262: Virtual Cidery | Building a Cidery Part 8

262: Virtual Cidery | Building a Cidery Part 8

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist March 3, 2021 Duration: 40:57

ep 262 Virtual Cidery w/Ryan Monkman

What is a Virtual Cidery?

 

A virtual cider is a cidery managed out of someone's else's cidery, or winery and in some cases a brewery. This week's featured guest is Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider in Prince Edward County Ontario. I met Ryan in 2018 and visited his Virtual Cidery host Keint-He Winery. The location was ideal being close to where Ryan lives making it very easy for him to manage the barrels of cider stored in the amazing underground barrel room.

Ask Ryan pt 4 feature photo episode 224 Cider Chat Ryan Monkman

The arrangement or agreement is key to the success of this cidery model. Ryan discusses the following options to consider.

  1. The virtual maker (VM) does sales, while the host does packaging.
  2. The VM does everything.

Virtual Makers must decide: How involved do you want to be?

Benefits of the Virtual Cidery Model

  • Low risk
    • - you get to test your brand and product without having to set up a full brick and mortar site
  • Low financial up front costs
  • The VM and host have the potential to do collaborations.

Selecting the right Virtual Host

For Ryan, he found three key areas to consider

  1. People : Can you get along with the people who work there and the owner?
  2. Equipment: is the host site equipment going to meet the VM needs?
  3. Maintenance: If equipment breaks, can you wait till the host fixes it?
  4. Plan for unexpected costs - If the barrel steamer is broke, it is in everyone's best interest to get it fixed instead of waiting for the host who might be strapped for cash.

Contact for FieldBird Cider and Ryan Monkman

Website: https://fieldbird.ca/

Address:

1385 Highway 62
Prince Edward County, ON

Mentions in this chat

The Building a Cidery Series Part 1-7

Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts.


There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 501

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
129: Cider Dinner w/Carlo Hein | Ramborn Cider Co, Luxembourg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:41
Carlo Hein has always loved cider. That cider love and perhaps his work in renovation and sustainable energy spurred him and his friends to start a cidery. Upon noticing the fallen fruit and neglected apples trees in his…
128: Cider Wins Big | Beer Competition, Boston [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:09
Cider won big at the 23rd Annual Home-brew Competition held in Boston and put on by the Wort Processors - a home-brew club. Tom Bell's New World Cider won both Best in Show for cider and placed 3rd in the Best Overall in…
127: Western Michigan's Ridge Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:26
Matt DeLong grew up making cider and what he once called "Apple Wine". Western Michigan has what is known as the wine trail and there are lots of fruit wines, so it is no surprise that Matt first considered a career in t…
126: Little Pomona's Big Ciders | Herefordshire, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:36
Little Pomona's makers and founders, Susanna and James Forbes have a long history with libations. James worked as a wine buyer and marketer, while Susanna who started in physics became one of the UK's leading libation wr…
125: Prez. Vander Heide | USACM & Vander Mill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:08
Paul Vander Heide opened Vander Mill a cidery based in Spring Lake Michigan in 2008. Some might think that 3000 square feet is a good size for a start up cidery and they would be right. But as Paul reminisces in this cha…
124: No input apples at Big Fish Cider | Virginia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:41
Kirk Billingsley has been charmed by cider ever since he was a kid. Coming home from school he fondly remembers being mentored by his dad who had a barrel of sweet cider (non fermented apple juice) outside the family's h…
123: The Perry Farmer in Loré, France [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:41
Poiré Fermier is French for Perry Farmer, which is only part of the story for the featured guest in this episode 123. Cidermaker Philippe and wife Marie-Claire Derouault also manage a herd of dairy cows who graze and laz…
122: Cider Behind the Scene in Normandy, France [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:47
Find this episode with photos and show notes and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Cider enthusiast Michel Dargent hosted Ria at his home in September 2017. Monsieur Dargent is a cider aficionado, makin…
121: Keeving Perry | Tieton Cider Works, WA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:18
Tieton Cider Works was founded by Marcus Roberts and is based in Yakima Washington. Tieton works with Harmony Orchards which has 55 acres of cider apples and perry pears. Marcus who takes a scientific approach to making…
120: Trevor Baker | Noble Cider, North Carolina [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:54
Noble Cider in Asheville, North Carolina opened in 2013 after Trevor Baker lost his job in online retail. He wasn't a cidermaker at the time, but he and his wife Joanna both enjoyed drinking cider. After taking a ciderma…