Posts by Michelle McGrath
Be a Leader: Join the Board
We are actively recruiting individuals from US-based cider companies to run for the board of directors. These are volunteer positions with a three year commitment. Active membership of the association is required. Board seats up for election this year include:
Regional Chairs (4) (under 1M g/yr)
- Midwest (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, KY)
- Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, AK)
- Mountain West (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY, SD, ND, KS, NE, OK, TX)
- Pacific Coast (CA, HI)
At Large (1)
- We are strongly encouraging producer-growers making less than 25,000 gal/year to run for this seat.
Please email Michelle if you would like to learn more about this opportunity. Get to know our current board here.
CiderCon® Seminar: Orcharding in the West
About 6 months ago, Jake Mann of Five Mile Orchard in California called me. He shared that what he loved most about CiderCon® hadn’t happened in a few years, and he wondered if it might be able to return? I didn’t need convincing. I missed it too, and this was a chance for American Cider Association to be responsive to member feedback (which we love). Jake raised his hand to help bring it back.
Jake and dedicated American Cider Association volunteer and cider expert, Darlene Hayes, have worked to bring you this year’s orcharding seminar: Orcharding in the West.
We decided to keep this seminar free for CiderCon® attendees, and there will be a scion exchange. RSVP for the workshop when you register for CiderCon®. Oh–and Jake’s orchard is featured on the Parajo Valley tour happening on January 28th!
Orcharding in the West
Wednesday, January 29th 8am – 12:30pm
FREE
Carbon Farming: Plans and Practicalities – Ryan Johnson, Consulting Team Lead for Landscape Analytic Solutions and Regen Wise
Cover Crops and the Western Orchard – Joanna Ory, Post-doctoral Fellow, U. C. Berkeley, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
Regulated Deficit Irrigation for Increasing Efficiency and Fruit Quality – Travis Alexander, Post-doctoral Research Associate, Washington State University, Mount Vernon NW Washington Research and Extension Center
Hardy Heirloom Apple Varieties from Gold-Rush Era Orchards – Amigo Bob Catisano, Founder, Felix Gillet Institute
A scion exchange will take place after the presentations. Please bring your own bag and labeling materials for collection, as well as scions from your favorite varieties.
Pick Cider for The Holidays
Thanksgiving is one of the biggest weeks of the year for cider, and November and December is a time to shine! We are once again offering members free promotional materials as a membership benefit. All print material orders will include tabloid-sized Thanksgiving posters and generic holiday/Christmas double-sided table tents.
- Just need a logo? Please find free marketing vectors and images here. Be sure to read our guidelines of usage. Pro tip: If you have a really great image, layer a vector Pick Cider file on top and create something special. If you need to get an event up quickly, just use one of the raster image logos!
- Supplies are limited, so place your order as quickly as possible. Click here to order.
- We will also be pushing events and special releases again. Please let us know about your events and seasonal ciders with this form here.
- Have a recipe or other seasonal media that features your cider? Send us the link at marketing@Ciderassociation.org.
- Check out our dressed for the season PickCider.com!
Your membership must be current for us to ship you materials, pitch you in articles, or re-share your social media campaigns. Thanks for logging in to ciderassociation.org to renew if your membership is due.
Looking forward to sharing the cider word this holiday season!
Pick Cider® is a registered trademark of American Cider Association.
American Cider Association Board Announces New Seats for 2020 Election
With over 900 cider producers and counting, the cider industry is a mosaic of business models, cider styles, geographies and individuals. Since we first earned our non-profit status in 2014, American Cider Association has worked to push forward programming that benefits everybody in our industry’s ecosystem. One way we do this is by making efforts to ensure different types, sizes and regions of cideries have representation on our committees and Board. This requires regular evaluation as the industry continues to grow and our programming adapts to meet the industry’s needs.
Recently, the Board of Directors paused to examine the structure of our membership regions and board. Two changes were the result of that reflection.
American Cider Association Creates Pacific Coast Membership Region for California and Hawaii
Our membership elects regional chairs to the board of directors. The Mountain West region previously included Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Geographically, the region is vast to say the least.
With over 100 cider producers and counting, California is vying for the most-producers-per-state distinction. The American Cider Association board felt that between unique market challenges and sheer number of producers, it was time to carve out a new region that included California. Hawaii, previously in the Northwest membership region, will also be included. We are calling this new membership area the Pacific Coast region. Next January will be the first opportunity for members from this region to elect a chair to the board of directors.
American Cider Association Board Hopes to Recruit Small Producers
The cider industry is comprised of many small operations and a few larger ones. Although we currently have smaller producers represented on our board (45% of our board members produced under 60,000 gallons each in 2018), we want to be sure that the smallest cideries are always at the table. These smaller cideries are a large volume of our membership and the industry, and we want them to feel welcome and listened to. We are adding a new ‘At Large’ seat to the roster, and we are strongly encouraging producer-growers from small-by-design cideries to run for this seat in the 2020 election.
