Posts by Woodley Smith
New ACA Member Benefit!
The American Cider Association is excited to announce a new partnership with Good Beer Hunting to bring you premium content from their Sightlines+ insights newsletter. Each week, their team combines data, analysis, and real-world experiences from across alcoholic beverage to help break down trends across categories that can help your business make decisions for the future. All ACA voting members will receive a 50% off a year membership to some of the best insights in the industry from writers like Bryan Roth and Kate Bernot. Login to your ACA account to find the code for your 50% discount.
Interested in learning a bit more about Sightlines? Check out these recent articles:
Upcoming Webinars: Coffee Chats with Vinoshipper
The American Cider Association is excited to share two upcoming webinars with Theresa Dorr of Vinoshipper that will be available to their members. Please read below for more information about these webinars and how to register. You must be an active ACA member to register for these events.
Coffee Chat with Vinoshipper: Sales Beyond the Tasting Room: Maximizing Your Online Reach
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Coffee Chat with VinoShipper: DtC Cider Trends, 2020 + Beyond
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Get to Know Your Board Member: Soham Bhatt
We’re pleased to introduce you to the newest ACA Board Member, Soham Bhatt of Artifact Cider Project who was elected to an At Large Cidery Seat on the board in 2021!
Where do you work and what is your position?
Co-founder and cidermaker at Artifact Cider Project in Massachusetts
Do you work in cider full time? If not, what is your other job?
Full-time
How did you get into cider?
As a customer! I had a few “epiphany ciders” that pushed me from customer to producer and changed my worldview on the relationship between apples and cider: West County Cider, Oliver’s, Cidre Dupont, and Gurutzeta.
Why did you decide to run for a position on the board?
Cider is at an exciting moment in it’s growth as an industry, and I think that I can provide a unique perspective on customer education and advocacy of cider as a category.
What are your hopes for the future of the US Cider Industry?
That it’s here to stay. Some alcohol trends come and go, styles come and go, but I’d really like cider to become a fundamental part of the cultural landscape of the United States.
How do you describe your cider region?
Broadly, our region is the Northeast. The apples we work with primarily grow in MA, NY, NH, and VT. When we make terroir-driven ciders, we focus specifically on the middle Connecticut River valley, upper Berkshires area.
What’s your favorite apple to work with and why?
Depends on the grower. I love Roxbury Russet because of its provenance, but also because of its richness, versatility, and distinct flavor profile. McIntosh is an oft-maligned apple that in the right hands with the right tools is also quite explosive aromatically and exciting. In terms of European apples, I would have to say that Yarlington Mill, with its floral, fruity softness, is also a pleasure to work with and makes me yearn for an American seedling that can supplant it.
What is your favorite cider/food pairing?
Depends on the cider. I love fresh, fruit forward ciders at the start of a meal, so anything snack-y, like pâté, tinned fish, basically any cheese, raw bar, takis, cheetos, funyuns, chips of various flavors, fried goodies.
What is your favorite nature/cider pairing?
Also depends on the cider. I love a dry, funky cider at dusk, sitting ocean side around early May, when the flowers are beginning to bloom but the water’s still too cold to take a swim.
What would you like our members to know about you that they might not know?
My wife and I are enthusiastic travelers (pre-Covid), and love to explore new places around the world. As avid home cooks we try to take cooking classes and eat everything wherever we go. Upon returning we try to replicate our favorite dishes for our friends. Come over and eat!
Learn more about all our board members here.
Annual Membership Meeting Recording Available!
In the meeting, we reviewed last year’s accomplishments, took a look at our new strategic plan, and talked about our future activities to support the cider industry.
You must be an Active ACA Member to view the Annual Membership Meeting. You can become a member or update your membership here.
Check out the recording of this year’s ACA Annual Membership Meeting by clicking here! You will be prompted to login prior to being able to access the link to the recording.
Annual Membership Meeting Recording
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Get to Know ACA President Eleanor Leger
International Women’s Day has been happening for a little over 100 years, but we all know the mark women have made upon history is much longer than that and so has been their role in cidermaking. Furthermore, we continue to see more women take a leading role in the cider industry.
You’ve already been introduced to Vice President Brooke Glover today. Now it’s time to get to know ACA Board President Eleanor Leger. Eleanor has been involved with the ACA since it’s inception and has served on the board in various capacities over the years. She was elected to be Board President in 2021.
Where do you work and what is your position?
Founder and CEO, Eden Specialty Ciders, Newport, VT
How did you get into cider?
I started making ice cider in our basement in 2007. One thing led to another…
Why did you decide to run for a position on the board?
