Abigail Koffler

@abigailcoughler

“Two hundred or 300 years ago in Brooklyn, this is what you would have been drinking,” explains Rob Hendrickson to a group at Brooklyn Cider House in Bushwick as he opens a tap.

Armed with fun facts—the wooden barrels contain cider from about 83,000 apples— and nicknames for the various raw ciders—you may start with the Goldilocks, a bright cider with lots of acid— the team of guides leads groups through a four-course meal with a cider catch between each course. The cider catch includes a Basque-style cider which is poured straight from the barrel to your glass. Known as “txotx” to the Basque people of northeastern Spain, this method of pouring from height makes the cider bubblier as it hits the glass and yes, spills are common. Over the course of several hours, and multiple rounds of catching, the guides leave guests satisfied and curious for more.

Cider has an association with the colder months of the fall, and the best cider according to a founder Susan Yi, who used to be an English teacher in her former life, is made from the freshest apples possible, rather than ones that wait for months in cold storage.