Tap Handle #345: Hauser Estate Winery - Jack's Hard Cider

As I've mentioned before a few times on this blog, I really like hard cider. Hard cider was once the prevalent alcoholic beverage in the early days of the U.S., and has been making a comeback over the last few years. So any time I have an opportunity to buy a great looking hard cider tap, I'm going to pursue it. This has to be my favorite hard cider tap to date, with a twisted up apple. Jack's is an east coast offering, but maybe someday I'll have a chance to sample it. For now I'm really enjoying the tap, which is somewhat rare due to the small size of the winery.

Jack’s Hard Cider was founded in 2008 in Biglerville, Pennsylvania but traces its origins back to the turn of the century. In 1907 John S. Musselman, Sr. and his two sons, John Jr. and Christian High, purchased the Biglerville Canning Company. After a successful first year, a second canning facility was built in Gardners, Pa. This new plant, and the original one in Biglerville, provided much needed canned goods for servicemen during World War I, including corn, tomatoes, and sliced apples. John (Jack) A. Hauser was hired into the distribution department in 1934, and rose through the departments within the processing plant until he was positioned to take over the company.

In 1944, Musselman Sr. passed away and Hauser stepped in as president, where he turned Musselman’s into a household name across the country with its apple products. Hauser left his family with orchards, farmland and an estate. In 2008, Hauser Estate Winery opened its doors and the first bottle of hard cider rolled off the bottling line, labeled “Jack’s” in memory of Hauser's accomplishments. Initially the bottles were only sold directly out of the winery, but now they are sold in six states including Georgia, Virginia and Florida. In the past three years, cider production at Hauser has increased by 30 times. Jack's uses up to 19 varieties of apples, which can cause the taste to vary from batch to batch. Apples are grown, picked, pressed, fermented, filtered and canned all on-premise in their partially solar-power, fully underground and naturally cool winery and cidery. They produce 2 varieties year round.

Jack's original is dry, crisp and refreshing, with lots of bright acidity, none of the mustiness that can sometimes accompany a cider, and a great nose of baked bread and fresh apples like a freshly baked apple pie. Recommended food pairings are: blackened fish, citrus salad, barbeque, spicy salsa, and pumpkin pie. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 2.84 out of 5.

Jack's Hard Cider Official Website

Source Material
Jack's Hard Cider website
East Coast Wineries Blog
The Evening Sun
pennlive.com