August 30th Certified Pommelier™ Sensory Training Workshop for Canadian Beer Cup Judges

A new workshop for judges at the Canadian Beer Cup has just dropped!

Join us for a sensory deep dive into the world of cider and learn to taste cider through the lens of a Certified Cider Professional.

This immersive, hands-on session will give you the tools to calibrate and understand your own palate, while also providing you with more knowledge around cider’s key structures: acid, tannin, and sugar. Walk away with new vocabulary specifically designed for cider, and learn all about how you can become a Certified Cider Professional!

Price: $45 Non-members, $35 ACA members (Member Discount can be found in the Resource Hub)

Location: 5555 76 ave se, Calgary AB, T2C 4L8

Schedule:

  • Welcome & Introduction (10 min)
  • Part 1: Foundations of Sensory Tasting (25 min)
  • Part 2: Structured Tasting Practice (60 min)
  • Part 3: Identifying/Understanding Common Cider Faults (20 min)
  • Part 4: Elevate Your Tasting Vocabulary (15 min)
  • Wrap-Up + Q&A (20 min)

June 11th Pressing Matters Webinar Series: No Hype AI for Cideries

MIT says 95% of business AI projects fail to deliver ROI, yet adoption keeps accelerating. This talk cuts through hype and spotlights proven, practical use cases. Big beverage has leveraged automation for decades; now, affordable tools let any cidery do the same.

Join expert Patti Wilcox of Awestruck Ciders and learn how to replicate $100K‑class capability with $20 tools and take home eight actionable workflows for immediate wins.

$5 registration for members and $20 for non-members. All registrants receive access to a recording of the workshop to access and rewatch at any time. Members can find their discount code in the Resource Hub.

June 22nd Certified Cider Guide™ Workshop at The Hop Inn

Join us for a Level 1 Certified Cider Guide™ Certification and Sensory Workshop at The Hop Inn on 22nd June 2026!

The American Cider Association is so excited to collaborate with The Hop Inn to host this Certified Cider Guide™ in-person certification workshop and tasting experience. This workshop is open to all and is the first level of the only global gold standard cider education program, Certified Cider Professional™.
 

We have a wonderful afternoon planned, including a Certified Instructor-led in-person training session and an “introduction to sensory evaluation” tasting experience featuring ciders from the cider families. Participants in this workshop will also have the opportunity to earn their certification by passing the online exam immediately following the training or within 30 days post-workshop.

The cost per person is $189, which includes in-person training, an instructor-led tasting experience, a downloadable study guide, and the online exam fee.  Please note that ACA members will receive $50 off registration. The ACA member discount code is available in the Resource Hub.

All are welcome to earn their certification! Please share this event with anyone who sells cider, works in a tasting room or retail shop, chefs, sommeliers, cicerones, buyers, and cidermakers who are interested in cider education or in adding a cider certification to their accreditation.


The topics covered in Level 1 CCG are:

  • Apples, Pears, and Orchards
  • Cider Production
  • Families and Flavour
  • Evaluating Cider
  • Keeping and Serving
  • Cider and Food
  • Social Responsibility

Schedule:

9:30 Arrival and Check-In

10:00 Presentation Begins

11:30 Break

11:45 Presentation Continues

13:15 Lunch Break

14:15 Sensory Analysis Tasting Experience

16:00 Optional Online Test Taking Time