355: CiderCon Recap and Awards 2023

355: CiderCon Recap and Awards 2023

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist February 8, 2023 Duration: 46:15

Chicago Cider Week, Cider Tours, Interviews, Awards and Cider Summit

The week of January 30th - February 4th was packed with cider related events all based in Chicago. CiderCon, the annual conference hosted by the American Cider Association kicked off on Tuesday the 31st with Cider Tours. In this chat Ria took two tours: the Bronzeville Tour in the morning and the Historic Tavern Tour in the afternoon.

On Wednesday the 1st of February workshops began and Ria interviewed upcoming guests on Cider Chat!

Later that same day the Cider Share is held, which is a time for commercial makers to taste a bevy of ciders from fellow makers.

355 slide 2 Cider Focused Establishment ACA Awards 300x200

355 Slide 3 Cider Retailer ACA Awards 300x200

355 Slide 4 Cider Distributor ACA Awards 300x200

355 Slide 7 Apple Advocacy ACA Awards 300x200

355 Slide 9 Cider Soms ACA Awards 300x200

355 Slide 10 Cider Chat ACA Awards 300x200 Ria is the Producer and Host of Cider Chat

Mentions in this Chat

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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
029: At The Hop | Oliver's Cider and Perry, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:49
Tom Oliver shares his approach to hopped cider and the best of what the US and UK have to look forward to in the cider market. What he saw in US hopped ciders back in 2013 ignited his desire to try his hand at adding hop…
028: John Bunker | Apple Identification [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:48
When John Bunker talks or teaches Apple Identification he doesn't begin with the apple. He always goes back to the root of the tree…unless it is one of the Eric Clapton apples, i.e., you immediately recognize it as a var…
027: Aaron Anderson | Austin Eastciders, Texas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:14
Austin Eastciders is helping to make Austin Texas a cider mecca in a land where the apple root faces harsh growing conditions. Aaron Anderson is the R&D Coordinator at this growing cidery. He sat down for a chat with me…
026: Neil Worley | Worleys Cider, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:28
Keeving Made Simple, but oh so Dandy at Worleys Cider Neil Worley's makes cider in the area of Great Britain called Somerset. Climb the high hill at the farm and your can see the Bristol Channel. It is a remote location…
025: Jim Wallace | Cider Pairing with a Cheese Maker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:51
Jim Wallace is a cheese maker and cheese tech a.k.a the "Cheese Guru" at New England Cheesemaking Supply in Ashfield Massachusetts. When not helping the cheese world sort through problematic cheeses, he teaches classes a…
024: Leonard Koningswijk | Bear Cider, Netherlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:29
Leonard Koningswijk owner/cidermaker of Bear Cider in the Netherlands is turning his country towards cider one palate at a time. The idea was sprouted at his family home in the rural village of Beerze on the border of Ge…
023: Alec Steinmetz | Buskey Cider, Virginia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:04
Alec Steinmetz, Will Correll and Matthew Meyer are sharing their story of starting an urban cidery. This is Part 1 of what will be an ongoing story of the start-up Buskey Cider of Richmond, Virginia. The cidermaking tank…
022: Gregory Hall | Virtue Cider, Michigan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:17
Getting to cider for Gregory Hall, was one part luck and a whole lot of beer. When his father John Hall founded the Chicago based Goose Island Brewery in 1988, it took only 3 years before Greg was at the helm of brewing.…
021: Bill Bradshaw | Bill Bradshaw Photography, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:21
Bill Bradshaw is a photographer, an author of three cider books and consider by many to be a Cider Ambassador for UK ciders. I met with Bill at the United States Association of Cider Makers annual conference in Portland…
020: Curtis Sherrer | Millstone Cellars, Maryland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:58
Curtis Sherrer is barreling aging single variety apples at Millstone Cellars. An old grist mill dating back to the 1850s houses the Tasting Room. "We will have 50 barrels and then settle on 15 to pick from to blend for t…