Ironbound Cider Collaboration
We all know just how important a good craft adult beverage is to the adventure travel community. We sure do love a good beer share around the campfire after a full day on the trails and that's what sparked our latest collaboration project with Irobound Hard Cider.
We've teamed up with our neighbors at Ironbound Farm to bring you our first collaborative cider can design. Our goal was to produce a design that embodies the adventure traveler while spreading the word of community. Our collaborative cider can is the perfect example of what a partnership should be. Bringing two like-minded companies together to share a product that highlights the best of one another.
At OK4WD, the community has been a priority to us since day one. With many of our original employees still continuing to clock in for work after more than 40 years, multiple generations of family members working at the shop and watching our regular customer's families grow over the years. We pride ourselves on strengthening relationships with our employees and customers.
Ironbound Farm has been a neighbor of ours now for over ten years and has brought so much positivity to the area and we could not be more proud to come together for this project. But before we get into the cider, here's a quick look into what Iron Bound is all about.
"Ironbound Farm was founded on the belief that businesses must take responsibility for the impact they have on the social, economic, and ecological well-being of their communities. To that end, we fully embrace the beauty, abundance, and diversity of our state; our obligation to lift up the most underserved members of the community — especially the chronically underemployed; and, our role in environmental repair through our regenerative farming practices. By doing so, we create a unique business model that fosters resiliency and viability for our network of growers, food producers, and customers. " - Ironbound Farm
The farm is open to the public Friday through Sunday to enjoy all of their ciders, fortified ciders, seltzer's and food. Oh the food! All grown and raised on the farm then cooked over an open flame in their hearth known as Motherfire.
Now onto the cider! All of Ironbound's ciders are produced with 100% fresh-pressed apples. Only using ingredients from their farm, as well as supporting other local farms for fruit from New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. When it came time to pick which cider to choose for our project there was no real debate. Ironbound's Original Cider has taken residence in our fridges for years so it was the only choice for us.
Producing a collaborative label was the next part of the process. We wanted to create an image that highlighted not just us, but the community we are a part of. Our local community, the adventure travel community, and New Jersey, the State we are proud to call home. Charles Rosen, the founder of Ironbound said it perfectly, "This whole thing is Jersey in a can." and we sure do have Jersey pride.
The image we chose was one we took during our three day trip on the Trans New Jersey Trail. The image is of our Tacoma, fully outfitted for overland travel, while on the Pine Barrens section of the trail. What is even cooler about the image we chose is these trails are used by the local farmers to harvest their cranberries. The same cranberries that Charles and his team source for their ciders. Truly Jersey in and on the can!
For those not familiar with the TNJT, it is a 450 mile, three day trip that covers our entire state from top to bottom. Starting at High Point State Park, the northern most tip of New Jersey, the trail takes you all the way to the very bottom of New Jersey to Cape May using only gravel and dirt roads. A trip that usually takes 3 and a half hours on the highway spans three days of amazing views and country backroads you would probably never travel. For full coverage of the TNJT check out our coverage here.
The last and final process to our collaboration was getting the cider into the can. An awesome and quick process to watch from start to finish.
The cider is stored in what is called a bright tank, a holding tank that stores the finished cider. The cider is then fed to a 5 can automated canner that cleans, fills, seals, cleans again, then labels each can. The entire process for one can takes less than a minute from start to finish.
A five person team oversees the process to ensure everything is operating perfectly. The smallest details matter when working in the food and beverage industry and the team from Iron Heart Canning are true professionals. The team shared all of their knowledge with us and a interesting tidbit they shared with us was the importance of removing any cider that could get stuck between the can and the label. Cider is very acidic, and if any cider is trapped behind the label, it could potentially eat away at the can causing a BIG problem.
Watching the label snake through and around rollers eventually finding its way onto a can that traveled on its own journey to get there was mesmerizing. The cans are funneled, fed, spun, disinfected, filled and sealed on this assembly line. Surrounded by great people cracking jokes and cranking good music while this cider is being canned. On the farm you see the employees moving about and you know all of their hard work went into this cider.
The employees are all hard working, dedicated, and for some, more than just a job, but the positive change for a better future. All of them cultivated these ingredients, harvested them to produced a cider that stands apart from the rest.
Check out our YouTube video that covers the entire canning process and we hear from Charles Rosen and learn about his mission with the farm.
We can not thank Charles and his team enough for opportunity and the hospitality they showed us during the whole process. We are excited to see where this partnership goes in the future. One thing for sure is we will have great cider the entire time.
For more information about Ironboud Cider check out their website. For updates on available ciders, events, and menu checkout Ironbound's social media page.
We want to hear from you!
What's your favorite bonfire beer? For more information on where to find Ironbound Cider or partnership opportunities contact us.
