In our ongoing sequence, Girls Making Waves within the Cider World, we’ve talked to girls working in almost each sector of the business, from podcasters and bloggers to distributors to manufacturing execs. Although craft cider — and loads of different beverage sectors, like beer and wine, for that matter — remains to be a male-dominated sphere, our anecdotal analysis has confirmed that there are certainly girls enjoying essential roles in every single place in cider.
Nevertheless, our sixteenth installment brings us to a situation that we haven’t encountered but within the column: a cidery that’s 100% co-founded and run by girls. There are solely two workers, the co-owners Morgan Murphy and Maggie Przybylski, a pair based mostly in San Luis Obispo, a small metropolis on California’s Central Coast. Collectively, they’re Two Broads Ciderworks, a small-batch, agriculture-driven cidery based in 2015.
Two Broads Ciderworks co-owners Maggie Przybylski and Morgan Murphy
Theirs is a love story: It begins with falling for one another, after which discovering a brand new shared love for cider and apples. They met in 2001 as college students learning on the Coaching Ship Golden Bear, and over the previous almost 20 years, have gone on to journey into the territories of cider making and small enterprise. Utilizing regionally sourced heirloom fruit, they make quirky, elegant ciders, like Mawage, a cyser that blends cider and orange blossom honey, Bearded Queen, an fragrant hopped cider, and Frost, an iced cider.
We caught up with these two to dig deeper into their story and study extra about their tasting room in SLO:
Cider Tradition: Numerous folks take pleasure in cider … what impressed you to show that enjoyment into making cider?
Morgan Murphy: I used to be into home-brewing beer again after we first met. Although I used to be primarily a brewer, each fall we’d make cider. We traveled to Spain and France in 2003 and 2004 as a result of flights have been super-cheap. We have been uncovered to Spanish and French cider and realized there was much more thrilling stuff taking place there versus the macro cider, sweetened stuff [in the US].
Maggie Przybylski: Morgan and I’d go each fall to this small orchard on this little microclimate space in San Luis Obispo county referred to as See Canyon. There have been orchards there with all these heirloom apples that we’d by no means heard of, we’d purchase five-gallon gallons of juice to ferment.
Morgan: For some time, we wished to start out a brewery, however we realized that there are sufficient breweries. As we acquired older, we didn’t drink as a lot beer and began having fun with wine and cider extra. The place we reside is an enormous agricultural space, and there are tons of wineries and some apple orchards, we thought doing one thing with the native producers of apples can be extra attention-grabbing and enjoyable for us.
Are you able to discuss really beginning Two Broads? What have been these first few years like? What have been some early challenges?
Morgan: About 10 years in the past we have been like, “Let’s begin making this plan.” We’d take a look at gear gross sales and acquire issues within the storage, fermenters and issues. 5 years in the past we included and it was like, “It’s time to start out in search of an area.” It took a very long time to discover a house that was the proper dimension with the proper zoning and a landlord who wished us. We discovered it about mid-way between downtown and the airport. SLO is fairly small, so there’s mainly a university and the downtown, however we have been in search of a smaller low cost warehouse the place we might produce cider and do wholesale.
Maggie: It’s a logistics enterprise: The place can we get the apples, how can we get them right here? It’s a paperwork enterprise too, with the laws and the accounting. That took a very long time to determine and wrap our heads round. It’s a paperwork enterprise with the facet impact of constructing cider. Making it’s virtually the simplest half.
Did your profession backgrounds allow you to as you began making cider plans?
Maggie: I used to be a wildlife biologist, however eight years in the past I stop that my job to work at a restaurant. I wished to study what it will take to be in hospitality and run that form of enterprise. One of many first locations the place I utilized employed me with no expertise and I realized lots! I really simply stop that job this October to go full time with Two Broads. I realized lots and made nice connections at that restaurant, and I’ll miss the little household we created there, however as a way to get our tasting room open quickly, we have to deal with it.
Morgan: I’m a software program engineer.
While you moved into your present manufacturing house from your house storage, how did that change the way you made cider?
Morgan: Area for barrel-aging is big. And with the ability to grind and press apples — initially we have been doing it by lifting buckets, and finally we acquired this bin dumper factor which is simply a tremendous piece of hydraulic gear. We’re nonetheless fairly hands-on, although. There are just a few extra issues to automate, which is enjoyable for me as an engineer, honing the method to make it a little bit extra sane.
Maggie: Morgan likes to construct issues. We wish to have our palms in each a part of what we’re doing.
Morgan: Even when it is probably not the neatest factor. Generally it’s simply faster to purchase issues. Like a keg washer is one thing you assume you may not want, however then you definitely notice you want it.
Maggie: The enjoyment comes from making and utilizing one thing, nevertheless it prices time. That point will be fairly valuable.
How have issues grown or modified for Two Broads Ciderworks out of your begin in 2015 to right this moment?
Maggie: Manufacturing is in the identical warehouse that we present in 2016. In 2017 we began producing there in very small batches. We expanded into the neighboring bay for storage and we additionally let some drag queens use it as a observe house for Rocky Horror.
Morgan: We’re nonetheless making beneath 10,000 liters a yr. Our gross sales have grown yr over yr, and we’re kind of targeted extra on a high-quality product that’s regionally targeted. We’re not making an attempt to only promote as many models out the door as attainable. So it’s sluggish progress, however positively progress.
