Podcast appearances and mentions of ned lawton

Ned Lawton, Ethic Cider founder, is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Ned Lawton came straight from the farm. That’s the farm in your glass, says Herlinda. The aroma rises from a wine glass. Ned was on BHH last year on May 15, 2025, almost exactly one year ago to the day. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Coming soon to Windsor, the Way-Back Wednesday Antique Car Show, June 17, July 22, August 19 and September 16, 5-7 PM, with a display of vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles. For more info, check out RRBC dot com and the RRBC socials. Anything that is fermented fruit, like wine or cider, is made, and taxed, like wine. Ethic has a cider made from Arkansas Black apples. It is a late harvest apple and a slow ferment. In terms of wine talk, these apples are about 20 Brix, where apples are usually around 14 or 15 Brix. Cider makers can choose from different varietals, and they can also flavor it in many ways, such as adding fruit or using bourbon barrels. Ned says that’s where they bring fun to the game. Ethic Cider has a 3.5 acre apple orchard, with about 20 varietals. They have some Gravenstein and Goldan Delicious and Johnathans. They use those as a basis and build on top of that, getting apples from other growers as well. Blending Cider: balancing tart, sweet and bitter. Blending cider is a balance between tart, sweet and bitter. They can also add sugars. Ned says they also use natural yeast. The majority of the small makers do natural fermentation. They like to let the ciders start naturally, then finish with some white wine yeast. They do it carefully, but it is to make the flavors more predictably uniform. This middle path between wine and beer is Ned’s own way. He says cider people can be iconoclasts, a bit against the grain. He came from tech, did twenty years of that, then bought a farm in Occidental. He found that there was a lot to be done there, refurbishing the land. It was already apple country. He had a lot to learn about agriculture and refurbishing the land they are on. Ned sees that cider is growing. Since there is a known decline in wine and beer, people are discovering the option of cider. Everyone is asking what the consumer wants. Some of it is non-alcoholic. Ned thinks the growth in cider will also be driven by local production and brands. Ethic Cider Events Ethic Cider has events coming soon. The Summer Celebration Kick-Off is on May 30 from Noon to 5pm, at the Ethic Cider orchard in Sebastopol. Music, cider, barbeque and fun, no reservation required. Cider pairs well with BBQ! Also, they will also start doing Cider Salon on the second Thursday of the month, from 5-8 PM. The first Cider Salon is June 11, and they run through October. They taste a Newtown Pipin, which grows in the back of the orchard. Later they taste an Eau di Vie which is a brandy. They distill it from apples. It is clear and has no wood and no wood influences. It is really a spirit. So they add things to it. It can go into a spritz, with a cherry and some ice. Eau de vie can support a really nice cocktail. They also make a tonic water, which came from the need to have an N.A. option. They didn’t want to make a fermented cider and then de-alcoholize it, so they use apple cider vinegar mother to flavor it. With ethic tonic and apple cider vinegar, you can make a “shrub.” Herlinda points out that any menu or event should have at least one really good non-alcoholic option. This is to make sure that there is something for everybody. The problem has been sugars, and finding NA beverages that are not so high in sugar. 

During this episode of ROCKnVINO, hosts Coco and Michelle talk with Ned Lawton, Founder and Cidermaker at Ethic Ciders. Ned and his family decided to buy property in Sebastopol about 10 years ago, that had an apple orchard. They had children from their preschool in San Francisco come to the property to learn about farms. They decided to make cider with the juice, and have been making it for about 7 years. You can visit their property on Occidental Road in Sebastopol for tastings and education. They will be part of the Farm Trails Farm Tour on October 13th. You can get free tickets (registration required) to attend and press your own apple juice! Parking is very limited, so be sure to register in advance to reserve your spot.   Ethic Ciders 8490 Occidental Rd Sebastopol., CA 95472 ROCKnVINO is sponsored by American AgCredit.

