Gold Rush – Virtue Cider & Oliver’s Cider Collaboration

The genesis for the collaboration occurred in the spring of 2011, during one of Hall’s visits with Oliver at his farm in England, shortly after Hall stepped down as Brewmaster at Goose Island Brewing Company to embark on his own cider venture, Virtue. Both Oliver and Hall had been fans of the others work for years, in cider and beer, respectively and thought it would be fun to collaborate on a cider. Oliver embarked on the project and Hall returned to England in May of 2012 to sample the cider. And voila! Gold Rush was christened.

Gold Rush is available in the US through Shelton Brothers, an importer of small batch, artisanal, hand-crafted cider and beer. Shelton Brothers has been the exclusive importer for all Oliver’s ciders and perries since they were first introduced to the US in 2007. Gold Rush was released by Shelton Brothers at The Festival, a gathering of international beer and cidermakers, which they hosted in Worcester, MA the weekend of June 23-24, 2012. Gold Rush is now available nationwide through the Shelton Brothers’ distribution network.

The 6.8% sparkling, medium dry cider with a deep, burnished color was made from 100% bittersweet and sharp vintage cider apples from traditional Herefordshire farms. The juice was slow fermented by wild yeasts in old oak barrels through a cold winter and underwent malolactic fermentation in the warm spring. Oliver then added fruit sugar and lambic yeasts for a second alcoholic fermentation, adding a touch more alcohol and complexity. It was finished in oak, for maturity, before final blending and bottling.