Cider Cocktails created by Jennie Dorsey
Grapefruit & Sage Cidermosa
Fill glass 3/4 with your favorite dry acid forward sparkling cider
Shake and strain on top:
2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
1 oz. sage infused simple syrup
3 dashes bitters
Garnish with grapefruit and sage
Red Berry Refresher
Shake and strain over fresh ice:
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp strawberry jam
Fill glass with a dry raspberry cider
Garnish with a strawberry and a lemon twist
Earl of Orange
Build over ice:
2 oz. cooled Earl Grey tea
1 oz. zero proof triple sec
1 oz fresh orange juice
Top with favorite barrel aged cider
Garnish with an orange and thyme
ACA Members Raise Over $7000 for Berryland Cidery
The American Cider Association is pleased to announce that events hosted by ACA members raised over $7000 to help support the efforts of Berryland Cidery to rebuild.
Berryland Cidery is an award-winning Ukrainian cidery, fruit winery and meadery located near Kyiv. In March 2022 Berryland was bombed beyond recognition by Russian troops. Berryland’s owner and cidermaker Vitalli Karvyha is committed to rebuilding. To support Vitalli, cideries and cider industry friends across the United States held events to raise funds to help.
Events were held by Press then Press LLC, Slyboro Ciderhouse, Meriwether Cider, Courthouse Creek Cidery, Liberty Ciderworks, OK Cider Co., Blue Bee Cider, Houston Cider Company, Keepsake Cidery, Ash & Elm Cider Co., Spring Hill Cider Works, Eden Specialty Ciders, 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Lassen Traditional Cider, Space Time Mead & Cider Works, Seattle Cider Company, and Cider Summit.
“We were delighted with the number of events held across the United States to help Vitalli rebuild Berryland,” stated Michelle McGrath, Executive Director of the American Cider Association. “It really shows the camaraderie amongst people in the cider industry, not just here in the United States, but around the world.”
Individuals wishing to support Vitalli in his effort to rebuild Berryland Cider can contribute to this GoFundMe campaign.
Additional Ways to Help Ukraine
Polish cidery Kwasne Jablko has multiple relief efforts underway both in Poland and in Ukraine. Currently, owner Marcin Wiechowski purchased a sprinter van and has organized deliveries of humanitarian supplies. Each week, they buy what is needed and volunteer drivers make the run into Ukraine to deliver them where they are needed.
In addition, Kwasne Jablko is currently supporting 70 refugees. 12 of the refugees are living on their cider farm, while the cidery has rented flats and houses for the others. They assist in job searches, support them financially, and assist in everyday problems that arise.
After hearing about the work Kwasne Jablko has been doing, Eleanor Leger, ACA Board President and owner of Eden Ciders made the decision to begin collecting money to send to Marcin to help him with purchasing and transport. He has set up a special account for the aid work he is doing. If anyone is interested in contributing, please contact Eleanor at eleanor@edenciders.com for more information and details on how you can help.
ACA Advocates for Ice Cider Standards
The board of the American Cider Association recently send a letter to the L’Association des Industries des Cidres et Vins de fruits de l’UE (AICV), or the European Cider and Fruit Wine Association urging them to recognize the precedent for the definition of Ice Cider (Cidre de Glace) set by the government of Quebec, Canada.
The AICV is currently in the process of developing marketing standards for Ice Cider/Apple Ice Wine in Europe and the ACA board felt it was timely to urge that the organization adopt the definition set by the government of Quebec, where the style of cider originated in the 1990s as the standard definition.
The definition is as follows: “Ice Cider” – cider obtained by the fermentation of juice of apples that has a pre-fermentation sugar content of not less than 30° Brix achieved solely by natural cold, producing a finished product with a residual sugar content of not less than 130 g per litre and an actual alcoholic strength of more than 7% by volume but not more than 13% by volume.”
This definition has been accepted by the ACA and by GLINTCAP and the required use of natural cold weather for cryo-extraction or cryo-concentration is enforced by our U.S. Federal Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) with respect to labeling.
You can read the full letter from the ACA board here.
ACA Announces New Certified Pommelier™ Exam
The American Cider Association is pleased to announce an additional opportunity in 2022 for folks wishing to take the Certified Pommelier® Exam. The exam will be held at the Angry Orchard Innovation Cider House in Walden, New York on August 18, 2022 starting at 8:30am.
The Certified Pommelier™ certification was developed to move beyond a fundamental understanding and to encourage cider professionals to think critically while demonstrating a higher understanding of the elements of cider.
In depth study in required to pass the Certified Pommelier™ Exam. Study aides are available here and anyone interested in taking the exam should take advantage of these learning aides and also join the Certified Pommelier Study Group on Facebook here.
The cost for the exam is $200 for non-ACA members, and $125 for members. Members can find the coupon code to use during checkout here. You will be prompted to log in first.
For more information on the exam or if you have questions please contact our Cider Education Outreach Manager Jennie Dorsey.
CiderCon® 2023 – Call for Proposals
CiderCon® is the world’s premier networking and educational event for the professional cidermaking community. CiderCon® 2023 will take place in Chicago, Illinois from January 31 – February 3, 2023.
We invite presentation proposals from qualified experts who meet the criteria of being able to educate cidermakers, apple growers, cidery owners, retailers, wholesalers, marketers and other cider industry professionals about best practices, new trends, research, and improving processes.
Successful proposals will state clearly:
-Target Audience – role in industry as well as business model.
-Also include if material is best for beginner/intermediate/ or advanced audience members.
-Educational Goal – what skill, tool or new understanding will attendees walk away with?
COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION
We are committed to ensuring CiderCon® is a safe and welcoming space for all regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, disability or sexual preference. We strongly encourage BIPOC, LGTBQIA+, veterans and speakers with disabilities to submit proposals.
Additionally, we invite speakers from outside but related industries to cider. Our industry will be strengthened with fresh perspectives.
Particular topics of interest we seek applicants for through this RFP: Compliance, Branding, Marketing, Distributor Relationships, Chain Retail Sales, DtC Sales, Market Trends, HR, Finance, Operational Safety, Team Leadership, Equity & Inclusion.
Proposals are due to the CiderCon® committee by June 17. Approved speakers receive a complimentary pass to CiderCon® which includes lunch for 2 days.
ACA Announces June Dates for Virginia Cider Ed Road Show
The American Cider Association (ACA) is hitting the road to partner with Virginia cideries and chefs to teach food and beverage professionals about the diversity and versatility of Virginia hard ciders. Workshops will be held in Alexandria, Charlottesville, Richmond, and Hampton during the week of June 6-9, 2022. The events will be free, but sign up is required to participate in these introductory cider education sessions.
Each workshop will be tailored to the cidery and city where it’s taking place with a focus on exploring ciders made with Virginia grown apples, crafting trendy cider cocktails, and mastering delicious cider pairings. Jennie Dorsey, a Certified Pommelier™ and the Cider Education Outreach Manager for the ACA, will be leading the cider learning, tasting and pairing experiences.
The ACA hopes to draw a wide swathe of participants from the food and beverage industry, including bartenders, servers, kitchen staff, distributors, bottle shop owners, and anyone else interested in learning more about cider.
“This is a great opportunity for Virginians to learn more about the cider being made here and help support the growth of the industry in Virginia and beyond,” says David Glaize, a Virginia apple grower and cidermaker who was recently elected to the ACA board of directors.
The ACA is able to offer this opportunity through a grant from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Serves and the Virginia Wine Board.
“We see education as vital to the continued growth of the cider industry across the United States. We hope that these events will be something we can recreate in states across the country to help educate food and beverage professionals about cider,” comments ACA Executive Director Michelle McGrath. “But there is something very special about Virginia’s cider–the apples,” she added.
Learn more about the Virginia Cider Ed Road Show and sign up for one (or more) of the events at: https://ciderassociation.org/virginia-cider-ed-road-show/. If you have questions about the Road Show or other cider education opportunities please contact Jennie Dorsey at jennie@ciderassociation.org.
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Member Access: Nielsen 2021 Off-Premise Trends Presentation
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ACA Announces Results of Inaugural Harvest Driven Cider Survey
Cider is a beverage category, not a beverage style. This is a leading rallying cry by the American Cider Association, who recently released the results of their new annual survey looking at the segment of cidermakers making cider once a year during harvest season much like a winery. The survey was undertaken in an effort to measure the size and growth of these makers, which the ACA names as harvest driven cideries. These ciders are usually made by small producers, are typically packaged in glass bottles, and are sold through channels that are usually not measured by retail scanner data providers such as IRI. The survey revealed 2021 was a year of significant growth for US harvest driven cidermakers.
For the purposes of the survey, harvest driven cidermakers are defined as those who make 75% of their cider with apples or pears that are pressed at or close to their harvest date and aged at least 3 months prior to packaging. Michael Uhrich of Seventh Point Analytic was chosen to undertake creating and analyzing the survey results.
The conclusion is that the harvest driven cider segment is small but growing. Nearly one million gallons of harvest driven cider was produced in 2021 alone. The harvest driven cider segment share grew by one third from 2020 to 2021, from 1.8% to 2.3% of the US domestic cider market. Production of harvest driven cider also increased dramatically from 2020 to 2021 with an average production increase of 26%.
“This corner of the cider market has been around for decades and has produced some of the more storied brands in our industry, yet we have never had a mechanism for measuring its growth and progress. We are excited to release these first results of what will be an annual survey, and celebrate the growing success of this segment,” says Eleanor Leger, board president of the ACA.
Uhrich also looked at packaging, club, fruit and channel trends for the segment. Uhrich’s webinar report is available to ACA members, but there is a Harvest Driven Cider Fact Sheet available for download here. Please contact Executive Director Michelle McGrath with any questions regarding the harvest driven cider survey process or results.
VinoShipper 2021 Sales Trends Data
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DtC Shipping Compliance: Get to Know the Basics Webinar
For many producers, direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping is top of mind these days, with ever-increasing consumer expectations for online ordering and shipping of just about everything — not to mention the pandemic’s continued impacts on the on-premise trade.
DtC shipping is a great channel for growth, but cider producers entering the market must account for key compliance concerns to succeed in DtC shipping while avoiding the fines and other penalties that can result from non-compliant shipping.
Please join us for a look at DtC shipping compliance essentials for cideries. Topics will include:
- The current state of shipping cider direct-to-consumer
- The rules that govern DtC shipping, from licensing requirements to tax remittances
- How cider producers can create effective and compliant DtC shipping programs
Webinar attendees will gain a basic understanding of DtC shipping laws and how to apply them to their own programs.
Our Speaker:
Alex Koral, Regulatory General Counsel, Sovos ShipCompliant Based in Boulder, Colorado, Alex is Regulatory General Counsel for Sovos ShipCompliant, where he serves as lead legal researcher for beverage alcohol regulation and has become a leading expert in DtC shipping laws and interstate distribution of alcohol. He has spoken on the topic at many industry events including meetings for the National Council of State Liquor Administrators, National Liquor Law Enforcement Association, DISCUS, ACSA and Craft Brewers Conference. Alex has been in the beverage alcohol arena since 2015, after receiving his J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School.