Bonded over a mutual love of natural wine, this small group of friends has set out to create their own expression of terroir in the predominantly grape-less—but fruit-rich—land of Sweden. With seemingly more apple trees than people and a cultural history of foraging wild fruit, Sweden is ripe for the picking. Brutes has fused the bounty surrounding them with their admiration of winemaking to produce a range of ciders and fruit pet’nats that will excite and delight, leading you to re-evaluate your own idea of “wine.” As they are fond of saying: “apples are our grapes.”

Just outside of Stockholm, on the islands of Lake Mälaren, apples and pears are handpicked from old orchards that have been largely forgotten, but luckily not abandoned. The fruit is crushed and then left to macerate for varying lengths before pressing. The maceration gives structure and body to cider in similar ways it does to wine, in particular "orange" wines. This approach can produce something thoughtful on its own or provide a solid base to be seasoned with wild fruits (sloe, blueberry, crabapple) and other garden fruits (pear, cherries, quince, aronia). Each vintage brings refinement and new exploration with this vast palette of fruit with the hopes of creating something true to the terroir, but also fun and unique.

Everything is wild fermented, nothing in, nothing out. It's alive, maturing over time, phasing in and out of various stages, eventually settling into a delicious balance.

- words adapted from Brutes

BRUTES CIDER

Country: Sweden

Sub-region or Appellation: Stockholm

Winemakers: Brad Sawicki, Tobias Eriksson, Nicklas Ivarsson, Joakim Kviberg, Fredrik Winberg

Sourcing of apples:

“The cuvées are all handpicked fruit from old (40 - 100+ years), untouched orchards just outside of Stockholm, close to Lake Mëlaren. The soil is old seabed, so there's a salinity that comes through in the apples and the cider in the end. One of the orchards was an abandoned biodynamic fruit farm, while the others are ancient orchards that have never fallen victim to modern farming practices (no spray, chemicals).

Most of our fruit is sourced from small orchards around Stockholm, while the remaining fruit is sourced from small orchards in Skåne (southern Sweden where most of Sweden's apples come from). It's important to us to source fruit as close to us as possible to limit the environmental impact of transportation. Some of the orchards are certified Krav (Swedish version of organic), while others are uncertified, but grow only clean, unsprayed fruit. And it's the flawed, waste fruit that doesn't make it to the shelves at groceries stores.”

Size: 35,000 L of production annually

Website: brutes.se
Instagram: @brutescider

BRUTES :: Group Hug

Group Hug is a great everyday sipper made from a very approachable blend of apples and pears. Apples undergo a long whole-pulp maceration to extract more structure and flavor, and the addition of Alexander Lucas pears into the blend acts as a “seasoning" for this classic Swedish cider. Think of this as “the one you’d take to the beach.”

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples & pears
Style: Sparkling cider pét-nat
ABV: 7%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Skåne (southern tip of Sweden, next to Denmark)
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 1-3 day whole-pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking.
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Frown Flipper

A true cider made from Swedish apples and made in a pet-nat style. This is a delighfully crisp and easy-drinking sparkling cider that suits any occasion. Guaranteed to flip any frown upside down, just like the label once you’ve poured out the bottle.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Field blend of Swedish apples
Style: Sparkling cider
ABV: 6.5%
Age of Trees: 80-90 years
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 1-3 day whole-pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking.
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Rosa Himmel

“Rosa Himmel”, which translates to pink sky in Swedish, is Brutes’s answer to the light red wines they love to drink (Poulsard and Gamay among their favorites). Apples undergo wet maceration with blueberries (aka bilberries) and chokeberries (aka aronia, a Swedish 'superfood' rich in antioxidants) to create this fresh & lightly fruity, yet savory blend. This is a fruit pét-nat that pushes the boundaries between cider and wine, and thrives in the liminal space (if any exists) between the two.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples, pears blueberries & aronia
Style: Sparkling fruit pét-nat
ABV: 7%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: apples undergo wet maceration with blueberries and chokeberries (i.e. whole berries are added to the fermenting cider and let to "soak" in the juice), followed by spontaneous fermentation in tank and one round of racking
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Alright Alright Alright

