Featured Cider Makers
It Runs in the Family: Ploughman Cider
With over 100 years under their belts operating Three Springs Fruit Farm in Aspers, Pennsylvania, the Wenk family decided a few years ago to branch out and turn their fruit bounties into a range of hard ciders. Their approach to cider making stems from their long-standing “frontier” philosophy, which their website defines as “an eagerness…
Read MoreQ&A with Olga and Brian Dressler of Dressler Estate
A lot can happen in two years of running a cider startup. There’s hard work, and plenty of it, learning curves, successes, mistakes … like any adventure in small business, the only real constant is change. With that in mind, we wanted to check in with Olga and Brian Dressler, the co-founders of Dressler Estate,…
Read MoreNine Pin Cider Works Celebrates 5 Years by Hosting Special Events
New York’s first farm cidery, Nine Pin Cider Works, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a bunch of great events and activities, and culminating with the fifth annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries on Saturday, March 2. “We truly appreciate our local customers and are honored to bring them the excitement of our fifth anniversary with…
Read MoreOur Top 5 Favs from the CiderCon 2019 Cider Share
Anyone who’s been to CiderCon knows there is a lot to do, see, learn, and tons of people to reconnect with and meet and, obviously, plenty of cider to drink. Aside from all of the seminars that include tastings, and dinner and drinks out on the town, there’s the annual Cider Share, when dozens upon…
Read MoreStem Ciders Acquires Black Twig Cider House in Durham, North Carolina
News from the cider world: Stem Ciders has acquired Black Twig Cider House in Durham, North Carolina, the first cider bar of its kind on the East Coast, which debuted in 2016. The 60-seat restaurant, bar and bottle shop will undergo a re-branding as The Northern Spy, slated to open late spring 2019. The Northern Spy will be…
Read MoreFresh Faces in Canadian Cider: Lekker Cider Co.
There’s a new kid on the block in the Canadian cider scene: Lekker Cider Co. This new urban cidery startup, founded by the wife-and-husband team of Liz and Brendan Kearns, is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Lekker, which means “yummy,” “tasty” or “luscious,” is a popular slogan regarding South African culture and produce. Lekker Cider takes…
Read MoreAnother Tool in Your Kit: Leveraging Technology in Cider Making
Cider makers need technology: It’s simply a fact. Even the most “unplugged” artisan still must rely on tech, whether that’s electricity to run the lights and refrigeration, or a truck to make deliveries, or the phone to answer emails. And, increasingly, all kinds of makers, including cider makers, are relying on all sorts of technological…
Read MoreWoodchuck Cider: A Legacy of Innovation
When you’ve been in an industry since it pretty much began, innovation is sewn into your company’s fabric. For Woodchuck Cider, which has been an influential force in the U.S. craft cider market since its founding in 1991, every step of its evolution has been rooted in pushing the envelope and defining its place as…
Read MoreCollabo to Know: Kurant Cider + Free Will Brewing’s Pitch
It’s a proven fact: When cider makers and brewers put their heads together, some serious magic can happen (remember this bonkers-good, hopped cider from Shacksbury and Modern Times?). The cider and beer worlds don’t have to be passively separate entities, or rumbling factions, like the Sharks and the Jets. Instead of rivalry, they can hang…
Read MoreWomen Making Waves in the Cider World 14: Woodchuck Cider
We are pleased to carry on with our Women Making Waves in the Cider World series, now in its 14th installment. In nearly every corner of the cider industry, we’ve found women striving for — and achieving — remarkable professional goals and accomplishments. Our last few features have taken a look inside cider companies that employ women in…
Read MoreDestination Cider: Touring the Angry Orchard Innovation Cider House
I was first invited to Angry Orchard’s Innovation Cider House when, technically, it didn’t quite exist yet, but Ryan Burk, AO’s head cider maker, is a hospitable soul. I remember hearing about this exciting project when the research and development facility was just an idea. That was before the famous tree house, the game-changing cider…
Read MoreSteamPunk Cider’s Bar Cultivar in Buffalo, NY Sets Grand Opening Date (Dec. 8)
Buffalo, NY will soon welcome a new cider-centric bar to the fold: Bar Cultivar. This project from SteamPunk Cider will be housed in the Barrel Factory in the Old First Ward, a repurposed 115-year-old industrial space shared by a number of businesses, including Lakewood Spirits and Pressure Drop Brewing. After many months of designing and…
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