A visit to Nine Pin Cider Works: Photos

A few days ago I stopped by Nine Pin Cider Works and spoke with Alejandro and his mother Sonya. Ever since I first heard about a cidery opening in Albany, I was very interested in learning who was behind it. I’m not into beer so having something made down the street from me that I would enjoy sounds awesome.

Sonya told me a bit about the inception of Nine Pin, when Alejandro was in school and didn’t have much to say about his schoolwork, but had a ton to share about his exciting job working at a new cidery in Vermont, Citizen Cider. Like many people I know, you get the bug and it’s not long before you get the grand idea of doing it all yourself, your own way. Fast forwarding quite a bit, there was a long process finding an apt space for the cidery. The list of criteria prevented them from seeing many places, let alone any they liked. Sonya said they had looked over in Troy and other surrounding areas, but the space most suited for their use, was an old marble countertop warehouse next to the Thatcher St Pub.

The recent Farm Cideries Bill that Gov. Cuomo just signed into law couldn’t have happened at a better time either. The bill allows cideries to sell direct to consumers if their crop is 100% sourced from New York. Very similar to laws that exist for distilleries, and is the reason the Albany Distilling Co. can’t sell their rum to you at the distillery, but will happily sell you their whiskey.

Alejandro has poured me a glass of cider from one of their test batches which was about a year old, and as expected, it was delicious. Dry, but not so much one would need to work their palate up to it. It was a sample of their commercial product and I can say with confidence it will be well received. Alejandro also mentioned doing smaller batches with different apples and yeasts to make much different variations for different palates. Similar to a distillers reserve small batch spirit.

Alejandro and Sonya were incredibly authentic and excited for what’s in the future for their new baby. It should be around three months before it hits shelves and bars. And because of the Farm Cideries Bill, they can pour you a glass or fill your growler at the cidery itself.

I couldn’t be more excited for everyone involved with Nine Pin and I can’t wait to grab a growler of the stuff!