Ciderfest 2019
The Truck 59 Ciderhouse pops up as a pleasant surprise as one drives south on tiny Brown Road, a dead-end street leading off the main retail area in West Kelowna.
A bit out of the way but still near the town’s main drag, the drive to Truck 59 takes you through a quiet residential street and then suddenly unveils a funky, slightly retro ciderhouse and tasting room, with stunning, unobstructed views over a verdant green orchard to Okanagan Lake, glittering in the distance.
This small but already accomplished cidery may be the new kid on the block, but it’s also working hard to show off its chops in the rapidly growing BC cider industry. As part of that drive to establish a rep in this highly competitive business, Truck 59 hosted the Okanagan Cider Festival this year.
Russ Johnson, owner and cider maker with Truck 59, opened his cidery one year ago, on June 1, 2018. Johnson was a pharmacist, but before that, he grew up on the prairies where his family raised beef and grains like barley, wheat and corn, so switching careers into the physical, labour intensive world of orcharding wasn’t too much of a stretch, and making cider is a labour of love that is enhanced by his knowledge of science and formulas.
“This is like a second career for me,” Johnson says. “I’ve always been a big liquor fan, and I think the passion for it is what gives me the ability to combine my science background and let me be artistic.”
Johnson and his wife Helen planted two-and-a-half acres of six cider-variety apples at the Truck 59 site; something he describes as “a bit of a grind.” In two years, he’ll plant more on the adjoining property.
“We decided that there’s such a great opportunity for a cidery,” Johnson says. “The property the cidery is sitting on, we bought specifically for this. I didn’t know anything about orcharding, but I knew what farming was all about,” he says. “I knew what I was getting into. It’s a lot of hard work, but it can be very gratifying.”
Things that don’t cause Johnson a problem are running machinery and fixing things. Things that do cause a problem include pests and pruning.
“You have to learn what kinds of pests you have, and then pruning. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with pruning,” he says. “It’s a process, it’s learning, but it’s a tree. You know it’s going to grow.”
Truck 59 Ciderhouse
Finding the right kinds of apple trees to plant wasn’t exactly easy for him either. He reached out to others in the industry, like Missy Dobernigg of BX Press Cidery in Vernon. He read a lot. He took the cider course in Oregon. Then, he started guessing, playing and making use of that scientific brain of his.
“Our core ciders that we came out with last year, we started with two: our modern semi-dry and our cherry and apple,” he explains. “And then from there, we were sort of waiting for the aging process for our classic dry which is an English-style dry cider. Then we came out with a can. We came out with a raspberry infused cider. And after that it kind of took off.”
There are currently eight different ciders on the menu at Truck 59 Ciderhouse. The modern semi-dry and the Cherry n’ Apple are joined by classic dry, bourbon blackberry, raspberry infused and others.
When asked about the thought process behind the bourbon blackberry, Johnson explains, “I wanted to do some barrel-aged ciders. I was thinking, what’s going to pair really well with the cider? You never want to lose the cider, the cider has to be first. Then you want that bourbon and the blackberries. Blackberry isn’t a berry that is super forward. It gives it that bit of unique flavour. You can still taste that bourbon but you’ve got the cider. It’s just thinking what’s going to pair to make this all come together.”
More ideas will be on tap this summer … literally. Johnson will play around with flavours in small cask release type formats, to see what resonates with customers in a fun way to do R&D.
“We’re just going to put them on tap, so the only way you can get them is a growler or as a flight,” he explains. “We’ve got one that’s coming out not too long from now that’s going to be a hop apricot.”
With the business more established, Johnson was ready to host the Okanagan Cider Festival in early May. It was an option last year, but it was too early for the site. With 22 cideries, three chefs, two bands, vendors and more, it was one heck of a rocking party to celebrate cider. The chefs each created a cider-inspired dish, while vendors were also food based except for a potter and the apiarist who works with Truck 59.
Ciderfest 2019
“It’s huge,” Johnson says of the event. “It puts cider in more people’s eyes. More people can turn around and appreciate all these amazing cider-makers and what they’ve come up with. I think it’s crucial for our industry and it’s just a hell of a lot of fun.”
The event may also help to put Truck 59 on people’s radars as they drive through West Kelowna. There isn’t a kitchen at the site, but three food trucks take turns setting up Thursday through Sunday to ensure customers can get their cider and eats at the same place. Johnson is also thinking about putting in a charcuterie cooler in the future.
“There’s going to be a little bit of growing pains,” he says. “Although we’re right off the highway a lot of people don’t know we’re here yet. We’re on the Westside (Wine) Trail now and we’ve got some of the wineries helping us promote, so it’s just kind of one step at a time.”
When Johnson and his wife bought the property eight years ago, it was pretty bare, save an apple orchard that they farmed. They hoped to change that and the ideas to do so are sprouting. Jason Parkes at Hatch Wines is expected to put a winery kitty-corner from Truck 59. Another winery will be going in as well, along with the possibility of a brewery.
“Were making our own cool little pocket,” he explains. “We’ve got this vision or walking trails so that you’ll be able to move from the wineries to the cidery and that kind of stuff.”
The big dream is to continue to grow and establish Truck 59 Ciderhouse and maybe even add southern BBQ to the mix. Some days, Johnson says, there isn’t always that spring in his step and oomph to dive into work, but he loves the challenge.
“When I look back, two years ago, there was nothing here,” he says. “It was just an empty piece of land and now, we’re having that vision come to fruition.” ■