Golden Rule Cider from Ethic Cider. Ethic Ciders founder New Lawton is back on this crunchy episode of Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, to promote this year's Gravenstein Apple Fair. Ned Lawton appeared on Brew Ha Ha on this August 25, 2018 episode, promoting Cider Week that year. Herlinda is going to Italy next week to visit some friends who have bought a house near Lake Como, which they will be converting into a bed and breakfast. The Gravenstein apple is to cider makers what Pinot Noir is to local winemakers. It is the go-to fruit for their art. It is tart and sweet and ripens early. Ethic Ciders got started with their acquisition of an old apple orchard which was in need of renovation. Once that was done they were able to produce a crop and make the cider from that. Gravitude: Grateful for Gravensteins They are tasting a cider called Gravitude. Its name means "grateful for Gravensteins. It is sparkling and very food friendly. The tartness is what makes it combine with foods in the same way that a wine with strong acidity does. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. They will be pouring ciders at the Gravenstein Apple Fair on Aug. 10. There they will also be launching a new product, Gravitude in cans. Some of their ciders are traditional and others are their creative recipes that combine flavors. You will also be able to meet the cider makers.  There are also styles that come from different countries. It is popular in France, from Brittany. There will be cider producers and also cheese and gelato "It is a really classic country fair," says Herlinda. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. There is also a press where you can press apples. Some producers will have special ciders to pour. The arts and crafts are true local artisans and you can find stuff you won't see anywhere else.

The Pitmatics are a six-piece band performing a mix of their own material, well chosen traditional songs and contemporary covers. All members are versatile musicians and singers enabling the band to produce exciting and intricate arrangements with wonderful harmonies. In this podcast they perform highlights from their varied live set and chat to Invisible Folk Club host Jon Bickley about influences, backgrounds and how the band came together. Ned Lawton - whistles, uilleann pipes, bodhran John Birkby - mandola, guitar, banjo Phil Underwood - melodeon, concertina Heather Harding - keyboard, tenor horn, accordion Caroline Riches - fiddle Denise Dryburgh - percussion https://www.facebook.com/pitmatics/

Recognizing that wine isn’t the only beverage crafted in California’s wine country, my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset and I talk about the long history of apple orchards in America, and in particular, in Sonoma County—with the heart of the industry in Sebastopol. We also discuss how his family has a history of hop growing, something Jean-Charles still continues to do with hop trellises at his properties. Today, rather than tasting wine, we sample Boisset’s La Captive Cider, produced in Sonoma. We then taste the Oakville Grocery 1881 Pilsner, made with Boisset estate hops, by one of the guests on this episode Nile Zacherle. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Ethic Cider’s Ned Lawton joins us for our first interview covering his hand-crafted hard ciders from Sebastopol. With a commitment to sustainability, Lawton produces small batches of ciders from his certified organic orchards just north of Sebastopol. Using apples indigenous to the region, Lawton’s ciders range from the Golden Rule, Ethic’s signature orchard blend to the Gravitude, made from heritage varieties, to the limited-release pink-colored Scarlett, infused with blackberries and raspberries. Next up is craft beer, or to be more specific, origin beers with Nile Zacherle, founder and brewmaster of the Mad Fritz craft beer from St. Helena. A winemaker at David Arthur, Zacherle imparts elements of winemaking into his beer making, sourcing the barley, water and even hops from specific local purveyors and areas. Mad Fritz bottle labels alone are works of art, replicating detailed drawings from Aesop’s Fables. With 40 different beers rotating in production at a given time, Zacherle continues to add to his count, creating modern takes on several well known beer styles such as pilsner, imperial rice stout, IPA and saison. Currently, Zacherle is producing a private label pilsner lager for Oakville Grocery. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly in your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

Bedfordshire based Ragged Staff are Ned Lawton (uilleann pipes, whistles, percussion & vocals), Caroline Riches (violin & vocals) & Mike Nacey (tenor guitar & percussion). Ned formed the band in 2008 driven by a passion for English and Irish acoustic music. The music is energetic with dynamics that can move from a whisper to a roar. Over a number of years Ragged Staff built up a considerable following, eventually calling it a day in 2016 to pursue other projects. Invisible Folk were delighted to persuade them to reform for this podcast session. Ned is active in musical theatre having written shows based on life in the 1800s incorporating traditional and contemporary folk songs. Caroline is an occasional solo performer, on this session she plays one of her own songs while accompanying on hammered dulcimer. She is also part of the Bonnet & Belt Theatre Company currently performing 'Canals of Old England' which celebrates the heritage of English canals in music, song and verse. To obtain a copy of Ragged Staff's most recent album 'Kiss The Shore' please contact Ned via ned.raggedstaff@hotmail.co.uk