I originally ran for an ‘At Large’ position on the Board back in 2015 hoping to represent the perspective of smaller, orchard-based cideries. For the first few years I was the only woman and the only small cidery on the Board. We made good progress in professionalizing the Association, moving our finances from spreadsheets to QuickBooks, hiring our first Executive Director in Michelle, and including a track at CiderCon of relevance to smaller orchard-based producers. I was honored to be re-elected in 2019 as Eastern Region Chair.
What are your hopes for the future of the US Cider Industry?
I’m encouraged by the continued steady growth of regional ciders. I look forward to increasing awareness of cider’s diversity of flavors and methods, our ties to orchards and agriculture, and our efforts to welcome all to our products, our taprooms, and our industry.
What do you feel you uniquely bring to the board?
I bring a unique combination of 1) a professional background in business and product strategy, 2) 14 years as a very small scale grower and producer, 3) experience with wide distribution in the market due to our leadership in the tiny niche of ice cider. This means I have some understanding of the needs of cideries of all sizes and strategies, and of the complexities of the regulations, market dynamics and business challenges that impact them.
How would you describe the approach you plan to take in your role as president of the ACA board?
Our role is to work with Michelle to set the overall strategy and plans for the Association and support her in achieving them. I’ve been involved in the development of our new strategic plan, and am very excited about the initiatives we will be working on. I will be looking to insure our work is delivering benefits for all segments of our industry, and that we are consciously expanding our outreach – to the hundreds of small cideries that may not realize how our programming can help them, to the apple growing community that shares a stake in our future, and to Black, Indigenous and People of Color among consumers, trade, producers and suppliers whom we invite to join our journey.
Finally, I want to make sure we all have FUN doing this work. One of the things I have loved most about being in this industry is that by and large we are down-to-earth people that enjoy having a good cider at the end of the day, and are excited to have others party with us!
What’s your favorite apple to work with and why?
At Eden we work with so many heirloom and tannic varieties it is difficult to choose just one. For right now I will choose Belle de Boskoop – an old Dutch russet that actually became very popular in Normandy. We just released a single-variety of this from the 2019 harvest at Scott Farm. It has wonderful juicy acidity with pronounced orange and tropical notes.
What is your favorite cider/food pairing?
Any dry, tannic still cider with a pan-seared pork chop, also shortbread cookies with a glass of ice cider at the end of a meal!
What is your favorite nature/cider pairing?
Sitting on the beach at nearby, aptly-named Crystal Lake with a can of Deep Cut.
What would you like our members to know about you that they might not know?
I have two grown children, two border collies, and am blessed to be married to a saint for more than 35 years 🙂
Get to Know ACA Vice President Brooke Glover
International Women’s Day has been happening for a little over 100 years, but we all know the mark women have made upon history is much longer than that and so has been their role in cidermaking. Furthermore, we continue to see more women take a leading role in the cider industry.
Today we invite you to get to know the two women at the helm of the ACA board–first up, Vice-President Brooke Glover. Brooke was re-elected to the board and re-elected to the position of Vice President in 2021.
Where do you work and what is your position?
I am one of the co-founders and President at Swilled Dog Hard Cider and Swilled Dog Spirits.
How did you get into cider?
The first time my husband took me back to his hometown, we went to one of his friend’s cellars and I was able to try dry cider, straight from the barrel, made from West Virginia apples. Up to that point, I had only experienced sweet cider. So that was very eye-opening for me that there were many ways to make cider and I pretty much fell in love with the beverage. We then started exploring the category more and making it at home. I also soon found out that my grandfather used to make cider when he was younger- I didn’t know that about him so it has been cool for me to talk to him about that part of his life that I knew nothing about.
Why did you decide to run for a position on the board?
I really enjoy being of service and feeling like I can make a difference. We have such an amazing industry and I want it to continue growing and thriving.
What are your hopes for the future of the US Cider Industry?
Growth. I believe that growth will come with better understanding of the category and education about the beverage, how it’s made and the passion that goes into it from the makers.
What do you feel you uniquely bring to the board?
Our board has varied and wonderful skill sets and backgrounds but something unique that I try to bring to our work every day is positivity and a growth mindset to everything we do. Challenges do (and will continue to) arise and I enjoy tackling those and always try to think of it as a chance to grow and improve.
How would you describe the approach you plan to take in your role as vice president of the ACA board?
I’ve been Vice-President now for two years and I’ve always tried to make sure I’m doing more listening than talking- I want to continue doing that this year. Also, I try to make sure everything we do is working toward fulfilling our mission and our strategic plan. The strategic plan takes a lot of time, effort, and mindshare to develop and it is important that we stay on track with working that plan. And lastly, I want to make sure I am supporting the board, Michelle, and our new President, Eleanor, as much as possible.
What’s your favorite apple to work with and why?
I love the Virginia Hewes Crab. It is tiny and is a ton of work but it is very worth it. The flavor that it provides is amazing and we have bunch that grow here in West Virginia, so I’m keeping it local!
