An interview with Kirk Billingsly of Big Fish Cider!
Erica Jeter: Tell us about yourself, Kirk - both your cider and non-cider life.
Kirk Billingsly: I am the Cidermaker and founder of Big Fish Cider in Monterey, Virginia. We started pressing apples as a commercial cidery in the late summer and fall of 2015. I would imagine we are the least populated county in the U.S. with a commercial cidery. But it is home for me. I grew up in Monterey making cider with my Father as a kid, but just fresh cider, but the cider we made with the fruit of these old heritage apple trees was, and I still think is, the most amazing drink there is.
As far as non-cider life, first, I am a father, of two wonderful daughters, now grown and on their own living in Richmond, VA. I am a CPA and a CFO for a small community bank, well I am for the next three weeks anyway, until I finally realize my dream to become a full time cidermaker. My hobbies include biking, fly-fishing, hiking, pretty much anything outdoors, growing apple trees and enjoying cider.
EJ: For many years, part of my job was traveling the scenic byways through every county in Virginia, and I can say without reservation that Highland County, nestled in the Allegheny Mountains to the west of the Shenandoah Valley, is one of the most gorgeous counties in our Commonwealth. Tell us about growing apples, making cider, and operating a tasting room in your part of the world. Who is on your team? Is there a story behind your Big Fish name?
KB: You are right Erica, it is beautiful, and to me, Highland is the most beautiful places in the world, or at least it is in the summertime. Winters can be a little long, but beautiful in their own way. At 3,000 feet of elevation, our growing season and climate is more like New England than the Virginia apple growing region. Our growing season is a good month shorter than the Shenandoah Valley which is 35 miles east of us... but much lower in elevation. It is not a commercial apple growing region for good reason: at our elevation, we have wild swings in our diurnal temperatures, which is great in the fall for coloring and apple flavors during the ripening period, but it can be devastating during the bloom period. For example, in the second week of May, we had two consecutive nights of low 20s, and that was in the height of bloom, so our harvest looks to be about 10% of last year. However, the trees look great, no caterpillars this year, and at this point almost no insect damage. That is one of the silver linings of our weather, we don't have the insect or disease pressure of the commercially viable apple growing areas. So, most of our apple trees get no spray, not even organic sprays. They get pruned in February and March, and then we hope for the best. And in a good year, like 2019, the fruit quality is outstanding, and I'll put our ciders up against any.
We opened a tasting room to introduce our ciders to folks, and the tasting room exceeded our expectations, and that is still the majority of our sales. But wholesale sales had been growing nicely (pre Covid-19). We self-distribute, mainly due to the small quantity of cider that we produce, typically we can move our entire production (which is small) without help of distributors. And in our county, jobs are important, so I would rather pay money to local folks for sales and delivery than give up that control to a distributor. Our team is small, as you can imagine, at this point, nobody is full time, but we have some great employees such as Lola Dalrymple, originally from New York City, who has worked in wineries in Australia and California, and a great tasting room manager. Doyle Stone, from Fredericksburg, is my production guy and I can't imagine anyone working any harder than him. I have a wonderful new salesperson in Madison "Madi" Sandy from Staunton, who started the second week of March, worst timing in the world, but things are picking up. And I have two great friends that will jump in and help whenever things are needed, David Blanchard, and Jesse Swecker. And, of course, my wife Kim who takes care of all the paperwork.
Big Fish the name... well, if you ever came back to our tasting room you would notice a 20-foot rainbow trout on top of our building that was installed in early 1960s. And quite honestly it is somewhat of a landmark, and if I were to remove it, I may be tarred and feathered and run out of town. To make a long story short, it was much more acceptable to name the company after the trout.
EJ: Regarding cider during the time of Coronavirus, many of us have been enjoying Big Fish Cider through the mail and from bottle shops, while your lucky locals were enjoying growler fills and take out sales. As Virginia slowly reopens, our cideries are finding creative ways to accommodate the safe return of happy cider drinkers. How is Big Fish Cider welcoming people back to the tasting room, and what would be a good plan for a visit to check you out in Monterey? I am personally taking notes, as I hope to visit soon.
KB: Covid-19 has been tough on us in terms of wholesale sales to restaurants, that is just now starting to pick up, but mail order has been very strong, and the local folks have been great, growler fills have more than doubled during this period, and bottle sales have been strong in the tasting room through take out sales, curbside delivery, or whatever we can do to meet the customers wishes.
