Paul Vander Heide of Vandermill Cider hammers open a barrel of Cyzer VanDoom. "Jesus, I think this might actually be ready!" he says. We pass a few plastic cups around the mill and the feedback is unanimous. This thing is going to market.
Aged in a Founder's Doom barrel (think bourbon + IPA), this cyser (a technical term used to note a cider that uses honey as part of the fermentable sugars) is dry as a bone and took third place at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers — the first year that the cider/cyser category was recognized at all. I can't wait to see what he conjures up for next year.
There's still some of this potion on tap around the Midwest, but there wasn't much to start with. Get on it.