Archive for December 2017
How to get to Baltimore!
It’s easy to get to Baltimore! The Marriott address is 700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, MD.
The hotel is accessible from three major airports – Baltimore (BWI), Ronald Reagan in Washington (DCA) and Washington Dulles (IAD) as well as by car. The hotel does not offer shuttle service.
Coming from BWI – the hotel is about 12 miles from the airport. Estimated taxi fare is $45.
If you’re driving:
Take Route 170 to Interstate 295 North/Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The parkway will become Russell Street in downtown Baltimore. Follow Russell Street to Pratt Street and turn right. Continue on Pratt Street through ten traffic lights to President Street and turn right again. Follow President Street through three traffic lights moving into the right hand lane after the second light (Eastern Avenue). At the third light, drive straight ahead towards the Katyn Memorial and enter the traffic circle. Take the first right exit (about 50 feet into the circle) onto Aliceanna Street. The hotel entrance will be 100 yards on the right.
Coming from DCA – the hotel is about 61 miles from the airport. Estimated taxi fare is $120.
If you’re driving:
Take the George Washington Parkway North to Interstate 495 and continue to Interstate 95 North. Follow Interstate 95 North to Interstate 395 and exit at Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore. Turn right and proceed to President Street. Turn right then right again onto Aliceanna Street The hotel will be on the right.
Coming from IAD – the hotel is about 52 miles from the airport. Estimated taxi fare is $150.
If you’re driving:
Take the Dulles Toll Road East to Interstate 495 North amd continue to Interstate 95 North. Follow Interstate 95 North to Interstate 395 and exit at Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore. Turn right and proceed to President Street. Turn right then right again onto Aliceanna Street The hotel will be on the right.
Note that we will not have parking vouchers so plan accordingly for Baltimore’s parking costs – rate (subject to change) is currently $26/night for self park and $45/night for valet.
The CiderCon registration desk will be located in the Marriott main registration area on the fourth floor.
Registration hours:
Tuesday, Jan. 30th 5pm – 7pm
Wednesday, Jan. 31st 7am – 6pm
Thursday, Feb. 1st 7am – 6pm
Friday, Feb. 2nd 7am – 3pm
CiderCon Bonuses! Part 1
Like cider, CiderCon, is steeped in traditions. Somethings remain unchanged–our national Cider Share, our Grand Toast finale, our welcomed international cider making guests. But what are the bonus features for this year’s CiderCon in Baltimore? The following is part one of our bonus preview!
- We’ve added a VIP hour to Cider Share for distributors and members of the media, with the usual Cider Share to follow. All 54 cidery spots are taken at this point, but there is plenty of room for cider tasters!
- We’ve added Nielsen as our keynote speaker. You may recall our new partnership with them to bring relevant market data to our membership. We look forward to hearing more about the trends they’ve revealed.
- We have great cider tours lined up. Read more about the optional trips to DC, Adams County, PA or Frederick, MD here.
In addition to the traditional free workshop offered by TTB (this year they will review operational reports), There are some new optional workshops being offered on Wednesday of CiderCon.
- The Cider Institute of North America’s (CINA) Boot Camp, Wed 8am-2:45pm, $75, lunch included: Come join Cider Institute educators for a sneak peak at the week long courses being taught across the US and Canada. This will be a condensed version of beginning and advanced level coursework that will build upon cider skills and transition into further institute training. Topics include:
- What is Cider and How is it Made? (Peter Mitchell, Cider & Perry Academy)
- Chemistry of Juice and Cider (Brianna Ewing, Washington State University)
- Understanding Cider Faults (Chris Gerling, Cornell University)
- Sensory Analysis and Focus groups (Elizabeth Thomasino, Oregon State University)
- Using oak to your advantage: Barrel aging and fermentation protocol (Ryan Burk, Angry Orchard)
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Keeping it clean. Sanitation and its effects on cider quality (Andrew Byers, Finnriver Cider)
- The Certified Cider Professional Level 1 Exam Preparatory Course, Wed 8am-10am, $40: This workshop covers all the material you need to pass the American Cider Association’s Level 1 Exam. It will be teaching to the new version of the exam, which is geared more towards the service industry than the previous version. Topics include:
- Apples & The Orchard
- Cider Food Pairings
- Cider Making
- Flavor & Evaluation
- Cider Styles
- Keeping & Serving
Sign up for either of these great workshops when you register for CiderCon. Early bird pricing ends on January 15.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
Cider Tax News
Federal alcohol excise tax reform is included in the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Beer, wine, spirits and cider all benefit. What’s in it for cider? The threshold for which a cider maker receives the “Small Producer Tax Credit” has been significantly broadened. Previously, you could only receive this tax credit on the first 100,000 gallons produced and only if you made less than 250,000 gallons a year. But a new credit structure has been developed for both the hard cider tax rate and the wine tax rate (which is the rate fruit cider currently falls under). The following language is from Wine America. If your cider does not qualify for the hard cider tax rate, this structure applies to your product.
“The bill will save all wineries, regardless of size, significant money through an excise tax credit mechanism which reduces the effective rate. For example, while the federal excise tax on table wine will remain unchanged at $1.07 per gallon, there will be a new tax credit of $1.00 on the first 30,000 gallons produced, making the effective tax rate $0.07 (seven cents) per gallon. The tax credit on the next 100,000 gallons produced is $0.90, and between 130,000 and 750,000 gallons produced the tax credit will be $0.535.”
For hard cider, the bill will save cideries money through a similar excise tax credit mechanism. While the federal excise tax on hard cider will remain unchanged at $0.226 per gallon, there will be a new tax credit of $0.062 on the first 30,000 gallons produced, making the effective tax rate $0.164 per gallon. The tax credit on the next 100,000 gallons produced is $0.056, and between 130,000 and 750,000 gallons produced the tax credit will be $0.033.”
This reform was passed on a temporary basis. It will expire on December 31, 2019. American Cider Association is looking at ways to increase our presence in the coalition working to make this permanent and to represent the interests of cider in this process moving forward.
Once the President signs this current version into law, it becomes effective on January 1. That does not give the TTB time to create the regulatory process to implement this law. Cideries will likely receive retroactive tax credits after the regulations are created.
For more information about this law, please visit Wine America’s site, or contact Michelle McGrath at michelle@ciderassociation.org.