Was a tasting room at all times a part of your plan?
Maggie: We wished a tasting room from the get-go, in order that we might have totally different batches of various ciders and showcase them. We pulled the permits in January of 2020, after which COVID hit. We dragged our ft and at last opened throughout the holidays of 2021 with little fanfare. No grand opening for us! In mid-2022, we beginning bringing on workers to assist with the tasting room so we might hold constant hours, which is vastly necessary.
Are you able to share a bit about what the tasting room is like?
Maggie: Our tasting room has a Bohemian Victorian aesthetic.
Morgan: A guiding principal is … we’ve been to overly-modern-industrial aesthetic breweries and man caves the place you’ll be able to’t hear your self assume or speak to the particular person subsequent to you as a result of it’s so echo-y. We’re making an attempt to make our house cozier and extra attention-grabbing. Now we have rugs and sound-absorbing panels on the ceiling, and we showcase native artwork and queer artwork. So that you come into this nondescript warehouse parking zone and while you open the door and it’s form of a distinct world. We even have a patio with a seasonal creek and very nice outdoors ambiance.
The place does Two Broads supply fruit from?
Maggie: We get lots of fruit from SLO Creek Farm, simply outdoors of city, from Honest Hill Farm up north in Paso Robles. Some personal orchards have supplied to offer us apples, too. We attempt to get fruit from between two counties until it’s actually particular apples after which it’s normally a small buy from Washington or Oregon. Whereas it’s principally dessert fruit in our space, we do get some attention-grabbing varieties, like Arkansas Black and crab apples however in small portions.
We additionally get Yarlington Mill apples from Sierra Cider in Mariposa. They’re so cool. And now we’re leasing an orchard simply outdoors town. It’s principally Braeburn, with some Granny Smith and Dolgo Crab sprinkled in there. And this actually beautiful crimson apple with crimson veining across the core that appears purple when it will get a yeast bloom.
Morgan: There may be lots of restoration that we have to do with this orchard. As we exchange timber, we will even begin transitioning the fruit to heirloom and cider apples. Perhaps add some olallieberries. And Maggie needs pumpkins!
Are there any ciders you’ve made that shocked you, or that you simply’re particularly happy with?
Maggie: Some batches shocked us. We didn’t anticipate Gala apples to ship a beautiful single varietal cider. Bearded Queen — we’re fairly happy with our names — is a dry hopped cider and it involves you want a Sauv Blanc, it’s actually recent and tart with a passionfruit and grapefruit nostril. I appear to be the fruit cider particular person, so I’ve been experimenting with lots of bottle conditioning, that’s been actually enjoyable for me these days.
Morgan: I have a tendency to love the barrel-aged stuff. We age that in French oak, and we’ve began dabbling with ice cider that I’m actually happy with. The primary time with ice cider didn’t go as deliberate. It began off okay, however our cooling unit went offline for 2 days after which temperature of the fermentation acquired hotter than it ought to’ve been. So the cider acquired dryer than an ice cider ought to get. It got here out nonetheless candy, with that massive aroma and taste and acidity and it’s nonetheless fairly balanced. Now we have to warn those that it’s 16% as a result of they’ll drink manner an excessive amount of of it. Since then, we’ve dialed in our ice cider course of, and we have been fairly thrilled to see them get gold at GLINTCAP in 2021.
Is it simply the 2 of you working on the cidery proper now?
Maggie: Now we have just a few individuals who come assistance on urgent day assist after we choose and press. And some of us serving to out within the tasting room!
What are your favourite issues about working with one another?
Morgan: I’m superb at having large concepts and beginning initiatives, and Maggie is superb at really ending initiatives. It’s a superb combine. She’s good at maintaining deadlines and organizing, and I are usually higher at course of stuff by way of fermentation and analysis. She’s additionally lots friendlier than I’m.
Maggie: I’m superb at cracking the whip as nicely. I’ll not have massive concepts, however I’ve small concepts, and I’ve follow-through. We stability one another out, she’s fairly quiet and I’m positively the extrovert.
Let’s speak in regards to the title. How did you land on ‘Two Broads’ on your cidery?
Maggie: We toyed with just a few names, like animal names like Cellar Cat, or SLO Cider (which is definitely an organization now). Folks simply responded to Two Broads. I used to be just a bit anxious that some males, particularly older males, are like, “Can I name you that?” The phrase has this historical past of being this misogynist phrase for girls, nevertheless it looks as if it’s being reclaimed. A lot of the girls we talked to cherished the title. So we went with it. It tells you a little bit bit extra about us, like we’re two girls working this enterprise and we’re not good women.
Two Broads Ciderworks ciders can be found for buy on-line for delivery in California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon, with free pick-up and supply in SLO county. You may also try their Vinoshipper store for nationwide delivery. Presently, the Two Broads tasting room is open Friday from 3 to eight p.m., Saturday from 1 to eight p.m. and Sunday from 1 to six p.m. For more information and updates, comply with Two Broads on Instagram and Fb!
Two Broads Ciderworks is situated at 3427 Roberto Ct., Suite 130 in San Luis Obispo, California; cellphone: (805) 292-1500.
- Photographs: Courtesy of Two Broads Ciderworks
