Cider Chat

Jeffrey House and his wife Angela founded the California Cider Company in 1993 and built ACE Cider into a nationally distributed brand before selling the company in 2021. In this Cider Chat, Jeffrey gets into what it actually takes to build a cider business: distribution, margins, product development, persistence, scaling, knowing when to sell, and why making great cider is only part of building a...

What does time taste like? Join Cider Chat MC Ria on the 2026 Totally Cider Tour through Normandy, Domfrontais and Brittany, where cider, poiré, Pommeau and Calvados become a way of experiencing place, people and time. The journey begins with a reconnaissance adventure near Étretat and continues into orchards, cellars and conversations with makers, including Jacques Perritaz of Cidrerie du Vulcain...

What happens when a cider region has the apples, but not centuries of rules telling cidermakers what cider is supposed to be? Recorded at CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, this World of Cider session brings together three Latvian cider makers and Asnāte Ziemele of Baltic Cider. The Baltics have a long apple-growing heritage, but their modern cider movement is remarkably young. That gives...

Lees are more than sediment at the bottom of a tank. Recorded at CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, cidermaker and fermentation consultant Ryan Monkman explores how cidermakers can put lees to work throughout fermentation, élevage, and bottling. Ryan digs into fine and gross lees, cracking lees, bâtonnage, autolysis, oxygen management, fault correction, bottle conditioning, and practical w...

What happens when a cidermaker decides to do less and give cider more time? Spencer Morris of Sowams Cider Works in Warren, Rhode Island, makes cider with more than 70 apple varieties, old mechanical rack-and-cloth presses, glass demijohns and a remarkably hands-off approach. Explore still cider, single-varietal apples, long aging on the lees, native fermentation, and why some Sowams ciders aren't...

Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller reads her August eCiderNews editorial, Plant the Damn Apple Tree, reflecting on entrepreneurship, uncertainty, abundance, and what an apple tree might teach us about the time in between. FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK: SUMMER 2026 NEWS CYCLE REFLECTIONS Cideries close. People in our community are passing. The weather is never dull. And somewhere in all of that is a question: K...

Hungary may not have a centuries-old cider tradition like England or France, but that is exactly what makes its modern cider movement so exciting. In this episode, Cider MC Ria Windcaller travels to Budapest to meet  András Kovács and Marcell Lukatsi , founders of Bright Cider, who are helping shape what Hungarian cider can become. From traditional method sparkling cider and heirloom apple varieti...

Most cider makers dream of expanding their barrel program. Jason Lummen did the opposite. In Episode 510, Ria Windcaller visits The People's Cider Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Jason explains why he shifted from barrel-aged ciders to dry, sessionable ciders that keep people coming back for another round. Along the way, they discuss local apples, pub culture, changing American tastes, an...

Episode 509 takes us to the heart of Latvia to meet Dace and Māris Plūme, the husband-and-wife team behind Mr. Plūme, an award-winning orchard cidery known for both still and naturally sparkling ciders. Their journey began with a chance taste of homemade cider that inspired Māris to train in Normandy and Austria before returning home to help shape Latvia's growing fine cider movement. Along the wa...

The announcement that CiderCon 2027 will be co-located with the Craft Brewers Conference sparked one of the most active online discussions the cider community has seen in years. In this episode of Cider Chat, ACA Board President Christine Walter joins host Ria Windcaller to discuss why the decision was made, the financial realities facing CiderCon, how the conference will operate alongside the Cra...

Sometimes all it takes is one sip. It happened to the founders of Woodfolk Cider, Martha Lowry and Alistair Whitehead, and it can happen to YOU! What began as a shared love of food, drink, and hospitality eventually led them to plant orchards, build a cidery, and welcome visitors to their 87-acre farm in Ontario, Canada. Today, their orchard-based cidery sits among forests, rivers, rolling hills,...

Richard Yi of Brooklyn Cider House isn't interested in making cider that appeals to everyone. He's interested in making cider with personality and if you've ever enjoyed hearing a cider maker tell the story behind the glass, you're going to enjoy this conversation. In this epiosde, you'll hear how a young man who once imagined a future in engineering found his way into the family cider business. R...

There is a question that keeps coming up in cider, small business, and independent media: Is this sustainable? In this episode, Ria sits down with Adrian Luna, known as the Hard Cider Guy, for a conversation that goes well beyond cider. What starts as a discussion about content creation quickly turns into something deeper. Two practitioners, each with their own discipline, circling around the same...

