Salt Spring Wild - Farmhouse Scrumpy

Farmhouse scrumpy from Salt Spring Island, brewed wild and lagered. The fermentation character here is the point: it's funky, dry, and cidery in a way that reads more like a rustic European farmhouse beer than anything you'd call clean. Grab this if you want something genuinely different from the usual BC lager shelf. Not a crowd-pleaser, but the right person will really like it.

Salt Spring Wild is a small-scale fermentation project rooted on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, drawing on the island's long tradition of small-farm orcharding and self-sufficient food culture. Farmhouse Scrumpy is their take on an old-world style of cider that prioritizes character over polish.

Scrumpy is historically a rough-hewn, unfiltered, full-juice cider made from whatever apples the farm produces, fermented with ambient or minimal yeast intervention and left largely unmanipulated.

Salt Spring Island's mild, maritime climate and rocky soil produce apples with real tannin structure and acidity, which translate directly into the cider. This is not a sweetened or carbonated commercial product. It pours hazy, ferments dry, and retains the earthy, funky edge that defines the style.

The 750ml format suits the table, and the price point makes it an easy choice for anyone curious about what serious local cider actually tastes like outside the filtered, pasteurized mainstream. It pairs well with aged cheeses, charcuterie, roasted pork, and anything with fat and salt.

Buyers who enjoy natural wine and farmhouse ales will find this familiar in spirit if not in category. For a bottle shop in Kitsilano with a clientele that follows provenance and process, this is a straightforward recommendation.