Some of us are born into our line of work, some of us get to choose. But in both, the idea of “in another life, I would have been…” always exists. I still remember as a child being determined to become a pirate enjoying a life of sailing the seven seas. Imagine my...
I don’t know about where you are, but here in Japan we experienced one of the longest summers I care to remember – and a brutally hot and humid one, at that. I couldn’t wait for the temperatures to cool and catch the crisp fresh scent in the air that signals the...
Noble Cider in Asheville, North Carolina, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with an event marked with live music, food and cake, door prizes and the release of a new flagship cider. Founded in 2012 by three friends with zero background in brewing or making...
I’ve been importing cider for the last three years. It’s not a business I intended to start; instead it was instead born out of necessity. Three years has been a very long time, a journey fraught with a lot more bad timing, bad decisions and bad advice. And while I...
The more you speak to professional cidermakers, the clearer it becomes that the occupation isn’t an easy one. Hard work, high risks, huge stress and loads of other anti-perks can make the job a regrettable one for those not up to the task. So why do it? That’s...
Each month I pose one question to a trio of cidermakers to compare similarities and differences between creators of our favorite drink. We’ve covered a good range of topics: cidermaking challenges, preferred apple varieties, even a few behind-the-scenes peeks at the...
Each month I ask one question to three cidermakers to compare the similarities and differences between artist of the same craft. Last month, we learned what favorite styles of cider certain cidermakers like to produce and why. This month, I thought it would be fun to...
I have heard on more than one occasion cidermakers speak of two different kinds of cider: those that pay the bills and those that they love to make. It seems especially true at cideries of medium to larger size, where economic and market realities must sometimes take...
I recently visited a brewer friend at his brewpub for drinks. While chatting about current events, a somewhat wobbly patron approached our table to tell us (or my friend, rather): “I wish I had your job. Mine is so boring. I wish I could just sit around all day and...
What’s in a name? According to David Schuemann, author of 99 Bottles of Wine, “naming and branding can be a powerful combination when developed correctly. Together they form the vision and the essence of your brand, communicate the benefit of your product, and...
