Rio Connelly

Rio Connelly has been the General Manager and Cidermaker at Scion Cider in Salt Lake City, Utah since opening the groundbreaking bar in December 2021. With over 225 craft ciders on the menu at any given time, Rio has curated the bar’s fine cider offerings and provided tasting notes for hundreds of ciders imported from around the world.

In addition, he developed the establishment’s complementary food program for cider pairing, which includes premium imported bar snacks, tinned seafood, gourmet cheeses and artisan charcuterie from local, regional and international purveyors.

Bringing his fermentation expertise from over 10 years in the Utah craft beer scene, as co-founder of Proper Brewing and Assistant Production Manager in the early days of Epic Brewing, Connelly has produced over 35 small batch cider releases under the Scion Cider label from Utah and PNW apples since March 2023.

He previously served as Vice President and then President of the Utah Brewers Guild from 2016 to 2018. Connelly now adds the designation of Certified Pommelier to his BJCP Recognized Judge and Cicerone CBS certifications.