Yankee Brew News Archive

Rhode Island's Lovecraft Cider Aims for Enchantment

Originally Published: 12/96

By: Dave Wedge

For renowned horror writer Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft is a source of inspiration. For cider producer Maury A. Ryan of Providence, he just may be a godsend.

Ryan, CEO of Lovecraft Draft Cider Ltd., is spearheading the Providence-based company's drive into the cider market. Ryan got his exposure to the craft brew world by organizing the Rhode Island International Beer Exposition for the past several years. Recognizing the saturation of the microbrewery market and predicting a surge in the popularity of draft cider, Ryan and cider expert Paul Correnty set out to create a unique, great-tasting alcoholic beverage made from apples.

In choosing a concept for their cider, Ryan says, they wanted something distinctly Providence." Enter Howard Philips Lovecraft. "On Lovecraft's tombstone it says, 'I am Providence,'" Ryan said. "He considered himself to be part of Providence and its mystique. When choosing a name, we wanted something distinct for Providence, something that would give immediate recognition, as well as something that would appeal to the younger potential cider drinkers.''

Lovecraft was a writer of the supernatural and is considered by many to be a pioneer in American horror fiction. Many of his stories dealt with themes of isolation and alienation, similar to the abstract writings of Jean-Paul Sartre, William Beckett and Franz Kafka. Comparisons can also be drawn to Edgar Allen Poe.

Born Aug. 20, 1890 into a wealthy Providence family, Lovecraft spent most of his life in the industrial Rhode Island city, writing from his home and conversing back and forth with other writers through magazines and memos. Perhaps his most famous writings appeared in the magazines Weird Tales and Astounding Stories. Those stories, as well as the short stories, "The Lurking Fear" and "Necronomicon," were widely translated and adapted into obscure underground movies, TV and radio shows.

Despite the fact that he was a virtual unknown when he died of colon cancer in 1937, he is now a cult figure and has a dedicated underground following. Buried in Swan's Point Cemetery in Providence, his tombstone is a popular tourist stop for travelers from all over the world. There is also a Lovecraft reading room at Brown University where his works can be found.

One glance at the eerie label of the new beverage and one can sense the unlikely combination of sci-fi and cider will be a highly marketable concept. The odd-looking green monster, modeled after a Lovecraft character named Cthulhu, sits poignantly on the label, almost daring the holder to take a sip. Under the monster, which Ryan calls "friendly," is the company's motto: "A Rhode Island Tradition Since 1636." The reference is to the year New Englanders reportedly started drinking cider.

Cider was the original beverage of choice for American settlers for the first 150 years of colonization. When the 1800s brought urbanization and German and Western European immigrants, beer became the premier alcoholic beverage and has remained so. While "Old World" style craft beers have been all the rage in the 1990s among American drinkers in their 20s and 30s, cider production in England in Ireland has dramatically increased, racking up sales among young people.

According to estimates provided by Ryan, cider makes up 7% of the total alcoholic beverage business in England and 6% in Ireland. Ryan thinks the trend will make its way across the Atlantic Ocean and predicts sharp growth in cider production and sales. Woodchuck, a popular Vermont cider maker, predicts a potential of 3% of the U.S. beer market, or upwards of 78 million cases per year.

A recent trip to Ireland and England has confirmed Ryan's confidence in the potential of cider in the U.S. "In Ireland, on a hot day, a good portion of the people in vacation areas were drinking cider," he said. "It's not as heavy as beer. And now it's building over here."

Ciders such as Woodpecker and Cider Jack have been popping up in bars and restaurants over the past few years, and some craft breweries even make their own cider or cider variations. Lovecraft Draft Cider is made at Vinland Winery in Middletown, R.I. from a blend of five different apples and has an alcohol content of 5.9%. Currently, is is only available at industry events, such as the Rhode Island International Beer Exposition at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Lovecraft is one of about four cider companies at the Expo, along with more than 100 craft breweries.

The company recently went public, issuing an Initial Public Offering for $1.80 per share. The money being raised will help finance a state-of-the-art cidery which will be built in the Carolinas within the next three years. By May 1997, Ryan expects to have Lovecraft in bars, liquor stores and restaurants throughout the Northeast.

He also said he foresees sales of merchandise over the Internet, especially among young hackers, once the product starts to catch on. The company's Web page is up and running and can be reached at http://www.lovecraft.com. For more information on the company call (401) 272-0980.