CiderCon

We are stoked to have these 4 amazing mainstage speakers join us at CiderCon® 2021! Our mainstage is sponsored by Fintech.

This engaging seminar will consist of a robust presentation of current market trends impacting craft cider sales. How was your business impacted by shifts in consumer behavior in 2020? How well did you adapt to the dramatic changes? We will discuss how craft suppliers are using consumer demand data to stay agile, and what you need to look out for in 2021.

Have you made a commitment and embarked on the journey toward improved diversity and inclusion outcomes but find your efforts to be disjointed and running out of steam? In this talk, Dr. J guides attendees through building a comprehensive strategic plan for inclusion, equity, and justice (IEJ) work; creating a responsibility structure to foster accountability and transparency; and addresses the challenging realities of implementation.

Justin Doggett, owner of Kyoto Black Coffee, will be taking a retrospective look at the effects of the SARS-CoV 2 pandemic on the food industry and offering insights on some of the unique challenges and opportunities to thrive that have been created by this event.

The cider industry is thirsty for analytics, but just like a new cider drinker we’re not all sure which flavor we want to invest in. Beverage alcohol analytics veteran, Michael Uhrich, will give a taste of insights in alcohol competition, pricing, assortment, and more to help your business today and inspire you to up your analytics game.

Is your hard cider under 7% ABV? If so, do your labels comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling regulations? Join Keller and Heckman food and beverage attorneys Nury Yoo and Arturo Reyes as they discuss the ins and outs of FDA’s labeling requirements for these products. The discussion will also touch on other “labeling” aspects to consider, such as claims on packaging and in advertising/marketing/social media, as well as strategies to help manage the risk of potential consumer class action and competitor challenges.

We’re thrilled to have experienced lawyers, Nury Yoo and Arturo Reyes, of Keller and Heckman join us at CiderCon® to talk about the ins and outs of FDA compliance. Learn more about them below or on our Speaker page.

Nury Yoo

Nury Yoo represents clients in the food, beverage, cosmetics, dietary supplement, personal care, and alcohol beverage industries, as a member of Keller and Heckman’s Tier 1 nationally-ranked Food and Drug Practice. Her areas of expertise include regulatory compliance, labeling, marketing and advertising (including social media), food safety, product recalls, due diligence reviews in connection with private investment, California’s Proposition 65, and the complex federal and state issues surrounding the use of cannabidiol (CBD) and related cannabinoids in consumer products. She also advises clients on litigation risk analysis and avoidance measures, responses to litigation demand letters, and the development and implementation of litigation strategy.

Nury is actively involved with the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) and is a frequent speaker on regulatory compliance and litigation risk issues related to the food industry.

Arturo Reyes

Arturo Reyes advises domestic and foreign clients on compliance with California’s Proposition 65, as well as food and food-contact material requirements, in a host of jurisdictions. He counsels clients on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations relating to food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, and food contact materials.

Arturo assists clients by reviewing food labeling and promotional materials, including suitable common or usual names, ingredient declarations, nutrition labeling, health claims, nutrient content claims, and allergen labeling. He prepares labeling information for food products marketed in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Prior to attending law school, Arturo worked as a litigation paralegal and, before that, as a fellow at the New York City Mayor’s Office, where he worked with numerous city officials, including the Food Policy Coordinator for the City of New York. Arturo is fluent in Spanish and Italian.

What does it take to make a successful blend? What’s the best way to do a blend? How can we use blending to create a cider with that perfect aroma and flavor profile?

A finished cider can be a combination of apple varieties that have been fermented separately, a blend of different vintages, or the amalgamation of a multiplicity of fermentation vessels combined to assure consistency in a release. Blending to create the perfect aroma and flavor profile in that cider is an essential skill, but one that takes time and effort to learn. Our panelists will share their many years of blending experience which will help you to jump start a new skill or give you tips that will take your blending game to a new level.

Join Darlene Hayes, Nicole Leibon, Autumn Stoscheck, and Chris Condos as they discuss these questions and more during their session at CiderCon® 2021.

This session is in the Cider Production Track sponsored by CINA.

There has never been a better time to bring your whole team to CiderCon®!

The best thing about CiderCon® going virtual this year is that it means you can bring more of your team to the party! With lower registration fees, not to mention no airfare, hotel, and travel expenses to limit you, so many more of your team members can enjoy the knowledge, camaraderie, and fun that CiderCon® has to offer, all from the comfort of their home or office.

Not only that, but we are offering some awesome discounts when you register your crew together! Bulk discounts are available to team members working for the same company. Check out the discount table below and then contact Ellen for your discount code!

Still on the fence about how many people to bring? Check out why Mark Ray, owner of Stowe Cider, is bringing his whole team for CiderCon® 2021!

“Since first attending CiderCon in 2016 we haven’t missed one yet. The diverse educational sessions and networking opportunities offer something for every focus and each member of your team. I can safely say we wouldn’t be where we are today without those experiences and are beyond grateful for the community that this conference has created. We are so excited to include the entire team in CiderCon this year and have no doubt that although it will be different, it will be just as beneficial in building the knowledge of our team while raising the cider community up in a time of need.”

