Meadow Lark Farm Dinner
with
Shelton Brothers Importers

This year, we've added an evening dedicated to hard cider to our calendar, and we can't wait to prepare a menu dedicated to this drink fermented from the juice of cider apples. Lauren Shepard of Shelton Brothers Importers will be at the dinner to explain the rich history and craftmanship behind each of ciders on the table. This promises to be an insightful evening with tastes of rare and unusual hand-crafted ciders.

Shelton Brothers Importers was founded in 1996 to introduce Americans to a beer steeped in history and tradition, the Cantillon lambic.  Since then, they’ve added beers and ciders from all over the world to a diverse portfolio of over 300 products, most of which are hand-made in very small batches.  The Shelton Brothers focus is on simple, dry, well-made drinks that have a story to tell.   

Ciders are a relatively new addition to the Shelton Brothers family, and they have a lot more in common with Cantillon lambics than the pure apple juice they're fermented from. Wild yeasts, oak-aging, and an extreme commitment to doing things the hard way—also known as the right way—makes for complex ciders. Traditional cider-makers are tasked with balancing tannin and acid, and resisting the temptation to throw in sugar and artificial flavors and market to the masses. Shelton Brothers has always prefered challenging the masses, rather than giving in to them, so these brave artisans were a natural pairing. 

Being a hand-crafted agricultural product, these ciders are also a perfect fit for a dinner celebrating the farm. Hard cider is made from very special apples, that taste nothing like the fruit we're used to eating raw. Some are very finicky and, as with any seasonal crop, can vary from year to year, so it takes an experienced hand to coax them into an exceptional drink year after year. We're excited to share these ciders, made by seasoned artisans in Southern England and America. September is the beginning of the harvest, and a fitting time to raise a toast to these passionate producers.