2020 Board Elections
There are new three-year terms starting for the following 5 board positions:
Regional Chairs (4) (under 1M g/yr)
- Midwest (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, KY)
- Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, AK)
- Mountain West (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY, SD, ND, KS, NE, OK, TX)
- Pacific Coast (CA, HI)
At Large (1)
- We are strongly encouraging producer-growers making less than 25,000 gal/year to run for this seat.
Considering running? Please join us for this information webinar on November 20 (11AM PST/2PM EST). We’ll discuss what it’s like to serve on the board and answer any questions. All board positions are volunteer roles.
Representation
Our board is increasingly diverse in some measures, but it remains homogenous in others. We have initiated efforts to address representation on our board, in the industry, and throughout the cider consumer base. Fostering diversity and equity takes commitment, and we’ve just begun our journey to define this goal and its strategy. We hope you’ll join us in inviting our colleagues of underrepresented groups to be involved in the association.
Electronic Voting
Last year we switched our voting to 100% electronic to allow our members to vote regardless of whether or not they can attend CiderCon. The voting will take place as the same time as CiderCon, January 28-31, 2020
CiderCon® 2020 is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
You can now register to attend CiderCon® 2020–the world’s premiere industry event for the cider community. It’s taking place in sunny and happening Oakland, California at the Marriott from Tuesday, January 28-Friday, January 31.
What’s new at CiderCon®? We are glad you asked!
- After a brief hiatus, the 1/2 day orcharding seminar is back! This will happen on Wednesday morning and will explore questions specific to growing apples in the western US.
- We’ve partnered with the Cider Institute of North America to offer an expanded technical production track. Cidermakers: this is for you!
- We’ve tailored a track focusing on sales, so whether you are the only employee or one of many sales reps, we can brainstorm how to sell more cider.
- Brain dates will allow attendees to schedule 15 minute sessions with expert consultants on a range of topics.
- Meet-ups will offer curated yet informal information sharing and networking opportunities. Meet-up topics on the docket so far include apple spirits production, perry production, influencer marketing, and sustainability. Want to pitch a meet-up topic? Let’s hear it!
- We’re offering 4 tours this year! Whoa! Whether you’re exploring the terroir of Sonoma County or the Parajo Valley, deepening your knowledge of pairing cider with food in the sizzling hot culinary scene of California’s East Bay, or digging into the history of Albert Etter and apple production in Northern California, you’re sure to learn a lot and have a blast while doing it.
- The featured international cidermaker guests of honor this year are from Ireland!
- And we are thrilled to welcome a keynote speaker, Jill Giacomini Basch from Point Reyes Creamery. We’re kicking off Thursday morning with a cheese and cider pairing!
Returning events include:
- TUES: Charles McGonegal’s Elements of Style workshop offers an in depth look at how to experience a cider.
- WED: The opportunity to become a Certified Pommelier™. Sign up for the exam when you register.
- WED: The TTB’s in-depth workshop covering labeling and tax policies.
- WED: The second annual meeting and gathering for Pomme Boots.
- WED: The roaring welcome reception and cider share featuring 50+ cideries!
- THURS-FRIDAY: Seminars galore! Production, tasting, marketing, apples, sales, business and compliance. As always, CiderCon® tasting sessions delve deep into cider production, evaluation, and philosophy.
- THURS-FRIDAY: An even BIGGER trade show than the year before, now sprinkled with cider sample offerings. Thank you, FruitSmart for your sponsorship.
- FRIDAY: The grand toast and bottle share.
- And more!
Visit the CiderCon® website to review more schedule details.
The base registration fee for CiderCon® 2020 is $395. This includes access to workshops on Wednesday-Friday, a ticket to the Welcome Reception/Cider Share on Wednesday night, the keynote address on Thursday morning, two delicious lunches, the BIGGER trade show happening Thursday & Friday and the grand toast on Friday night! (Tours and some workshops have an additional registration fee.)
Let us know if you have questions about registering for this event. See you in Oakland, cider friends!
P.S. CiderCon® 2020 is excited to be a part of Bay Area Cider Week! Have a cider event to submit? Do that here.
Stop Tax Increases
The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act EXPIRES at the end of 2019.
The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act created critical but temporary excise tax credits for beer, wine, spirit and cider producers. This cross-sector cooperation was unprecedented, and the results have been clear—our industries create jobs, support farms, and bolster community economies. Now we are working together again to prevent your taxes from going up come January 1. Congress needs to hear from the cider community that increasing federal excise taxes will cost. The resources that allowed you to invest in jobs, trees, equipment and innovations could go away overnight. Join us in telling Congress to stop these pending tax hikes and make the savings in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act permanent.
