SHIWA CIDERY

Last Updated: 14 September, 2024

Several years ago, during one of my perfunctory Instagram scrolling sessions, one picture in a sea of many caused me to stop because I immediately recognized one of the two people in it: Kouhei Irikura of Kamoshika Cidre (inCiderJapan Issue 8). But who was the other fellow standing next to him? I was curious, he was surely a foreigner; could it be I had found another cider fan in Japan?

When I checked the account’s handle, my curiosity was further piqued: @shiwacidery. It appeared to be a new account, as there were only a few posts, seven to be exact, each with Japanese-only descriptions and most including the phrase “cider research”. I hit the “Follow” button without hesitation.

Looking back at the date of that post: March 11, 2018; it wasn’t until November 25 of the following year when I encountered them again on my Instagram feed, this time by an image of a group of smiling people posing happily in what seemed to be a cidery in the making, compelling me to cordially leave a three clapping hands comment. 

Two months later I did the same thing after seeing a picture of boxed equipment arriving. Three months later I did it yet again, but this time with an actual comment, “Looking forward to it!”, reacting to the sight of a beaming Japanese woman flanked by two equally beaming non-Japanese men, all three of them smartly dressed in business attire, together holding a single wooden sign that read, “Shiwa Cidery”.

 That post’s description? 

“It’s time to begin.”

From that point on I began sending Shiwa Cidery messages, asking questions, and extending a future invitation for them to be interviewed by inCiderJapan when they were ready. They were always kind to reply with positive acknowledgements and modest responses, and so our relationship began.

Another year would pass before our paths would again cross and the timing proved to be right, but as the adage fondly goes: the longer the wait, the sweeter the reward – and so here we are.

Shiwa Cidery is located in the town of Shiwa, which is in the western half of Iwate Prefecture. As is becoming more commonplace these days because of distance and ongoing travel restrictions prompted by Covid-19, we were relegated to spending a few hours speaking to each other online. Fortunately for me, owner Donald “Jeff” Howard and cidermaker Mika Wallenius, decided to connect outdoors in their fields, and I was treated to a lovely countryside view as we discussed their cidery. 

The obvious first question was how did they end up in the middle of Iwate Prefecture? 

As it turns out, Jeff met his wife, Saori, a native of Shiwa, in New York, where they lived until family circumstances required her to return home – and so he followed. Mika was raised in Seattle, Washington, and came to Japan as an English teacher fresh out of college, first to the neighbouring town of Hanamaki, and then years later in Shiwa when a job opening tempted him to switch.

The two met while working together for Shiwa’s board of education, and both were privately wanting to do something new, beyond teaching. For Jeff, being in apple country (Iwate is the third largest apple producing region in Japan, after Aomori and Nagano prefectures) but not able to readily find cider, he concluded to make his own. Mika, who was already thinking about leaving teaching for making wine or beer, shifted his attention to cider when he stumbled upon what Jeff was up to.

“The situation here is perfect for making cider, “ explains Jeff. “It just wasn’t on anyone’s radar. There are a lot of apple farmers growing delicious apples, but no one was making cider. And, kind of the mindset in this town is, if you want something and it’s not here, then you just have to do it yourself.”

And that they did, but the journey was long and it certainly wasn’t easy. Having no actual background in cidermaking, they had to first learn how to make it (Mika getting some training at Baeren Brewery, about half an hour away by car), then they had to find a place where they could make it, raise funding, apply for licenses and wait for approval, and so on. According to Jeff, for about two years, he even wrote a series of articles for the local newspaper that chronicled Shiwa Cidery’s campaign as well as enlisted any help where they could find it.

Jeff and Mika got their start around 2015 but it wasn’t until 2019 that they finally finished construction on their cidery, an old farmhouse that had to be converted, and they didn’t start producing until early 2020. Using IBC totes for fermentation and bright tanks for aging and filtering, Shiwa generated an astounding 12,000 liters of cider last year and is looking to hit the 18,000 liter mark next year.

What makes Shiwa Cidery unique compared to other cidermakers that we’ve featured is they don’t own their own orchard. Instead, Jeff and Mika rely on acquiring apples cultivated by farms in various nearby districts, and their ciders’ names reflect this: Red Glen, Long Hill, Old Manor, Red Rock, and even a Farmer’s Cooperative. It’s an admirable approach and a fantastic win-win for both sides, creating a symbiotic partnership where each party contributes while growing together. It also makes for interesting ciders, as you never quite know what mix of apples you’ll get from any one farm.

When it comes to styles, Shiwa Ciders are all hopped. Mika says it has a lot to do with his Seattle upbringing and admits that he was heavily influenced by Reverend Nat’s hopped ciders and gained much from watching his videos on cider and cider making.

We were very lucky to get the opportunity to try them all (including two meads, ginger and cucumber), and found them to be quite good, especially considering they were first offerings. Shiwa ciders pour a light to medium golden yellow with lively carbonation, adding a wonderful audible component. Bringing the glass close greets you with inviting bright green apple aromas, and you can taste the same. At 6.5% ABV, Shiwa ciders are fermented dry, making them easy to drink on their own or with a wide range of foods.

Great ciders and great people behind them, that’s what’s really at the heart of Shiwa Cidery. Speaking with Jeff and Mika, it’s clear they’re serious about what they’re doing, but it’s also apparent that they both care deeply about community and getting others involved, a virtue that cannot be commended enough as businesses and livelihoods all across Japan continue to be threatened by the ill effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

We are very much looking forward to seeing Shiwa Cidery’s next steps and future offerings, and encourage you to discover more about them.