Bedfordshire based Ragged Staff are Ned Lawton (uilleann pipes, whistles, percussion & vocals), Caroline Riches (violin & vocals) & Mike Nacey (tenor guitar & percussion). Ned formed the band in 2008 driven by a passion for English and Irish acoustic music. The music is energetic with dynamics that can move from a whisper to a roar. Over a number of years Ragged Staff built up a considerable following, eventually calling it a day in 2016 to pursue other projects. Invisible Folk were delighted to persuade them to reform for this podcast session. Ned is active in musical theatre having written shows based on life in the 1800s incorporating traditional and contemporary folk songs. Caroline is an occasional solo performer, on this session she plays one of her own songs while accompanying on hammered dulcimer. She is also part of the Bonnet & Belt Theatre Company currently performing 'Canals of Old England' which celebrates the heritage of English canals in music, song and verse. To obtain a copy of Ragged Staff's most recent album 'Kiss The Shore' please contact Ned via ned.raggedstaff@hotmail.co.uk

Sonoma County Cider Week is coming soon and Ellen Cavalli from Tilted Shed Ciderworks visits Brew Ha Ha today to talk about it. Also in are Ned Lawton from Ethic Ciders and Brad Yarger with Leaky Barell Cider Company. We'll hear all about Sonoma County Cider Week, August 3-12, 10 days, 10 cideries, 100% awesome! Mark Carpenter likes to tell how he would make a science project for his kids using cider. He would take a bottle of apple cider at the store, add some yeast, put a balloon on the bottle and show the kids how the fermentation produced CO2 in the balloon. Brad talks about the apple varieties that go into his cider, including one rare one called Black Twig. Herlinda mentions that cider is taxed like wine, not beer. Even if many people think cider is sweet, not all of it is so. Ellen tells about the variety of name varieties she grows. Some apples are not for eating at all, but make great cider. It’s not always just the variety but the care that goes into the process that makes great cider. Sonoma County has a 200-year history of apple growing and Ellen Cavalli wants to invite people to taste the huge array of ciders that reflect local personality, ethos and quality of the land. There are 10 cider makers promoting Cider Week, and apart from the three in the studio today, there are Ace Cider, Agrostic, Golden State, Horse and Plow, Specific Gravity, Troy Cider and 101 Cider House Redwood Chapter. They are also staging dinners, with cider pairings. The last day of the Cider Week is the Gravenstein Apple Fair and they will be there too. Mark is happy that cider is coming back. There were many apple orchards removed to plant grapes. Ned talks about how he and Brian Johnson are working on reviving orchards, even small ones of 3-5 acres. The hard parts are finding labor and finding what to do with the apples, knowing where the market is. Mark asks about the origin of Gravenstein apples and Ellen says that one theory is that the Russian fur traders in the 1800s brought them. Ned gives credit to Ellen Cavalli for organizing the Sonoma County Cider Week. Other cider producing areas in the US, such as New York state, are also having their cider weeks now. Ned talks about dry farming Golden Delicious apples. He thinks they were propagated as a grocery apple, in Ohio. Ellen says the dry farmed ones are great. Ned explains that dry farming means there is no irrigation on the trees. If trees get watered, the fruit is big and fresh but the flavors are not as strong. Mark says it gets a nice crisp clean flavor Ned notes that most ciders are blended and this one is about 80% Golden Delicious and the rest other varieties, chosen for flavor. Herlinda tastes a cider called Inclinada from Ellen Cavalli's Tilted Shed Ciderworks. She says it is made like a Basque recipe. One is a still bottling, uncarbonated. This is 100% organic Sebastopol grown Gravensteins. It's a wild ferment, so it uses only the natural yeast that was on the apples. It's all nature's work with a little help, says Ellen. She can't show the long pour on the radio, but they pour the cider in a long stream, which aerates it and adds a little bit of heightened acidity. You're supposed to drink it right away. One is still and the other is naturally sparkling. Ellen says they used to make fermented foods but they didn't like cider, at first. They had apples and discovered that they liked the cider if they made it well. They found that if they put a lot of time into it, they liked the result. Herlinda mentions that Ellen Cavalli has started a cider magazine. She is an editor, professionally, and she started a Cider Zine called "Malus" which means apple in Latin. It's all print and can't be had on line. Ned says that they came into cider because they are foodies, so they always think of what food would go well with their product. Sliders, oysters, fish, salads, you name it. They want people to think about cider and food.