Posts by Woodley Smith
ACA Calls for Award Nominations
The American Cider Association is pleased to announce that we have opened nominations for the ACA Awards for folks who are doing great things for cider! We welcome your nominations for businesses and people who have been excellent ambassadors for cider in the last year.
Please nominate only one business or person per category. Businesses should not be cideries, but those who help promote cider through their support of cideries and cidermakers. Please submit your nominations by January 13, 2023. Only submissions from active members will be accepted.
We will be presenting awards in each ACA defined region in the following categories:
- Best Non-Cidery Off-premise Cider Retailer in Your Region
- Best Non-Cidery Cider Focused Establishment (bar, restaurant, etc.) in Your Region
- Best Cider Distributor in Your Region
- Pommelier of the Year (a cider tender who excels at promoting cider, cidery employees can be nominated for this award)
Awards will be presented at CiderCon® 2023!
Sarah Hemly Joins ACA Board as Interim Pacific Coast Chair
The ACA is happy to announce that Sarah Hemly has been temporarily appointed as the Interim Pacific Coast Chair from November 16, 2022 through to CiderCon 2023. Sarah launched Hemly Cider with Co-Founder Chris Thomson in 2015. The cidery and farm are located in the The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta region of Northern California, a unique fruit growing area. Hemly Cider has grown into an award-winning cider company that showcases the fruit grown by the family’s sixth generation pear and apple orchards. Sarah serves full time as President of Hemly Cider as well as on the board of Greene and Hemly, the family orchard and packing company.
Sarah joins as Interim to temporarily fill in for the former regional chair, Nicole Todd of Santa Cruz Cider Company. Nicole served a three year term as the Pacific Coast Chair. She was an engaged member that led with curiosity and courage, and we are extremely appreciative of her service to the American Cider Association the the Pacific Coast member region. We thank Nicole for asking great questions and being a committed member of our team.
ACA Board Nominations Due January 17
Are you full of energy and ideas on how to support the ACA and grow the industry? Perhaps you’d consider running for the ACA Board of Directors? Our annual nomination window is now open. Elections take place during CiderCon–electronically, so all U.S. member cideries may vote (1 vote per cidery). Although it is not required, we strongly encourage candidates to have an ACA volunteer history before running for office. A couple more things to know about service:
- To qualify for candidacy, you must be a permanent employee of a bonded cidery producing cider in the U.S.
- Each seat has unique requirements. The seats open for elections this year are:
- Northwest Chair – Open to Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Alaska cideries producing under 1 Million gallons of cider a year
- Mountain West Chair – Open to cideries producing less than 1 Million gallons of cider a year in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas
- Pacific Coast Chair – Open to California and Hawaii cideries producing under 1 Million gallons of cider a year
- At Large – Open to any U.S. cidery regardless of size
- Large Cidery – Open to any US. cidery producing over 1 Million gallons of cider a year
- Incumbents may be running for their seats again.
- Terms are three years.
- Candidates will receive further instructions on developing their platforms and what board service includes.
Have more questions about board service? Schedule a chat with executive director, Michelle by clicking here.
To submit your nomination by the January 17 deadline:
Register Now for CiderCon 2023 and Win a Hotel Stay for CiderCon 2024
Have you been procrastinating on registering for CiderCon® 2023? If you have, now is the time to do so before registration prices rise and the hotel room block deadline arrives. (Registration prices go up on January 10 and the deadline for our hotel room block is January 8!)
As an added incentive for registering ASAP, we are offering a raffle for a five night hotel stay for CiderCon® 2024 (in a TBA location) for anyone who registers between December 20, 2022 and December 31, 2022 at 11:59pm Pacific Time for CiderCon® 2023 in Chicago.
Ready to register and enter for your chance to win this awesome prize?
Press Then Press Offers Certified Pommelier™ Study Kits
Still studying up for the Certified Pommelier® exam?
The owners of Press then Press, Erik & Storie Madrid, have put together two study kits for those studying for the Certified Pommelier™ exam at CiderCon® 2023. Erike & Storie received their Certified Pommelier™ designations in June of 2022 and have put their expertise to good use by creating these two study kits, including a digital copy of completed sensory analysis forms for each cider so you can compare your answers.
The Minor Kit features 4 cans and the Major Kit features 6 bottles and cans that can be delivered to your door in most states. And Press then Press is offering discounts in case you want to fill up your box with more of their wide-ranging selection of ciders. Do make sure you verify that orders can be shipped to your state before purchasing.
You can download blank sensory analysis forms here so you can take notes as you taste the ciders and then compare to the included digital forms from Press then Press. You can register for the Certified Pommelier™ exam to take place at CiderCon® 2023 on February 1 here.
5 Actionable Strategies to Create a More Profitable Taproom Webinar
In this rapid fire session, the American Cider Association is excited to introduce you to Andrew Coplon and Kary Shumway (Taproom Success). Over just 30 minutes, you will walk away with actionable strategies you can put in place to see greater success in your taproom. Join Andrew & Kary for proven methods to build deeper relationships with guests, increase revenue, and have better financial control. Numbers can be fun! Andrew and Kary will be joined by Megan MacLean (Director of Hospitality at Artifact Cider Project) to share their success from these strategies. Get excited for this pre-CiderCon® webinar and then sign up for the half-day course at CiderCon® 2023.
Live Sensory Analysis Webinar with Two Broads Ciderworks
Join our Certified Pommelier™ panel in a live practice sensory webinar featuring cider from Two Broads Ciderworks on December 8 from 4-6pm Pacific. This will be your last chance to participate in a live sensory analysis webinar prior to the Certified Pommelier™ exam at CiderCon® 2023, so sign up now!
This webinar is also available to rewatch and practice as a prerecorded event.
Order cider to participate along with the webinar here. Please make sure the ciders can be shipped to your state before registering for this event.
BevFluence Announces New Campaign and New Benefit for ACA Members
This content is for members only.
If you were a member and are now seeing this message, please Renew your membership to continue.
CiderCon® Scholarships Continue for 2023 Conference
Yonder Cider, Beer Kulture and the American Cider Association have partnered to continue CiderCon® scholarship opportunities this year. These scholarships are designed to bring new BIPOC individuals into the cider industry. The scholarship includes: registration to CiderCon®; travel and lodging; Certified Cider Professional Level 1 bundle (including the exam); two Certified Cider Professional Sensory Webinars; and the registration fee for the Certified Pommelier™ Exam. Applications can be found here and the deadline to apply is December 10, 2022. Recipients will be contacted to schedule a brief interview and winners of the scholarship will be notified on December 21, 2022. CiderCon® 2023 takes place January 31 – February 3, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
Cider Share at CiderCon® 2023
Join us for our beloved welcoming reception, Cider Share, at CiderCon® 2023! The Cider Share reception will take place Wednesday, February 1 from 5:00 to 8:00pm.
Haven’t been to a Cider Share before? Here’s what to expect:
50 (yes 50!) cideries from around the country and the world will be serving their ciders for attendees to enjoy. Learn about the ciders from the cidermakers and their staff, meet fellow cidermakers from your region, mingle with other CiderCon® attendees to connect with old friends or make new ones! Cider Share will be limited to 400 people this year so make sure to add Cider Share during the registration process! Tickets are $20.
Want to serve your cider at Cider Share? Here’s how:
Featured cideries will be chosen using a lottery along with considerations of geography and style. If you would like to be considered as a featured cidery at Cider Share 2023, please select that choice during the CiderCon® registration process. The lottery drawing will be held in early December and those selected will be notified via email with further details.