed into just one post. I will also link to the article somewhere in this post. Like, right here: Blue Bee Cider Article
Blue Bee Cider is located in Manchester, which is South Side. It is on West 7th in the old Aragon Coffee building. Blue Bee secured themselves the bottom of the building facing the river. This is an excellent location because the parking lot offers plenty spots, all of which have a great view of the river. So you can sit on the tailgate of your car, glass of cider in hand and gaze out upon the beauty of the James & the Richmond skyline. Their location is also prime for those who want to put in a quick trot along the flood wall, but thats a different post.
You walk right into Blue Bee's tasting room upon entering the building. It's not a big room by any strech. Well, not compared to some of the other tasting rooms in the area at least. It's very long, which allows for people to really spread out. The "bar" is not so much a bar as it is a counter, which fits into the room perfectly. When I went, with MF and NK, the owner Courtney was pouring for us. We went on a Friday afternoon on a beautiful day. There wasn't anyone else there when we got there at 4, but by 5 it was packed. Thankfully we were told that ABC had cleared Blue Bee to use their parking lot as part of the tasting room. So we took our cider out into the beautiful sunny afternoon.
We all pondered doing the taste, which is $1 for a mouthful. But then Courtney showed us how much we would get in a glass for $6. Done and DONE. All 3 of us got glasses of the cider that was out at the time, the Aragon 1904. This is a very crisp cider that almost has a champagne feel to it. It is an off dry, which means it has a little bit of sugar in it. It was perfect for the sunshine as it didn't sit heavy in the mouth or in the stomach. I could have easily had way more then the 2 glasses I did and still felt ok. MF and NK both agreed with me. I am looking forward to their newest release, the Charred Ordinary. I hope to get a chance to try it soon.
Courtney Mailey, the cidermaker/owner, was kind enough to allow me to come back for a tour when I explained to her that I was doing an article on them. She is a very pleasent and smart woman with a pasiion for her craft. And the operation that she leads is pretty intense. The fall is an insane time for them with all of the sorting, pressing and fermenting happening over a very short period. Not only that, but Courtney has to take the time to plan ahead and figure out which heirloom apples she needs and what ciders she wants to make. It's very impressive stuff. And she works with a small, but fun staff who are just as passionate about their work as she is. It really shows in the product.
One thing that Courtney showed me while I was there was the 5 casks currently holding and aging their apple brandy that will be used in their third release of the year, Harvest Ration. While I was there she told me that this brandy was currently sitting at 140 proof, which is INSANE. But she said that once it was mixed into the cider, it would mellow out a little. I can't wait to try it.
Blue Bee Cider is legit. They are here to stay and are bringing the noise with some serious ciders. I suggest you find an afternoon to get down to see them. Your mouth will not only thank you, but it might just take you out to dinner.
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