From coast to coast, producers are making their voices heard. Our industries have two things in common—the vast majority of the businesses in our sectors are small, family-owned businesses, and our fermented products create added value for farms. These facts have led to overwhelming bipartisan support for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act. But we need to hammer this message home: The loss of these credits will hurt local economies. Congress must act to make them permanent before it’s too late.
Want to learn more about how this bill impacts your cidery? Read our recent blog.
Are You Overpaying Your Taxes?
Every week I speak with a producer that is unknowingly overpaying their taxes. Last week a quick email resulted in one of our smallest members getting a $700 tax refund. It’s understandable that people are confused about their taxes. In particular, I find there a misunderstanding that because the cider tax rate was expanded with the CIDER Act in 2017, small producers are not benefitting from the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act.
The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act went into effect on January 1, 2018. It was passed for a 2-year period. It benefits the cider industry in a number of ways:
- It increases the amount of Small Producer Tax Credits for the first 30,000 gallons of product. This benefits small producers.
- It makes sparkling cider producers eligible for the Small Producer Tax Credit for the first time. For the smallest producers it is a $1 credit!
- It removes the barrier to growth cideries were facing by slowly phasing out the Small Producer Tax Credit up to 750,000 gallons.
Please check your taxes for 2018 and 2019 to make sure you are receiving the proper credits. We talk to producers everyday—small and large—that are sometimes owed hundreds or thousands of dollars in refunds.
This below chart is of the EFFECTIVE rate after the credit has been applied. Download our flier to print this chart.
Your Membership Dollars at Work: We are working with a coalition of other alcohol associations to ensure these credits stick around. As of now, they are set to expire. Recently the American Cider Association Board of Directors and members met with 16 congressional offices to educate them on cider and its importance for local economies and agriculture. We encouraged support of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, asking for Congress to make the federal excise tax credits permanent.
Stay tuned for opportunities to get involved in grassroots actions supporting the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act.
Is your label compliant?
Since the enactment of the CIDER Act, the cider tax rate applies to products that are under 8.5% ABV, under 0.64 gram of carbon dioxide per 100 milliliters and contain no other fruit than apples or pears.
As of January 1, 2019, the TTB is requiring all cider (not just cider >7% ABV) that qualifies for the cider tax rate to be labeled with this statement: Tax class 5041(b)(6). The requirement starts when the product is removed from bonded premises. If your product was labeled and removed from bonded premises before the start of this year, it is not required to have the tax class statement.
If your cider was labeled in 2018 but wasn’t removed from bonded premises until 2019, the cider tax class statement must be present on the label. The TTB will allow a sticker with the statement to be applied to the label to be in compliance. Read more in TTB’s Industry Circular 2017-2.
American Cider Association Solicits Feedback On Cider Styles
It is the American Cider Association’s mission to move our industry forward and grow a cider community that is successful and inclusive, entrepreneurial and diverse. That’s why the USCAM’s style guidelines are a living document – a work in progress, open to new information and new perspectives. We encourage anyone to provide feedback through our annual style survey [Click here to access], which will be open through July 31st. Additionally, our board has begun to reach out individually to members of our diverse cider community. In particular, we have been hearing anecdotally from Heritage cider producers at CiderCon® and elsewhere about various concerns with that label. These concerns were augmented by discussions raised by a recent article.
In the coming weeks we will be soliciting feedback from all producers who primarily make that style of cider, and will use that feedback to plot a responsive course of engagement and action. It won’t be fast or easy, but we are dedicated to progress for the entire cider community. The American Cider Association is committed to inclusivity, and hope you will join us as we grow.
NOW OPEN: 2019 Feedback Form for American Cider Association Cider Styles
We call our American Cider Association Cider Style Guide a living document. We’ve updated it twice since its first release in the fall of 2017, both times based on the feedback of the cider industry. It’s our goal to be transparent and responsive to our members, so we built an annual feedback mechanism directly into our cider lexicon program, including the style guide. The cider industry is evolving, so we should be too. We are pleased to announce that we are opening the 2019 feedback window until July 31, 2019.
The current version of the guide includes the following styles:
- Heritage Cider
- Modern Cider
- Modern Perry
- Heritage Perry
- Fruit Cider
- Spiced Cider
- Botanical Cider
- Heritage Rosé Cider
- Modern Rosé Cider
- Hopped Cider
- Wood-aged Cider
- Sour Cider
- Ice Cider
- New England Style Cider
- Specialty Cider and Perry
We welcome input from all walks of cider makers and industry professionals. We seek feedback on existing styles as well as suggestions for new ones.
Please provide as much evidence as possible in your submissions to help us in our review process.
We encourage your participation. Thank you for joining us in this industry-wide dialogue.
Thank you to Northwest Cider Association for the featured image.