For LGBTQIA+ Satisfaction Month, we’re sharing tales of queer-identified cider makers from throughout the nation. On this Cider Tradition characteristic, meet Morgan Murhpy and Maggie Przybylski of Two Broads Ciderworks.
In our ongoing sequence, Girls Making Waves within the Cider World, we’ve talked to ladies 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 ladies enjoying essential roles all over the place in cider.
Nevertheless, our sixteenth installment brings us to a state of affairs that we haven’t encountered but within the column: a cidery that’s 100% co-founded and run by ladies. There are solely two workers, the co-owners Morgan Murphy and Maggie Przybylski, a pair primarily based 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 finding out 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 be taught extra about their tasting room in SLO:
Cider Tradition: A number of folks get pleasure from cider … what impressed you to show that enjoyment into making cider?
Morgan Murphy: I used to be into home-brewing beer again once 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 had been super-cheap. We had 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 bought older, we didn’t drink as a lot beer and began having fun with wine and cider extra. The place we dwell is a giant 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 truly beginning Two Broads? What had been these first few years like? What had been some early challenges?
Morgan: About 10 years in the past we had been like, “Let’s begin making this plan.” We’d take a look at gear gross sales and accumulate issues within the storage, fermenters and issues. 5 years in the past we included and it was like, “It’s time to start out searching for an area.” It took a very long time to discover a area that was the correct measurement with the correct 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 principally a school and the downtown, however we had been searching for 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 creating cider. Making it’s nearly the best half.
Did your profession backgrounds enable you as you began making cider plans?
Maggie: I used to be a wildlife biologist, however eight years in the past I give up that my job to work at a restaurant. I wished to be taught what it could take to be in hospitality and run that sort of enterprise. One of many first locations the place I utilized employed me with no expertise and I discovered so much! I truly simply give up that job this October to go full time with Two Broads. I discovered so much and made nice connections at that restaurant, and I’ll miss the little household we created there, however with a purpose to get our tasting room open quickly, we have to give attention to it.
Morgan: I’m a software program engineer.
Whenever you moved into your present manufacturing area from your own home storage, how did that change the way you made cider?
Morgan: House for barrel-aging is large. And having the ability to grind and press apples — initially we had been doing it by lifting buckets, and finally we bought 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 bit of extra sane.
Maggie: Morgan likes to construct issues. We prefer to have our fingers 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 won’t want, however you then notice you want it.
Maggie: The enjoyment comes from making and utilizing one thing, however it prices time. That point could be fairly valuable.
How have issues grown or modified for Two Broads Ciderworks out of your begin in 2015 to at this time?
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 follow area for Rocky Horror.
Morgan: We’re nonetheless making below 10,000 liters a 12 months. Our gross sales have grown 12 months over 12 months, and we’re type of targeted extra on a high-quality product that’s regionally targeted. We’re not making an attempt to only promote as many items out the door as attainable. So it’s gradual progress, however undoubtedly 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 in the course of 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 vital.
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 possibly can’t hear your self assume or discuss to the particular person subsequent to you as a result of it’s so echo-y. We’re making an attempt to make our area 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 whenever you open the door and it’s sort 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 loads of fruit from SLO Creek Farm, simply outdoors of city, from Truthful Hill Farm up north in Paso Robles. Some non-public orchards have provided to offer us apples, too. We attempt to get fruit from between two counties except it’s actually particular apples after which it’s often 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 pink apple with pink veining across the core that appears purple when it will get a yeast bloom.
Morgan: There’s loads of restoration that we have to do with this orchard. As we exchange timber, we may even begin transitioning the fruit to heirloom and cider apples. Possibly add some olallieberries. And Maggie needs pumpkins!
Are there any ciders you’ve made that stunned you, or that you just’re particularly pleased with?
Maggie: Some batches stunned us. We didn’t anticipate Gala apples to ship a beautiful single varietal cider. Bearded Queen — we’re fairly pleased 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 loads of bottle conditioning, that’s been actually enjoyable for me recently.
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 pleased 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 bought hotter than it ought to’ve been. So the cider bought dryer than an ice cider ought to get. It got here out nonetheless candy, with that vast aroma and taste and acidity and it’s nonetheless fairly balanced. Now we have to warn folks that it’s 16% as a result of they’ll drink approach an excessive amount of of it. Since then, we’ve dialed in our ice cider course of, and we had 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 once 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 excellent at having massive concepts and beginning tasks, and Maggie is excellent at truly ending tasks. It’s a very good combine. She’s good at conserving deadlines and organizing, and I are usually higher at course of stuff when it comes to fermentation and analysis. She’s additionally so much friendlier than I’m.
Maggie: I’m excellent at cracking the whip as nicely. I’ll not have giant concepts, however I’ve small concepts, and I’ve follow-through. We steadiness one another out, she’s fairly quiet and I’m undoubtedly the extrovert.
Let’s discuss in regards to the identify. How did you land on ‘Two Broads’ in 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). Individuals simply responded to Two Broads. I used to be just a bit nervous 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, however it looks like it’s being reclaimed. A lot of the ladies we talked to liked the identify. So we went with it. It tells you a bit of bit extra about us, like we’re two ladies operating this enterprise and we’re not good women.
Two Broads Ciderworks ciders can be found for buy on-line for transport in California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon, with free pick-up and supply in SLO county. You may also take a look at their Vinoshipper store for nationwide transport. At present, 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 positioned at 3427 Roberto Ct., Suite 130 in San Luis Obispo, California; cellphone: (805) 292-1500.
- Images: Courtesy of Two Broads Ciderworks