Fruit pét-nat made from Swedish apples, pears and semi-carbonically macerated plums from Ekerö. The plums lend a pretty umeboshi sourness with a hint of nuttiness (from pit inclusion). The sorbitol (unfermentable sugar) in the pears elevates the profile to a proper cider, one perfectly balanced in acidity and tannin structure. The label doubles as both a self-portrait of the designer and a tribute to Matthew McConaughey.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples, pears & plums
Style: Sparkling fruit pét-nat
ABV: 7%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Ekerö (east of Stockholm)
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 1-3 day whole-pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking. Plums undergo semi-carbonic maceration in steel tanks, then get blended with the cider before bottling.
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: All The Feels

Sparkling apple cider with pears, Japanese flowering quince and biodynamic riesling skins from Wine Mechanics in Göteborg, Sweden, the first urban winery in the Nordic. A jewelbox of delicate floral aromas and soft tannins from the addition of grape skins, this is a fruit pét-nat that truly blurs the line between wine and cider.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples, pears, riesling skins, rosenkvitten (Japanese flowering quince)
Style: Sparkling cider
ABV: 6%
Age of Trees: 80-90 years
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 3-5 day whole-pulp maceration of apples, pears and quince with one round of racking, and the addition of riesling skins to the fermenting juice
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Toot Your Own Horn

This is Brutes’s ode to a classic barnhouse cider from Normandy, with a Swedish kick. A mix of Swedish apples (Wealthy, Cox Pomona) from a single orchard around Stockholm undergo five days of whole-pulp maceration, before spontaneously fermenting in tank. The ancient seabed, atop of which the single orchard is planted, lends a gently salinity to the cider, providing the basis for a firmly terroir-driven cider.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples (Wealthy, Cox, Pomona)
Style: Sparkling cider
ABV: 7%
Age of Trees: 80-90 years
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Five days of whole pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking.
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Northern Tropics

Think of this as the "orange wine" equivalent of dry cider, It's much more structured than the others, and strangely reminds us of riesling! This is a true cider made from 100% heirloom varieties of apples from 100 year old trees that sit on an ancient seabed within Stockholm city limits. The salty Stockholm terroir is reminiscent of Basque country, which has us dreaming about all the mouth-watering foods we’d want to pair with this cider.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples (Ribston, Husmor, Holsteiner)
Style: Sparkling cider pét-nat
ABV: 7%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 50 day whole-pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking.
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Jesus Grab the Wheel

Wild sloeberries (also known as blackthorn) are added to this whole pulp maceration of apples and pears, creating a pale pink hue and gentle tannins that have led the Brutes crew to appropriately re-christen this cider the “sloe-sé” of their line-up.

Vintage: 2021
Blend: Swedish apples, pears, sloes, small amount of wild blueberries
Style: Sparkling cider pét-nat
ABV: 6%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: apples and pears are mixed with a splash of carbonic macerated wild blueberries, then undergo wet maceration with sloeberries (i.e. whole berries are added to the fermenting cider and let to "soak" in the juice), followed by spontaneous fermentation in tank and one round of racking
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Not Today Satan

This cider features a very unique flavor profile due to the inclusion of blackcurrants. The blackcurrants are carbonically macerated to bring down the acidity, resulting in a surprisingly savory cider with aromas of herbs and bell pepper. Think chef-y tomato water or gazpacho, in a good way! The name is a tribute to their favorite Drag Race winner, Bianca Del Rio.

Vintage: 2020
Blend: Swedish apples, pears & blackcurrant
Style: Sparkling fruit pét-nat
ABV: 6%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Viticulture:
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 1-3 day whole-pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking. Blackcurrants undergo semi-carbonic maceration in steel tanks, then get blended with the cider before bottling.
Fining / Filtration: None

BRUTES :: Way Up Here

A very special fruit pét-nat made exclusively from from mixed Swedish apples, pears, and semi-carbonic macerated cherries sourced from within or very close to Stockholm. The apples are handpicked from “way up” in the upper reaches of the 80 year old apple trees of the community orchards within city limits.

Vintage: 2020
Blend: Swedish apples, pears & cherries
Style: Sparkling fruit pét-nat
ABV: 6.5%
Region: Sweden
Sub-Region: Stockholm
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: 1-3 day whole-pulp maceration, followed by spontaneous fermentation and one round of racking. Cherries undergo semi-carbonic maceration in steel tanks, then get blended with the cider before bottling.
Fining / Filtration: None