The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) is requiring all LLC to submit beneficial ownership information (BOI) or face high fees. This is part of the Corporate Transparency Act. FINCEN has recently granted a 12-day extension, so you now have until January 13, 2025 to file and avoid fees. 

BOI reports can be e-filed through FINCEN here: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/

For more information on who should file a BOI report by the new deadline, reference this blog from Wolters Kluwer. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/boi-reporting-deadlines-extended-by-fincen-following-stay-of-nationwide-injunction

There is additional relief for certain LLCs impacted by disaster here: https://www.adamsandreese.com/news-knowledge/fincen-announces-boi-reporting-extension-in-hurricane-areas

For more questions about filing your BOI report with FINCEN, visit their FAQ page here: https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs#B_1

The American Cider Association was honored to support the historic inaugural cider competition as part of the Brewers Association’s Great American Beer Festival this fall in Denver, Colorado. The cider categories were developed through ACA’s partnership with GABF and input from experienced cider sensory professionals. The ACA was pleased to share our expertise with the competition, and cider felt respected throughout the event and the planning. The GABF solicits category feedback as part of its annual process, so next year descriptions will be even more improved. 

The ACA worked with GABF to ensure that the judges were exceptionally well qualified to evaluate cider. It was a diverse pool of judges by geography, age, race, profession and gender, and cider viewpoints were well rounded. All of the judges were either Certified Pommeliers, senior BJCP cider judges with cider judging experience, or cider experts with years of cider sensory experience. This included the entire ACA Education Committee who was pleased to join this history-making cider judging crew at GABF. 

Cider was judged on balance of structural components (acid, sugar, and if relevant to the category, tannins), integration and harmony of flavors, fermentation quality, fruit perception, and alignment with category descriptions. There were 5 categories for cider this year, and hopefully more in the future as entries grow. 

The GABF medalists in cider this year were:

• No/Low Tannin Cider
  • GOLD, The Russets, Snow Capped Cider (CO)
  • SILVER, Gravenstein, Snow Capped Cider (CO)
  • BRONZE, 10th Anniversary, 2 Towns Ciderhouse (OR)
• Tannic Cider
  • GOLD, Classic Dry, Gowan’s Cider (CA)
  • SILVER, Cedar Valley Blend, Paha Cider Co. (IA)
  • BRONZE, 2022 Cidre Bouché, 2 Towns Ciderhouse (OR)
• Fruit or Botanical Cider
  • GOLD, Blackberry, McMennamin’s Edgefield Winery (OR)
  • SILVER, Ozark Strawberry Rhubarb, Ozark Beer Co. (AR)
  • BRONZE, Pineapple Cider, 2 Towns Ciderhousese (OR)
• Experimental or Barrel-Aged
  • GOLD, Rosé Cider, Gowan’s Cider (CA)
  • SILVER, 2019 Pommeau, 2 Towns Ciderhouse (OR)
  • BRONZE, 802 Barrel Aged, Vermont Cider Co. (VT)
• Single Varietal
  • GOLD, Mountain Rose, Haykin Family Cider (CO)
  • SILVER, Macintosh, Gowan’s Cider (CA)
  • BRONZE, Glow – Airlie Red Rosé, Alpenfire Cider (WA)

Let’s hear from a few judges about what it was like to make cider history at GABF! 

Max Finnance

Beverage Consultant, Certified Pommelier, Master Cicerone, 5x GABF Judge

 “I had a blast judging this inaugural class of ciders at GABF ’24, and consider it an honor to have been included. Hearing the incredible conversations among some of the cider world’s leading minds, and helping to select the best of the best over three days of judging, it only makes me more excited about the future of cider at GABF. As consumers continue to get more diverse with their beverage choices, a partnership like this between the preeminent cider and beer organizations in the country makes a ton of sense to me, and has the ability to help catapult the best cidermakers into visibility for a whole new audience. I guarantee that Gowan’s, 2 Towns, Haykin Family, and the rest of the winners all experienced a spike in web queries over the weekend, something that other cideries will be smart to strive for in future years.”

Brighid O’Keane

Executive Director at Cider Institute of North America, Certified Pommelier 

“This is a year for the history books! It was a great opportunity for cider to be recognized in the prestigious and rigorous GABF competition. The winners presented stellar products and we look forward to continued partnerships and increased involvement in the years to come.”

Lester Koga

Co-Founder at Barebottle Brewing Co., Certified Pommelier 

“As a brewer/cidermaker/beer judge/Certified Pommelier, it was an honor to help judge the first GABF cider competition. In the world of beer judging, we have very established guidelines in which we judge each beer category (over 100+ styles). There’s a lot of rigor around the adherence to specific aroma/ flavor characteristics, typical of style. With cider spread across a manageable 5 categories, there was a lot more opportunity for broader style expression within each. We were able to judge on technical merits, but also on the artful execution of each cider. Without question, there were so many unique and wonderful examples that awarding medals was not easy. Beer and cider often have a place at the same table and it’s encouraging to see them share a podium as well.”

Kate Pinsley

Senior Director of Beverage at Schilling Cider, Certified Pommelier, and longtime cider nerd

“GABF is such a legendary beer festival with a respected and meticulously run competition, and it warmed my heart to have cider and cidermakers and cider drinkers so enthusiastically welcomed into that space. I was inspired by the open-mindedness of Serious Beer People in bringing cider to the table and taking care to understand and respect its unique and diverse characteristics. The cider community will only get stronger from having more of these conversations about what cider is, and what good cider is. It was an honor to be part of cider’s introduction into GABF, and I look forward to building a tradition of cider at GABF — let’s get more categories and more cider into GABF 2025!”