Mark Ray, Owner & Cidermaker, Stowe Cider

Japan is home to centuries old culinary tradition that is still thriving. It is also home to a relatively new but growing cider scene. Join Lee Reeve of inCiderJapan and world renowned cookbook author Nancy Singleton Hachisu for this exploration of cider today in Japan and how it can be incorporated in both traditional and modern Japanese food traditions. Lee will open this session with a review of what’s happening in Japan’s cider scene and it will be followed by a cooking demonstration with Nancy.

Nancy Singleton Hachisu is a native Californian, Stanford graduate who has lived with her Japanese farmer husband in a 90-year-old farmhouse in rural Saitama since 1988. Author of four cookbooks: Japanese Farm Food (Andrews McMeel, Sept. 2012), Preserving the Japanese Way, (Andrews McMeel, Aug. 2015), Japan: The Cookbook (Phaidon, April 2018), and Food Artisans of Japan (Hardie Grant, Nov. 2019). Hachisu’s work has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese.

Hachisu appears frequently in Japanese media, documenting her preserving and farm food life as well as visits to artisanal producers in more remote areas of Japan to advocate for Japan’s disappearing food traditions. Recipient of a James Beard award, she has written for The Art of Eating, Lucky Peach, Saveur, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Food, BBC Travel, and Fool Magazine.

Hachisu also assisted on and appeared in the Salt episode of Netflix’s runaway hit: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

Lee Reeve is the Owner-operator of inCiderJapan G.K., a marketing & promotion creative consulting company, as well as an importer, retailer, and producer of cider and cider-related goods. He is also the publisher of inCiderJapan, Asia’s first and only bilingual magazine dedicated to all things cider.

Lee is widely regarded as a leading authority on Japan’s cider scene, market, and industry, and is often asked to present seminars on said topics. He has been a keynote speaker for several distinguished conferences including the Australian Cider Festival (2018), Second World Beverage Conference & International Symposium on Beverage Crops in Xi’an, China (2018), and was scheduled to speak at the Global Cider Forum (2020) before its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Lee is the representative for Japan at the international cider tourism network, Ciderlands, as well as co-organizer of the Global Cider Connect project, a world-first six-nation cider collaboration to be held in Japan in 2021.

The 11th annual CiderCon is happening during February 3-5, 2021. Ready to grab your tickets? Click here! (Ask us about bulk discounts for your company.)

Each week we’re highlighting a few of our talented speakers and CiderCon® features with you. It’s going to be a virtual cider extravaganza!

Register for CiderCon® Today!

The 11th annual CiderCon® is happening during February 3-5, 2021. Ready to grab your tickets? Click here!

We are STOKED to start unveiling all the exciting components of this global virtual cider conference! Make sure you are following along on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for fun CiderCon® updates throughout the coming months. 

What’s new for CiderCon® next year? 
The answer is A LOT! We’ll get you started with these highlights: 

• We’re grabbing the virtual bull by the horns and taking full advantage of this opportunity to host CiderCon® online. Our Virtual Trade Show is not to be missed (Hint: Easter eggs. All the easter eggs!). Interested in having a booth at our virtual show? Reach out to Ellen! 
• ACA is offering BULK discounts for companies purchasing multiple CiderCon® tickets this year! Individual member-priced tickets are just $95. Contact Ellen for your discount code today.
• A special VIP CiderCon® swag bag sale is helping us raise funds for the Cider Production Education Fund set up by the Cider Institute of North America (CINA). CINA will match all donations until they meet their goal of three full scholarships for their online Foundation class in 2021. Visit our website to learn more about this! 
• Flexibility of the virtual stage is allowing us to jam pack CiderCon® with educational sessions from cutting edge beverage, business and cider experts from all over the world. We are confirming more and more speakers each week, but let us kick things off by introducing you to our THREE main stage speakers:

Justin Doggett
Justin is the owner and founder of Kyoto Black, a small coffee business located in Edgewater, Chicago. Kyoto Black focuses exclusively on the Kyoto style slow drip method of brewing. Though Kyoto Black sprang forth from a simple hobby it now employs both him and his wife. Justin was an early adopter in the cold brew coffee craze and Kyoto Black is set to emerge from 2020 even stronger than before.

Michael Uhrich
Michael is the founder and chief economist of Seventh Point Analytic, former chief economist at the Beer Institute and former head of marketplace intelligence at MillerCoors. His estimates, forecasts, and analyses have informed billions of dollars in investments and improved performance among countless businesses large and small.

J Nikol Jackson-Beckham, Ph.D.
Dr. J is a scholar, writer, and equity and inclusion strategist who provides consulting and training to individuals and organizations in craft brewing industries. She is the founder of Crafted For All, a platform that works to bring the diversity of craft beverages to people and the diversity of people to craft beverages. 

Is CiderCon® 2021 happening? YES!! CiderCon® 2021 will take place online in our exciting virtual platform from February 3-5, 2021. (New to CiderCon®? Check out our fact sheet for last year’s CiderCon® to get an idea of what we’re all about!)

When can I register? Registration is open! Check out all the latest updates and register on our CiderCon® 2021 website!

What will CiderCon® be like next year? The same informative mix of educational sessions, networking opportunities, and trade show from the ease and comfort of home!

Will there be a trade show? Yes! We are very excited to be offering a trade show as part of CiderCon® 2021. If you’re interested in a virtual exhibit and the leads that come with that, please get in touch with our coordinator, Ellen.

Much more info is coming soon!