ANXO, Washington, D.C.’s original cidery, announces the launch of the new Heurich’s Liberty Apple Cider, made in partnership with Heurich House Museum , the Brewmaster’s Castle located in historic Dupont Circle. The ANXO team – known for their dry-fermented ciders – worked closely with the Museum to create a 21st Century version of legendary D.C. brewer Christian Heurich’s Prohibition-era offering. The result is a tart, non-hopped version of the cider that was first sold a century ago.
In anticipation of Prohibition coming to D.C., Christian Heurich pivoted his brewery to make a non-alcoholic apple drink, purchasing $100,000 worth of Stayman Winesap apples and pasteurizing them to prevent the juice from fermenting to alcohol. While he diluted the beverage and added a hop extract, what Heurich did not anticipate is that, contrary to beer which requires the addition of yeast, cider ferments in its own juices. After 18 months, the apple drink was about 6% ABV.
Credit: Courtesy of the Heurich House Museum
Although Prohibition was in effect, in 1920 Heurich was given special permission to sell the fermented apple drink – which he called Liberty Apple Champagne – for just three weeks. In 1933 when Prohibition was repealed, Heurich still had 60,000 gallons of Liberty Apple Champagne stored at the brewery, which were dumped and lost to time to make room for future brews. One hundred years later, the new Liberty Apple Cider pays homage to Heurich’s original release, while staying true to ANXO’s standards of creating ciders made with only apples and no additives.
“We are excited to partner with ANXO to release the historic Heurich’s Liberty Apple Cider, especially because of their commitment to planting and harvesting from heritage apple trees and their use of traditional cider making techniques,” said Kimberly Bender, executive director of the Heurich House Museum. “Heurich would be proud as he had several fruit trees at his home in the Dupont Circle neighborhood as well as at Bellevue Farm in Hyattsville, and he would have loved to be able to legally sell his cider!”
To recreate Heurich’s Liberty Apple Cider, ANXO’s cider makers used solely Stayman Winesap apples sourced from 78 Acres Farm in Smithburg, Md, and fermented the apple juice dry in large wooden casks. The result is a tart cider that, like all of ANXO’s offerings, stands at 6.9% ABV and remains naturally sugar-free, gluten-free and low in carbohydrates. The can design pays homage to the original Heurich’s Liberty Apple Cider label, utilizing the 20th century logo and restoring the “made with the pure juice of the choicest apples” and “serve cold” phrases.
“We’re a brand born and bred in D.C., so it’s incredible to be partnering with a District institution like the Heurich House Museum that holds an important role in the history of beer and cider coming out of this city,” said Sam Fitz, co-founder and president of ANXO. “Knowing that Mr. Heurich was passionate about apples – like our team at ANXO – gave us a lot of inspiration to make this recreation fantastic. We’re so honored that the Museum has trusted us to bring this cider back to life!”
Heurich’s Liberty Apple Cider will be available for pre-order starting Thursday, July 16 on through ANXO’s New Release club , and through the Heurich House Museum’s website, here . Starting Tuesday, July 21, the cider will be available for local D.C. pickup and delivery from ANXO’s two brick and mortar locations (300 Florida Ave. NW and 711 Kennedy St. NW), and for delivery to over 40 states via ANXO’s website . The cider will also be available for pick up at the Heurich House Museum (1307 New Hampshire Ave. NW). Prices start at $15.00 for a 4-pack.
Keep up with the latest from ANXO by visiting https://anxocider.com/ and following them on Instagram and Twitter @ANXOcider, and on Facebook @ANXOCiderDC.
To learn more about the Heurich House Museum, visit http://heurichhouse.org and follow on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @heurichhouse.