Leah Dienes

Partner, Head Brewer at Apocalypse Brew Works, BJCP Beer and Cider Judge, President of Kentucky Guild of Brewers

“I was extremely excited to find out when I arrived at GABF that cider would be a part of the judging. I was pleased to be asked to judge the ciders and to extend my BJCP cider knowledge with the new categories presented at the competition as well as learn from the expertise of the American Cider Association judges. The discussions during the competition and especially the medal rounds were enlightening and got me excited to want to study, drink and create more ciders in my brewery. It was a great experience that I hope to extend to the next competition and to spread more cider information to our breweries in Kentucky.”

With cider production up in over 30 states, is the beverage finally shedding its “fall-drink-only” status?

When rosé burst into the wine world in the mid-2000s, producers had a lot of work to do when it came to shaking off its ‘summer-drink-only’ rank. Similarly, cidermakers have faced challenges when it comes to showing consumers the drink is enjoyable all year, not just during pumpkin patch and u-pick season. (Though it’s quite lovely then, too). 

But perhaps, cidermakers are starting to see their efforts pay off—literally. According to NielsenIQ, from July 2023–July 2024, regional, or independent, cider retail sales in NIQ-measured channels have reached a whopping $806.7 million, up 3.4% from the year previous. Additionally, regional cider was one of just three sub-categories to also experience volume growth in the beer-tracked category.

Naturally, you might be thinking ‘sure, but that includes fall and winter, cider’s popular seasons.’ And you would be correct. But when you break those numbers down even further and look at the past 13 weeks, regional off-premise cider sales are still up by just under 2% and have raked in approximately $217.6 million in sales.

The growth seems to be stemming from states not often associated with cider—let alone cidermaking. Big cider states like California and New York saw their sales rise by 3.8% and 1.5% respectively. But surprisingly, it was regions like Georgia saw cider sales rise 58% to $2.2 million while its production jumped 54%; Arizona saw its sales rise nearly 33% to just shy of $2 million with production up 22%; and lastly, Tennessee saw its sales spike 34.3% to just shy of $2.5 million with its production rising 28%. These states were outliers in terms of their double-digit growth. But 28 additional states also saw a rise in both their cider sales and production.

Historically, cidermakers have long-relied on their tasting rooms to drive most of their sales. And it makes sense. The American cider scene is still young (relatively speaking of course). Meaning there are still many consumers who don’t quite know what it is or harbor some pretty unfortunate preconceived notions of the drink thanks to a bottle they chugged in college. Whereas those going to a cidery likely already have, at the very least, a base-level interest. Not to mention, the person working the tasting room has the opportunity to sell consumers and to-go bottles and cans. 

Yet, in the past year, regional cider brands saw their off-premise sales increase by 3.4 basis points. Meaning more consumers are scanning the shelves stocked with beers, wines, flavored malt beverages (FMB), and opting for cider instead. 

Six-packs were by far the most popular format to buy cider in, claiming 48% of off-premise sales (both local and national). It’s followed by four-packs (20% of regional and national) and 12-packs (16% of regional and national). Bottle sales across local and big-name brands were down. 

As for flavor profiles, the standard “apple” hard cider reigns supreme, raking in over $800 million in sales. That number is down slightly from the year previous. But perhaps it’s because there are so many additional flavors to try, running the gamut from blueberry to dragonfruit.

When it comes to experimenting with some different flavors, consumers seem a bit more willing to do so with their local cidery. For instance, regional producers saw their berry, tropical, and stone fruit cider sales jump 3.9, 12.1 and 21.8 basis points respectively. National brands, on the other hand, were down in nearly all flavor categories minus tropical and citrus. Neither of which saw a major bump in sales or production volume. 

The Bigger Picture 

When looking at the overall beer and FMB market, there’s no denying that cider is a small slice of the pie, it makes up about 1% of sales. And no, cider shouldn’t be compared to beer when it comes to production or flavor profile. But there are some similarities and contrasts when it comes to the rise of craft beer and what we might be starting to see with local cider. 

Back in 2012, craft beer was starting to take off and accounted for about 10% of the market. In the decade-plus since, it’s fluctuated up and down. At its peak in 2021, it held 26.1% of the beer market according to Statista. Currently, NielsenIQ has it at 14% of the market. 

That’s pretty remarkable when considering these small establishments are up against industry titans like Anheuser-Busch, which produces millions of barrels annually. 

Similarly, when cider was growing in the mid-2000s, there were only a handful of national brands and international brands like Strongbow, owned by behemoth Heineken, widely available to the public. 
But craft beer had the luxury of being a product of which Americans were quite familiar. Cider doesn’t quite have that—yet. While it may seem slow, the data indicates that is starting to change. And it starts with your local producer elevating cider so it becomes more than a “fall drink” and something people feel comfortable with taking a chance on at their local grocery store.

About the Author:

Kristen Richard is a Colorado-based writer specializing in food, drink, and the outdoors. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, where she was previously the digital editor, as well as in Backpacker, All About Beer, Thirst Colorado, and others. She specializes in covering the science and history behind food and drink.

The views, information, or opinions expressed in guest blogs are solely those of the authors involved and do not necessarily represent those of the American Cider Association.