Brewed onsite at local winery, Leura Park Estate, the Flying
Brick range comprises three ciders- Original, Draught and Pear.
Director of Leura Park Estate, Lyndsay Sharp said all the
ciders were naturally brewed using traditional methods and made
from 100% fresh fruit with no added sugars and no colourings.
"A lot of ciders on the market are made from fruit
concentrate, often imported - the Flying Brick range is literally
the result of gathering, pressing and fermenting fresh, crispy
Victorian apples and succulent Packham Pears," she said.
Mrs Sharp said a team of people at Leura Park Estate had been
working on the development of a cider range since the beginning of
the year.
"Cider appreciation has really come ahead in leaps and bounds
over the last few years and for good reason - it's a great,
refreshing drink, perfect for the Australian climate and
culture. We got together over a few ciders at the start of
the year and the Flying Brick 'journey' began."
Mrs Sharp said the Flying Brick name and logo was derived from
the yellow tailed black cockatoo, a special bird for many whose
local nick name was the 'Flying Brick'.
"There is something very special about these birds - they are
loved by most people for their happy, playful and seemingly
'naughty' appearance and disposition," she said.
"In addition, there is a lovely old legend that if a flock of
black cockatoos flies overhead, you are blessed with good
luck. That's a nice thing, well worth naming a new product
range after."
Flying Brick cider maker Nyall Condon (also winemaker at Leura
Park's sister vineyard, Jack Rabbit) said the cider making process
was not dissimilar to winemaking so it was relatively easy to turn
his hand to cider.
"It begins with careful fruit selection and sourcing of a
fruit clone and variety to suit each blend. Different
varieties produce varying degrees of natural sugars, acids and
tannins as well as a broad range of flavour spectrum and colour,"
Mr Condon said.
"Chilled fruit is firstly pulped, then pressed using
traditional layered basket and press methods which retains all the
healthy goodness of real fruit juice. Similar to winemaking,
a range of yeasts are selected for the cold fermentation process,"
he said.
"The final step in the process prior to bottling is
stabilisation and clarification to ensure a clean, fresh cider with
loads of flavour."
Flying Brick ciders are presented in a contemporary, black 330
ml stubbies, each featuring the distinctive Flying Brick logo - a
caricature of a black cockatoo.
"The Original Cider is pure, clean and fresh with lovely
vanilla notes shining through alongside loads of fresh apple
sweetness. The Draught Cider is big and generous with bold
red apple varieties leaping out of the glass whilst the Pear Cider
is light, crisp and delicate, unashamedly denoting the cider's
fruit origins," Mr Condon said.
"Everyone here is very excited about the new Flying Brick
Cider range, especially because it is local, it's natural and it's
a first for The Bellarine," he said.