CiderCon® 2025 Fact Sheet

CiderCon® 2025 took place from February 4 – 7 in Chicago, Illinois. This annual event, organized by the American Cider Association, serves as a leading conference for cider industry professionals from around the world. The conference, now in it’s 15th year, featured a rich program of educational sessions, networking opportunities, and an extensive trade show. Here is a brief overview of the key happenings at this year’s CiderCon®:

Key Highlights

• Venue: The event was hosted at Chicago Hilton on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.
• Attendance: Around 850 cider industry professionals from around the globe attended including:
  • Attendees from 40 states with California, Washington, New York, Michigan & Illinois having the highest representation.
  • Attendees from 13 countries, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and a 7 person delegation from Chile, our Guest Cidermaking Country of Honor.
• Workshops and Sessions:
  • Close to 40 educational sessions with 88 speakers covered topics such as cider production techniques, marketing strategies, sustainability practices, and cider business management.
  • The Cider Institute of North America helped to develop the Crafting Amazing Cider track sessions once again.
  • Ten tasting sessions highlighting everything from quince ciders to brewer’s yeast in cider to keeving to cider cocktails.
• Scholarships:
  • The ACA hosted 5 recipients for their Cider is For Everyone Scholarship at CiderCon® 2025. This scholarship is designed to bring individuals from historically marginalized populations within the beverage industry to CiderCon® to increase the accessibility of cider education and catalyze the careers and ownership pathways of these burgeoning cider professionals.
• Cider Share: 
  • Cider Share is the beloved opening reception of CiderCon®. This year Cider Share took place on February 5 and featured more than 60 cideries from around the country and the world pouring their ciders for CiderCon® attendees.
• Experiences:
  • Five experiences were held on February 4 including a tour of the Field Museum, a pizza-making course, a cider cocktail course, a barrel to glass tour, and a cider-pairing dinner highlighting cidermakers from diverse backgrounds.
• Keynote Speakers:
  • The ACA welcomed 3 keynote speakers on the morning of February 6. Scott Ramsey, Executive Director of the New York Cider Association, facilitated a “fireside chat” with New York Liquor Commissioner Lily Fan. They discussed how a liquor authority can work to support a sustainable craft cider industry and celebrate the recent historic win of a state bill that expanded market access for cidermakers in New York. Debbie Morrison of Yellow Belly Cidery and Sapsucker Farms in Minnesota shared how she and her husband Jim approach sustainability at their operations from multiple perspectives.
• Certified Pommelier
  • The ACA once again offered its Certified Pommelier exam at CiderCon® 2025. The  Certified Pommelier is an advanced second-level designation of the ACA’s Certified Cider Professional program geared toward beverage and hospitality industry professionals. Close to 30 people sat for the challenging test that included a blind sensory evaluation section. The new cohort of Certified Pommeliers will be announced in 6 weeks.
• Networking:
  • There were numerous networking opportunities at CiderCon® 2025, including a Newcomer Networking session, a LGBTQIA+ Cider Professional meetup, a Cider Institute of North America meetup, a Guild Leader’s meeting, and an Orcharding Meetup where attendees exchanged apple tree scion wood.
• Trade Show:
  • Over 80 exhibitors displayed the latest equipment, products, and services tailored for the cider industry at the Trade Show sponsored by FruitSmart™. 
  • Vendors came from around the country and the world and featured several new vendors as well as many who have returned year after year to support the cider industry. 
• Chicago Cider Week
  • CiderCon® 2024 once again coincided with Chicago Cider Week which featured cider-focused events across the city.

CiderCon® 2026 will be held in Providence, Rhode Island from February 3-6, 2026.

CiderCon® was created to offer the commercial hard cider industry an outlet to meet, share ideas, collaborate, and affect positive changes in cidermaking, apple and pear production, the cider market, and cider regulations. CiderCon® is organized by the American Cider Association whose mission is to grow a diverse and successful US. cider industry by providing valuable information, resources, and services to our members and by advocating on their behalf.