VetterService Tree ‘Speierling’ 2020 (750ml)

This is easily among the top 10 Service Tree cidres you’ve ever had. Like an apple cider, but more austere, more tannic and gripping. Pair with turkey, anxiety, extreme joy or sadness, and American football games.

One of the more entertaining moments of our trip to Germany in August was sitting with Stefan Vetter, tasting through his just beautiful range of ciders, when we came across something he described as “Service Tree.”

John and I are far from cider experts, but still, this was hardly our first cider-rodeo. But there we were, all of us looking at the other person expecting someone to explain this to someone. John and I traded blank stares for a while; Stefan looked pained, as if he had just insulted us by mentioning “Service Tree.”

So we went to Google, our trusty external brain: The apparent translation for “Service Tree?”

It’s “Service Tree.”

So what in the hölle is “Service Tree?”

Turns out it’s, well, a tree – “sorbus domestica” if you prefer the Latin. Native to central and southern Europe, in many ways it’s similar to an apple tree – sorta looks like an apple tree. The fruit is a bit smaller, but in many ways it looks similar. The cider it makes is a bit more austere, a bit more tannic and grippy perhaps than your average apple cider. In terms of our taxonomy however, we’re still in the “pome” family, right there with apples and pears.

Just another one of those very important reminders: Humans ferment a hell of a lot more than just grapes.