Cider Summit Ciders from Around the World

Cider Summit Festivals, the nation’s longest established producer of hard cider fests, hosted Artisans by Cider Summit on Saturday, January 20, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. This event, which occurred at the tail end of the cider industry conference CiderCon 2024, was part of the overall cider-related celebrations held during Oregon Cider Week and featured over twenty producers pouring over 40 premium ciders.

Washington State Ciders

Yonder Cider and Finnriver Farm & Cidery ciders

Thanks to the state's nutrient-rich soil and arid climate, coupled with its advanced growing techniques, Washington State grows over half of the apples harvested in the United States with an average harvest of 10 billion apples each year. Finnriver Farm & Cidery's Golden Russet (9% ABV) semi-dry cider made from traditional ‘russeted’ organic apples grown in Finnriver's organic orchard in Chimacum is emblematic of the growing interest Pacific Northwest ciders made from local apples grown using organic and sustainable means. Also, as a testament to the growing interest in Perry, Empyrical Cider was pouring their Inversion (7.8% ABV), a blend of American and English cider apples, aged in oak and then combined with the natural sweetness of last harvest's fresh-pressed Perry pears. For another Perry option, Yonder Cider offered their Barrel Aged Perry (8% ABV) aged in neutral French Oak barrels for one year, featuring only Perry pears including Yellow Huffcap and Hendre Huffcap.

Oregon Ciders

Moving south to Oregon, the standout ciders included Kristof Farms' Noir Cider (7.4% ABV), their newest cider made using pressed Golden Russet estate apples and fermented with the skins of Pinot Noir grapes, both grown on their family farm in Yamhill. (Their 2022 Estate Pinot Noir will be available to wine club members in March 2024, followed by direct sales to the public.) This cider produced by their cider maker, Christine Walter of Bauman’s Cider, tastes like a dry cider but with an infusion of Pinot Noir that lends to a velvety mouthfeel. For another co-fermentation using Pinot Noir grapes, Idol Cider House's Cidre Rouge (6.9% ABV) is a refreshing semi-dry cider made by co-fermenting Pinot Noir skins with juice from their estate Geeveston Fanny apples, which is an heirloom variety hailing from Tasmania.

For those looking for a Belgian-inspired cider with a Pacific Northwest twist, Portland Cider Company's Abbey Apple (6.9% ABV) showcases Northwest apples fermented with Belgian ale yeast for a smooth full-bodied cider. Also, one of the newest cideries on the scene Raw Cider scored with a Sparkling Perry that's a blend of Anjou dry-farmed pears and wild foraged pears and made using an in-bottle fermentation and then hand disgorged. The resulting cider possesses fine silky bubbles with a balanced sweetness with unfermentable sugars found naturally in pears.

East Coast Ciders

Moving over to North Garden, Virginia, Albemarle Ciderworks' 1817 cider (9.1% ABV) is a tribute to William Coxe of New Jersey, a cider expert and author of A View of The Cultivation of Fruit Trees And the Management of Orchards and Cider published in 1817. The recipe for this cider came from a statement in Coxe's book attesting to "the finest liquor I have ever seen, was made from the crab, with a small portion of the Harrison apple of Newark, and the Winesap of West Jersey."

Eden Specialty Ciders of Newport, Vermont poured another unique offering, an Heirloom Blend Ice Cider (10% ABV) consisting of over 15 heirloom apple varieties all grown in Vermont. They make all their ciders using the Quebec method, which relies on their naturally cold climate to produce the highest quality cold-concentrated juice for fermentation.

International Ciders

From Norway comes Bristol Fashion (6.5% ABV), an unfiltered and unpasteurized vintage dry cider. This amber blend of English bittersweet cider apples is fermented to dryness and lightly carbonated with a broad and full mouthfeel with a bold dry tannic finish.

Poma Áurea (6.5% ABV) is the first brut nature cider developed by Sidra Trabanco in Sprain and it has been admitted as a protected denomination of origin (DOP) titled "Sidra de Asturias." This is a natural brut cider in which the carbonic, as well as the sugar, are endogenic, which is the result of their fermentation process.

Maison Herout Amour Brut (5.0% ABV) is an authentic, organic, Normandy cider produced in the Cotentin Peninsula using artisanal techniques perfected by cider-maker Marie-Agnes Hérout of Maison Hérout. The second fermentation occurs in the bottle, which reasons in a cold, crisp full-bodied cider with layered complexity and hints of woodlands, coffee beans, and orange citrus.

Bonus! International Pommeau

2 Towns Ciderhouse and Schilling Hard Cider

Rotating Pommeau Tasting sessions demonstrated how producers from Oregon, Washington State, and France craft this mixture of fresh-pressed apple juice and apple brandy into what is in essence an apple-port. 2 Towns Ciderhouse (OR)'s Barrel Aged Apple wine (19% ABV) is made from locally grown traditional bittersweet cider apples which are hand-harvested and 'sweated' at cool temperatures and then aged in French oak barrels for a year. From Washington State, Schilling Hard Cider's Pommeau (20% ABV) has a clear amber appearance with a warm alcohol heat and a lingering apple finish. Finally, Pierre Huet Pommeau de Normandie AOC (17% ABV) is a smooth aperitif wine made by mixing two-thirds fresh apple juice and one-third Calvados (a cognac-style spirit made from apples) and then aging for three to four years in old oak barrels. The ensuing result is a deep garnet color with a rich applied aroma and a lingering subtle oak finish.

This event points to the increased popularity of hard ciders with the North American cider market expected to grow by 3.5% between 2022 and 2027 in large part due to U.S. consumers embracing hard cider. According to Michelle McGrath, CEO of the American Cider Association, the cider renaissance that kicked off in 2010 and 2011 and continues to grow can be attributed to a synergy of the craft beer movement, a new gluten-free trend, and an interest in local food.