CiderCon 2022 Tasting Sessions

We are thrilled to offer several tastings at CiderCon® 2022! Seating is limited in CiderCon® workshops, including tastings. Read our full Health & Safety Guidelines. Sign-up for tastings available during registration.

NEW! Top of the Mitten: High Latitude Ciders from Northern Michigan

Moderator: Nicole LeGrand Leibon

Speakers: Dan Young, Tandem Cider; Dion Stepanski, Presque Isle Farm; Left Foot Charley, Bryan Ulbrich

Price: $10 Thursday, 1:45-2:45pm

Already registered for CiderCon® 2022 but you’d like to add on this tasting? Register here.

This session will be a guided sensory exploration of ciders from near or north of the 45th parallel. We’ll explore the impact of the Great Lakes, the soil, orchard history and more on these ciders from Northern Michigan.

400 Years of American Alcohol: Cider, History, Cocktails and More

Presenter: Tiffanie Barriere, The Drinking Coach

Price: $10 Thursday 10:30-11:30

Already registered for CiderCon® 2022 but you’d like to add on this tasting? Register here.

Alcohol has a tasty history in America. Cider was seen as early as 1622. We are still counting and discovering some of the historical names that helped alcohol become what it is today. With the help of original records from the service industry we are able to explore many stories on alcohol production, service and even cocktail incorporation dating back hundreds of years. To explore this history, Tiffanie Barriere–a renowned mixologist, author, speaker and researcher–brings this mash-up session to CiderCon. Her workshop will be one part history and one part inspired cider cocktail creation. She will talk about important names, historical figures, legendary Black bartenders and she will also teach you how to make amazing cider cocktails.

Fruited Ciders: Beyond the Apple – SOLD OUT

Moderator: Christine Walter 

Price: $8  Thursday 10:30-11:30

Fresh, frozen, puréed, essenced? Before, during, after? Answers to all of your questions, plus sourcing ideas and tasty examples to making excellent fruit ciders. This session is designed for cidermakers just getting their start. Featured Cider Makers: TBA

Creating Consumer Excitement with Food Pairing Suggestions – SOLD OUT

Presenter: Jennie Dorsey, Cider Educator

Price: $10  Thursday 2:00-3:00

We all know the “Four C’s” of food pairing, but putting theory into practice can be a little intimidating, especially for members of your tasting room staff that are just beginning their adventure with cider. In this session, cider and food pairing expert Jennie Dorsey will walk you through a pairing framework (with tasting samples!) that you can take back to your business, train your staff, and watch your sales grow.

Tasting and Terroir of True Crabs Non- Malus Domestica Apples – SOLD OUT

Moderator: Dan Pucci, Author

Price: $12 Thursday 3:30-4:30

Malus Domestica is not the only game in town. The Malus genus is diverse with apples native to biomes across the world, wild, feral or bred with intention. Typically valued more for their flowers than fruit, cider is adapting them into its diverse tool box. This talk will look at how these apples perform in a wide range of different growing environments and how they can be used in a wide range of different cider making styles. Featured Cider Makers: TBA 

Survey of Yeast-Derived Characteristics and Hands-On Blending – SOLD OUT

Moderator: Aaron Homoya

Price: $10  Thursday 3:30-4:30

Take your experience with the possibilities of flavor and aroma contributions of yeast strains to the next level with this tasting panel of cider made from one juice and a range of yeasts. Featured Cider Makers: TBA

Southern Cider Apples: A Recipe for Complex Flavor & Changing Climate – SOLD OUT

Moderator: Diane Flynt, Apple Grower and Cider Maker

Price: $12  Friday 10:30-11:30

Diane Flynt will set the stage for exploring southern cider apples with historic context for old southern cider apple varieties. Presentation will include color slides of southern apple varieties. The panel discussion will touch on fruit cultivation but will focus on the use of older southern varieties in cider.
Panel discussion topics: Varietal characteristics of old southern apples in cider; Cidermakers’ experience in using old southern apples in cider; Consumer response to cider made with old southern apples; Optional: apple tasting and cider tasting. Featuring: David and/or Ann Marie Thornton, James Creek Cider House, Tim Wright, Wise Bird Cider, Will Hodges, Troddenvale Cider

A Cider Among the Faults – An Aroma-Based Sensory Workshop

Presenter: Nicole Leibon, Chris Gerling, Jocelyn Kuzelka

Price: $12 Friday 10:30-11:30

Already registered for CiderCon® 2022 but you’d like to add on this tasting? Register here.

Take a good look at this line-up of five suspect ciders and put your detective (and detecting) skills to the test. Only one is innocent, the other four are fatally faulted by the usual (and maybe unusual) suspects. Discussion will include detection and rejection thresholds, their impact on how ciders and faults can be perceived differently, and ways to avoid or fix the faults found in the line-up.

Introductory Palate Training – SOLD OUT

Presenter: Darlene Hayes

Price $10 Friday 2:00-3:00pm

When learning the art of evaluating a cider it can be helpful to start by familiarizing your palate with individual structural elements. In this session, you will experience first hand the flavor and texture differences between several types of acids typically found in cider as well as different sugar levels and types of tannin. Give yourself a great foundation from which to take your tasting skills to the next level.

Best Practices for Producing Ciders with Residual Sugar – SOLD OUT

Moderator: Brighid O’Keene

Price: $10 Friday 2:00-3:00pm

This tasting session will explore methods and tips for producing cider with residual sugar. You will hear from cider makers producing at various scales and with different equipment about how to successfully make sweeter cider. We’ll explore downstream processing and safe bottling with a focus on best practices. Featured Cider Makers: TBA

Wild, Clean & Free: Harnessing the Beauty of Wild-fermenting, Without the Flaws – SOLD OUT

Moderator: Christine Walter

Price: $12 Friday 3:30-4:30pm

This tasting session will be a deep dive into making the most of traditional and pet-nat processes while producing a cleanly fermented sparkling cider. Featured Cider Makers: TBA