What happens when breweries start making cider… not because they have to, but because they want to keep drinking beer? That question kicks off episode 504 featuring Dan Kramer and Ben Anhalt of Element Brewing Company. "Most breweries probably see cider as a way to let them continue making beer." That line says a lot. And it opens the door to a bigger conversation. Breweries adding cider isn't jus...

Episode 503 takes you through England and Wales with audio snapshots from the UK Blossom Time Totally Cider Tour while exploring one big question: What is a proper cider? Travel orchard roads through Somerset, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wales as tour guests share reflections on traditional cider, perry pears, wild fermentations, farmhouse hospitality, blossom-covered orchards, and the peo...

Travel with Cider Chat to Hungary for audio snapshots from the country's first Cider Salon, featuring makers from across Central and Eastern Europe, orchard visits, and a look at why Hungarian cider is a region to watch. 00:00 Budapest Travel Update 02:24 Cider Salon Plans 04:13 Litke Champagne Caves 06:34 Hungary Surprises and Lessons 09:44 Meet Andrew at St Matthias 11:35 Election Energy at Cast...

Welcome to Season 11 of Cider Chat. After 500 episodes exploring how cider is made, Episode 501 brings it back to the glass— how to taste cider in a way that actually feels natural . No jargon. No pressure. Just a simple, sensory approach: What do you smell? What do you see? What do you feel? Do you want another sip? Includes a quick mention of Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition...

In this milestone Episode 500, we return to a simple question that has come up again and again over the past ten seasons of Cider Chat: How is cider made? After hundreds of conversations with cider makers, orchardists, historians, and fermentation experts around the world, this episode brings together the core lessons shared across 500 episodes - from orchard to bottle. This episode walks through...

Episode 499 of Cider Chat looks at the "Omnia Era of Cider" - a time when everything is happening at once in modern cider, from traditional methods to new styles and experimentation. Using art history and the Pommes in Art story as a guide, this episode explores how we often don't realize we are living in an important era until years later. This episode serves as a pause before Episode 500, where...

In this episode of Cider Chat, we visit Heeman Cellars in Ontario, where a multi-generational strawberry farm expanded into cider and mead production focused on heritage apples, terroir, and experimentation. We taste blends, single varietals, and rare apples including Wayne, Swayzie – Pomme Grise, Yarlington Mill, and crab apples while discussing Ontario cider history, barrel aging, Pet Nat cider,...

This archival episode of Cider Chat brings together five experienced cider makers answering real-world questions from beginners at CiderCon 2019 . Originally released as Episodes 174 and 175, this combined feature presents a comprehensive Q&A covering everything from fermentation and stabilization to business strategy, equipment, and scaling a cidery. The discussion bridges the gap between hobby c...

Liberty Ciderwork s in Spokane, Washington is an urban cidery focused on traditional methods. While located in the city, their cider reflects deep agricultural roots. Cider maker and founder Rick Hastings ferments with wild yeast , ages cider for 3 to 12 months , and source fruit from nearby orchards. This approach creates cider with structure, balance, and regional identity. This interview is wit...

In this archive episode of Cider Chat , we go in a barrel cellar in Prince Edward County, Ontario , with Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider and Lee Baker of Keint-He Winery . Listening to Fermentation What Is Bâtonnage in Cider? Find Key Takeaways for Home Cider Makers Barrel Room Glossary SO₂ Calculator 00:00 Barrels as Dance Partners 00:29 Episode 495 Replay Setup 01:40 Ryan Monkman Spotlight 04:06...

In this episode of Cider Chat , we hear from Tom Hart of Humboldt Cider Company , located in Eureka, California along the rugged Pacific coastline behind what locals call the Redwood Curtain . We also discusses preserving the original Albert Etter orchard in Humboldt County and continuing the legacy of these historic cider apples. 00:00 Welcome to Cider Chat 00:38 Wickson Crab and Albert Etter 03:...

What is Asturian cider? Asturian cider ( sidra natural ) is a traditionally fermented apple cider from Asturias, Spain, served through a high pour ( escanciado ) and shared socially in small servings called culines . This episode is part of the Cider Chat archive documenting global cider traditions and producers since 2015. In this epic replay from Season 2 of Cider Chat, Ria Windcaller traveled t...