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
109: Ice Cidermaking Tips with Chadd Cook [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:21
Ice Cider is made by freezing fresh pressed apple juice. The first element to freeze in the process is the water that is naturally occurring in all apples to a less or greater degree. As the water freezes, the pure liqui…
108: The Alcohol Professor chats Cider Competitions & Judging [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:22
Adam Levy's moniker is "The Alcohol Professor ". In this chat we are talking with this self professed beer freak about getting cider makers to enter their ciders into two competition that he runs in New York City and Ber…
107: Building San Jose with Cider | The Cider Junction, CA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:57
Reserve your spot today for the Totally Cider Tour to the UK! The cider tour begins in Bristol, UK on April 25th and then after that evening's dinner at The Stable for the "Ultimate Cider" dinner we head out to tour arou…
106: Totally Cider Tour - UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:17
Register: Between December 6th through the 13th and receive $100 off your fee! Register Me! Join Ria (the Producer and Host of Cider Chat) and Totally Cider for a fantastic journey to the West Country in the United Kingd…
105: Tom Oliver on Making Perry | UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:05
Reserve you spot today for the Totally Cider Tour to the UK! We will be visiting Tom Oliver an award winning cidermaker and this week's guest on Cider Chat. This cider tour begins in Bristol, UK on April 25, 2018, then a…
104: Chadd Cook | Cider Hill Cellars, MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:46
Sign up now for Totally Cider Trip to the UK in April 2018!! - Come along with Ria the Producer and Host of Cider Chat as we travel through Somerset and Herefordshire in the UK visiting makers and drinking cider along th…
103: Robby Honda | Tanuki Cider, CA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:26
Totally Cider Travels - Come along with Ria of Cider Chat as we travel through Somerset and Herefordshire in the UK visiting makers and drinking cider along the way! The trip begins in Bristol, UK on wednesday April 25 a…
102: Cider Ignites | NY State of "Apple" Mind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:40
A special listen with five New York State cidermakers, who each brought home medals from the Royal Bath and West Show cider competition in the UK! The introduction is by Sara Grady, Vice President of Programs at Glynnwoo…
101: Cider Ignites NYC-Part 1 | Makers & Enthusiasts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:45
In Part 1 of "Cider Ignites NYC" we chat with New York Cidermakers and enthusiasts who are attending Hidden Stars, a cider fest held during NYC Cider Week 2017. First up is Kyle Sherrer of Graft Cider in Newburgh New Yor…
100: Celebrating 100 Cider Podcast Episodes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:45
"The Nose" is back helping Ria sort through the past year and celebrate this 100th episode of Cider Chat! We delve into wild yeast, terroir, and hear a bit from every single guest on the past 50 episodes of Cider Chat. T…