Non-alcoholic cider is here to stay

As the sober movement gains momentum, it’s safe to say that the new market for non-alcoholic cider is here to stay.

“The NA market is on a spectacular growth trajectory as consumers seek alternatives to alcoholic beverages,” says Lee Larsen, co-founder and CEO of 2 Towns Ciderhouse. Late last year, 2 Towns Ciderhouse announced a new line aptly called Sidekick with two non-alcoholic ciders: Cosmic Crisp and Pacific Pineapple. As 2 Towns and many other makers expand into the non-alcoholic segment, the reasons to do so are countless; they include health, balance, versatility and accessibility.

Arguably, Tilted Shed Ciderworks in California’s Sonoma County founded this category of NA cider. That’s what Michelle McGrath, CEO of the American Cider Association, says. The company first released Ellie’s Non-Alcoholic Gravenstein Cider in December 2022.

“The reason we started making a dealcoholized cider is because I’m a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed early stage in June 2021,” explains Ellen Cavalli, Tilted Shed’s co-founder, and sales and marketing director. “After treatment, my oncologist recommended I cut way back on alcohol because of the type of cancer I had, and so I started trying a lot of NA beverages. It was easy to find tasty NA beers and NA spirits/cocktails/RTDs, less so NA wines, though I found a few. But there were no NA ciders on the market, just apple juice.”

So, Tilted Shed decided to try a dealcoholized project. After working with BevZero (a local dealcoholization provider) on some trials, they hit the right notes. “We named it Ellie’s after myself, since we made it for me,” says Cavalli. 

Ellie’s NA Gravenstein Cider begins as naturally fermented Gravenstein apple single varietal cider before alcohol is gently removed with state-of-the-art spinning cone vacuum distillation. Then, a touch of Wickson juice for extra body and complexity. It’s now available in 12-ounce cans.

“I’ve been happy to see more producers get into the NA category,” Cavalli says. “It’s great not only for folks who abstain from alcohol for whatever reason, but it also gives all consumers more options to help them moderate their alcohol consumption while still enjoying the taste and convivial aspects of drinking.”

In addition to Tilted Shed and  2 Towns Ciderhouse, other producers of NA cider include Schilling Cider and Original Sin Cider – all of whom received awards in the 2024 Cidercraft Awards. That’s right, NA cider is growing so much in popularity that it gets its own category in the awards.

McGrath confirms that growth. “The regions making NA cider are the leading hard cider regions: Pacific Northwest, California, New York and Michigan,” she says. “California is the only region making alcohol-removed ciders because they are close to dealcoholization companies in Sonoma County,” she adds. “In the Pacific Northwest, New York and Michigan, they are either cider-shrubs (like Original Sin) or sparkling juice.”

McGrath also cites Nashi Orchards’ sparkling Starkrimson Non Alcoholic Perry made with Starkrimson pears grown at Sakura Ridge orchard in Hood River, Oregon. “Some others like Haykin Family Cider are doing something similar lately,” she adds. Haykin’s Non-Alcoholic Dolgo Crabapple is crafted from Dolgo crabapples grown at Bailey Nursery in Yakima Valley, Washington. Dolgo apples boast aromas and flavors of cranberry, raspberry and rose water— perfect for easy drinking any time of day.

The stats, the experts, and the makers all agree that NA cider fills holes in the cider market that the industry didn’t know existed until recently. As more and more producers experiment with various processes and flavors, consumers have a lot to look forward to.