Yankee Brew News Archive

Microbrewery Profile: Cisco Brewers Bring Craft Beer to Nantucket

Originally Published: 06/97

By: Kerry J. Byrne

Before firing up the mash tun Randy Hudson would often find himself shoveling snow just to get to his brewing equipment.

No, not shoveling to get to the door that led to his brewing equipment; he would literally shovel out his brewing equipment.

Hudson, the brewer and owner of Nantucket's Cisco Brewers, spent the first year of operations working with a mash tun and brew kettle on a deck outside Nantucket Vineyard Winery. "I think I was the only one in the country" brewing commercially outside, he said.

You would think.

Nantucket

It's safe to say things on-island are a wee bit different. From its history as a great whaling port to its current status as an upscale get-away for not only the rich but also the famous, Nantucket island has always been not only geographically but culturally distinct from the Massachusetts mainland.

The shoveling exploits were in the winter of 1995-96, a few months after Randy and his wife, Wendy, opened Cisco Brewers.

In those days, Randy said, he "aspired to be a microbrewery." Since then his tiny two-barrel system has gone the way of Ahab and he brews indoors on a six-barrel system.

"I don't know if I would call what I do a livelihood yet. It's still a labor of love," Hudson said.

The Hudsons have lived on Nantucket for nine years, but Randy has roots on the island.

"My family dates back to two of the nine original settlers. Actually, I shouldn't say settlers; those who swindled the land off the Indians."

Whatever the case, Randy, 33, and Wendy, 28, worked at Nantucket Vineyard Winery for three years. During that time Randy ("I'm basically a homebrewer gone berserk") began making small batches of beer for people at the winery.

Soon Dean Long, Nantucket Vineyard's vintner, "convinced me to do it commercially

On July 16, 1995 the Hudsons made their initial sale. The first island brewery in Massachusetts was born.

Cetology

Island visitors can expect to come across any of four year-round Cisco beers, as well as a seasonal. Whale's Tail Pale Ale is "English in character with soft carbonation and caramelly," Hudson said. It uses English malt and has a big dose of East Kent Goldings hops.

Bailey's Ale, a blonde ale, is named after the Hudsons' blond Labrador retriever. Hudson called it "a Northwest style pale ale with a lot of Cascade hops in the finish, Centennial in the beginning, and citrusy." The grain bill includes about 10 percent wheat malt.

Captain Swain's Extra Stout is named after a Hudson relative whose picture hangs on the wall at the Nantucket Whaling Museum. The beer is "a dark, dry roasty stout with a little bit of a pine character from the Chinook finishing hops." (By the way, Hudson claims relations to Captain Swain and to two of the original nine Nantucket settlers. Research reveals that Richard and John Swayne were among the nine Englishmen to settle Nantucket in 1659.)

Moor Porter is "dark, close to a stout, but not bitter or dry like our stout; a real chocolatey porter." It is named for one of the island's predominant landscape features. (The Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce 1997 Guide gives us this tasty nugget of trivia: One-third of America's heathland, or moors, is on Nantucket.)

The Decanter

Today, a few dozen pubs and package stores sell Cisco Brewers' bottle-conditioned beer, which comes in 750-milliliter champagne bottles. (Because the government dictates that beer cannot be sold by the milliliter, the label reads 1 pint, 9.4 fluid ounces.)

"I do (bottle conditioning) because I think it's more stable. The yeast detritus on the bottom is a natural preservative. I think in pumped-up, tank-conditioned beer there's a much different mouth feel. There's a softer feel to bottle-conditioned beer."

In addition, Randy Hudson said, bottle-conditioned beer lasts longer. A year ago "Wendy and I opened a bottle from our first batch. It was bottle conditioned and unbelievable. I wish I had a year to hold onto everything I bottle."

The Hudsons bottle with a four-spout wine filler. "We're pretty low-tech," Randy said. "I don't have a lot cash and can't afford a counter pressure bottle filler. But I don't know if I'd do that anyway, even if I could afford it."

The Chase

Hudson did make one concession to growth: "I think we're moving into the microbrewery range."

Despite the fact that he's become all uppity and even brews indoors, Hudson said he wouldn't mind a return to the early days of Cisco Brewers.

"We used to say that you could predict weather because it would rain or snow whenever I started brewing," Hudson said. "My first winter I had to shovel out before brewing about half a dozen times.

"That was actually more fun. It was harder on my body, but it was great being outside."

Sidebar:::::

Getting There

Cisco Brewers is at 5 Bartlett Farm Road, (508) 325-5929, Nantucket, Massachusetts, about two miles from the ferry landing.

Randy Hudson gave directions:

"Basically, just go down Main Street (where the ferry lands) to the Civil War monument. Take a left on Milk Street and that becomes Hummock Pond Road. Follow that out until you see signs. Hang a left on Bartlett Farm Road. We're the first right. It's a sort of industrial working barn that's not visible from the road.

"I walk that occasionally. People can bike out, but a lot of people walk out, surprisingly.

"There's also a shuttle in the summertime that gets people close to here."

Those who want to sample Hudson's bottle-conditioned beers will have to make the trip to Nantucket.

"I don't look to be off-island any time soon," he said.