What is your favorite cider/food pairing?
I love a dry cider paired with a nice cheese tray.
What is your favorite nature/cider pairing?
My favorite nature/cider pairing is our Pumpkin Patch cider sitting around a fire in the early fall in West Virginia listening to Tony Caridi calling the Mountaineers on the radio. It really doesn’t get much better than that but my second favorite is our Pineapple cider on the beach.
What would you like our members to know about you that they might not know?
Just two fun facts: I played Division I college volleyball and we also own a distillery.
Building a Tech Stack for Your Cidery: 10 Questions You Should Ask Tech Vendors
#SponsoredContent by Ekos
If you’re reading this blog, you probably already know that technology is essential to any craft cider businesses. “Software gives the craft market a leg up against the larger, more entrenched beverage companies,” said Josh McKinney, Ekos CEO and co-founder. You might only have the resources to hire a small team, but technology allows you to make the most of what you have. “If it makes your team more efficient so you can spend more time with customers or on differentiating your brand in the market, then it is time and money well spent,” said McKinney.
So, you’ve determined you need to invest in a piece of software, but you’re not sure which vendor to choose. Before you start evaluating your options, make sure you know the problem you’re trying to solve and your desired outcome. For example, if you’re looking for inventory software, are you trying to get more organized? Communicate better with your team? Keep more accurate records? Sync inventory transactions with your accounting software to save time? Whatever your goal, make sure you (and any other stakeholders) nail it down and figure out what features the tech solution should have in order to meet your needs.
Want to learn what technology cideries are using for POS, ecommerce, accounting, inventory, sales and more? Download an analysis of 1,500 cideries and breweries.
5 Tips for Choosing a Software Solution
1. Make sure the vendor can solve your problem.
Now that you know what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s time to evaluate vendors on how effectively they can help. Once you’ve reviewed basic marketing materials to get an idea of what the software offers, be sure to set up a demo so you can see what the product actually looks like and how it works. But remember: no solution will be 100% perfect, so prioritize your top features and make sure the vendor checks off the most important boxes.
Depending on your specific needs, some general categories to consider include:
- Analytics, reporting, and business intelligence capabilities
- How you can access the platform (look for a cloud-based system)
- Integrations to other software you’re already using.
2. Set a budget, and make sure you know the “all-in” cost.
Using technology to solve your problems costs money, but fitting it into your budget is possible as long as you know the true cost. Most software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies will charge a subscription fee, but make sure you ask for all other associated costs. For example, does the company charge you for each additional user? Or, for an ecommerce or POS system, what are their website hosting or credit card processing fees?
Keep in mind that a cheap solution is often just that — cheap. Instead of trying to find a cut-rate option, simply decide how much you can afford to spend and add it to your list of considerations as you evaluate vendors.
3. Find out if the vendor is familiar with your industry.
Many craft beverage businesses have found out the hard way that big software companies cater to enterprise clients and are often ill-equipped to handle the needs of a craft cidery. Sure, they’ll tell you their platform can be used for anything — which really means the platform is incredibly generic with few, if any, features that are specific to cider production.
Plus, frankly, you’ll likely struggle to get hands-on support when you’re competing for attention against companies with multi-million-dollar, or even billion-dollar, annual revenues. Ask vendors if they are well-versed in working with businesses of your size and type — but you’ll probably be able to tell quickly just based on their industry knowledge (or lack thereof).
4. Investigate your options for customer support and any associated fees.
Another important factor to consider is what types of support the vendor makes available. Ideally, you would have the option of online and phone support in addition to a database of help articles. Make sure you understand the support packages and choose the one that makes sense for your team. You’ll also want to know whether you get hands-on onboarding and training (with a real person) as a new customer, and the company’s overall commitment to service. Will you have to wait a week for a response to a support ticket? If you have a problem during off-hours, is there a robust database of support articles for you to reference? What about ways to give product feedback? These should all be questions you ask.
5. Talk to your peers and ask for customer references.
This one’s a no-brainer, but if a company can’t offer references within your industry, you might want to look elsewhere. Ask the vendor to provide references that are as similar to your business as possible so you can properly compare.
Questions to Ask Potential Tech Vendors
- How will your software help us achieve our goals?
- What does an ideal relationship between us look like?
- What is your commitment to service?
- What’s your company mission?
- What is my “out”?
- What happens if/when challenges arise? How do you handle conflict?
- Knowing my needs, what is the “all in” cost to use your software?
- Is my business type and size typical for your client base?
- Is your software easy to use on a mobile device?
- How easy is it to get support? Does it cost anything?
To learn more about the tech solutions craft makers rely on, download Building a Tech Stack: An Analysis of Breweries and Cideries and get insights from 1,500 craft producers.