Come visit us! There are some great B&Bs in Highland, one about a block away is the Suite Spots at the Curly Maple, or we are just about an hour west of Staunton Virginia, summer and fall are beautiful times in these mountains.
EJ: Big Fish has a special Highland County take on dessert cider: tell us about your Fireside cider? This one is on my to-do list the next time it becomes available!
KB: As a home cidermaker, I experimented with ice cider, and when reading Claude Jolicoeur's book "The New Cider Maker's Handbook" I saw where he mentioned that in the maple syrup making regions of Canada, they make fire cider by concentrating on evaporating pans instead of cryo-concentration like ice cider. Highland is well known for maple syrup, and I have a good friend that is a syrup producer and we gave it a shot. It came out wonderful, and some partially refermented in the bottles which gave it a little natural sparkle that was amazing. We have some now that started fermenting on Christmas Day, and it is now over 6 months later, and it is still bubbling out the airlock.
EJ: Cider has a long history in America and throughout Appalachia, yet many of us are discovering it anew. What was your introduction to cider, and what was the first cider that really impressed you?
KB: Making fresh cider with my father was my first introduction to fresh pressed apples juice, and when I moved back to Highland my goal was to make the very best fresh cider ever from the old heritage varieties of apples we had around Highland, Northern Spy, Baldwin, Grimes Golden, Golden Russet, Winter Banana, Smokehouse, Winesap, Lowry, Fallawater, York, and many more. The first commercial cider I ever had that really opened my eyes, was one of Chuck Shelton's Albemarle CiderWorks ciders. I really don't remember which variety it was, but I had been making cider for years as a home cidermaker, and I really liked my cider, but it didn't taste anything like the commercial offerings that I had tried (Hornsby or Woodchuck). That all changed when I tasted Chuck's cider. He made cider that tasted like mine, and after making cider for over 15 years at home, I cannot tell you how gratifying to find another cidermaker like me.
EJ: Cider is often about experiences and moments. Can you share one of your most memorable cider moments with us?
KB: My most memorable cider moment, was the first hard cider I made. Like I mentioned earlier, I was into fresh ciders, I couldn't care less about hard ciders, the ones I had had locally were fairly rough ciders made in barrels, without bacterial control, and quite honestly they can be a little challenging at first. Well one year, we had a phenomenal apple year in Highland and I had given all my friends fresh cider, and they couldn't take any more. I had bushels of apples left over to press and I didn't want them to go to waste. I had every book I could find on cider making, and they all had a section on making hard cider, so I thought I'd give it a try. So, I bottled it in gallon jugs, with an airlock, and let it go in my basement in October. Fast forward to March we had friends visiting during our annual Maple Festival, and our youngest daughter was taking a nap, and they were asking about life in Highland, and I was telling them about the cider press my wife had given me for our anniversary, when I remembered the cider. So I went to the basement, grabbed a jug that was clear, and brought it back up, poured everyone a glass, we sniffed (not bad) we sipped (still not bad) and then we drank our glasses of cider. And as cider will do, the conversation got better, with more laughter. And I swear, the first time you catch a little buzz off something you have made yourself, you are hooked.
EJ: Since 2018, you have organized the Mid Atlantic Amateur Cider Competition (MAACC), as part of the Highland County fair. As an entrant in both 2018 and 2019, I sincerely want to thank you for putting together a competition just for home cider makers. The judging notes I have received both years have been thoughtful, detailed, and incredibly helpful. What has the MAACC experience been like for you? Any advice for home cider makers?
KB: My heart is in home cidermaking, as that is the source of the passion that has caused me to start the journey into the commercial world of cider. I wish I would have known about amateur cider contests when I started, because I thought I was making pretty good cider, but I had nothing to compare it to, or independent judges. My wife didn't like it, and my friends did, but to them it was free hooch, so I had no idea if it was any good. MAACC was my way of giving back to the passion that I loved.
For home cider makers: start with the basics. Do not start adding adjuncts until you understand what real cider is. Real cider, made with nothing but apples, is a thing of beauty, it is a delightful companion to meals, and it's nuances between apple varieties, and growing years should be known and appreciated, before adding mango, strawberries, ghost peppers, and chocolate.
EJ: Anything else you'd like to add?
KB: Honestly, looking at what I have written, I have probably gone way too far already... but Lord knows I love to talk apples and cider, but I'll stop anyway.
Big Fish Cider Co.
59 Spruce Street
Monterey, VA 24465