Mushrooms of all varieties are having a moment in Colorado. So it felt only appropriate for Stem Ciders to celebrate the state’s fascination with fungi by teaming up with Jake Plummer, former Denver Broncos quarterback and co-founder of MyCoLove Farm, a full-scale medicinal and culinary mushroom farm in Fort Lupton, CO, on their newest cider release.
Neural Nectar, the next entry in Stem Ciders’ Botanicals series, is a lemongrass cherry limeade cider featuring Lion’s Mane mushroom extract. This bright, slightly tart cider begins with Stem’s Off Dry apple cider base and is then blended with Montmorency cherry, key lime, lemongrass from Teatulia, and Lion’s Mane mushroom extract from MyCoLove Farm.
Stem Ciders’ Botanicals series was first launched earlier this year with the debut of Leaves and Carrot Ginger Turmeric. Leaves is an Arnold Palmer-inspired cider featuring Oolong tea sourced from Teatulia’s Bangladeshi gardens, Chinese Black Fanning tea, and hand-picked organic Lemongrass as well as lemon verbena and stevia leaf layered on top of Stem’s dry cider base. Meanwhile Carrot Ginger Turmeric was made with carrot juice, ginger juice, and turmeric spice – ingredients found in popular healthy juice combinations.
While this most unique union had been in the works since the debut of the Botanical series, the recipe truly started to coalesce when the Stem team met Plummer at a local event featuring Front Range businesses.
“We’ve wanted to explore what possibilities could exist in using mushrooms as an ingredient in our cider since the inception of our Botanicals series,” explained Patrick Combs, Director of Liquids for Stem Ciders. “We attempted many small scale trials with mushroom powders and extracts made in-house, but were never able to land on agreeable results until we met Jake and the MyCoLove team.”
“Partnering with Stem Ciders and having our Lion’s Mane mushroom extract in Neural Nectar is huge for education and overcoming MycoPhobia,” said Plummer. “We all become more
receptive to mushrooms and their benefits when we can eat or drink something that tastes good, is good for us and contains mushrooms!”
And while Neural Nectar cannot claim added specific health benefits through the use of Lion’s Mane mushroom extract, part of the cidery’s initial fascination with using mushrooms in cider was derived from the ingredient’s supplemental health properties.
“Lion’s Mane is a potent nootropic and helps with neuronal growth and repair throughout our whole body,” explained Plummer. “It has a positive effect on our brain function, improving cognition, focus and enhancing one’s dream state.”
From a taste perspective, Neural Nectar is built primarily on the cherry lime profile, the addition of lemongrass and Lion’s Mane mushroom extract add layers of complexity with slight herbaceousness and gentle earthy vanilla notes.
Neural Nectar is now available on draft from Stem Ciders RiNo, Acreage, Ghost Box Pizza, and Howdy Bar.
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