395: PDX Tips for CiderCon 2024

395: PDX Tips for CiderCon 2024

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist January 10, 2024 Duration: 50:32

Bookmark this episode for loads of Portland Oregon a.k.a. PDX Tips

Oregon Cider Week and CiderCon 2024 are all converging in PDX and this episodes has all the tips you need arrive and hit the ground running. Portland resident Sean Connolly, who is also known as Cider Experience on Instragram and Facebook has delivered big time with tons of tips and insider knowlege to help everyone feel like a local.

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Sean Connolly

In this Cider Chat on PDX Tips

  • Temperature
    • Highs 47 degrees
    • 50/50 chance of rain or sunny
    • Bring layers
Cider Chat Episode 395 PDX Tips feature 300x200
  • What to wear
    • Jeans and plaids work
    • Casual dress code and functional

PDX Tips to look like a local: Loose the umbrella and let your hair get wet! When using an umbrella, it is obvious you are from out of town!

  • Transportation
  • Airport (PDX) to CiderCon – The Met Red line is not in service beginning January 14th. Service will be still provided via shuttle buses which will take a bit longer than the 30 minute ride. It is still a great deal at $2.80
  • Bicycles for Rent in PDX
    • Nike Launch a travel by bike – https://biketownpdx.com/
    • There are lots of bike lanes
    • Spring Water Corridor runs the length of the Willamette River approximately 7-8 miles
  • Need Tech help or supplies?
    • The Lloyd Center is close by and in old town Portland there is a full service Apple Stor

PDX Tips for purchases: There is no Sales Taxes in Oregon

  • Restaurants near CiderCon
    • Red Robin
    • Spanish Tapas
    • Noble Rot – beautiful views of the city
    • Big Pink – City Grill on 33rd floor with great views
    •  Sizzle Side Pizza
    • Spirit of 77 Seas recommends for good pub faire
  • Grocery stores by Hyatt
    • Safeway approximately 3/4 mile
    • Trader Joes about 4 miles away in the Hollywood district

PDX Tips: The city is Food Trucks heaven – Look for "Food Cart Pods" via Travel Portland 's online food cart finder

Cider

Cider Locations closest to Hyatt and Oregon Convention Center

  • Schilling Cider House – a wide range of taps approx 1 Mile from the Hyatt
  • Spirit of 777 Tap take over
  • Pizza Thief – the tap
  • Lil Spirits – a block and half from Convention Center – tap takeovers – 437 NE Lloyd Blvd Portland, OR 97232
  • The Place PDX – A cider bar will be hosting multiple cider events

In Pearl District on west side of river

  • Bring Cider or Beer Home
  • The Place PDX – buy bottles to go
  • John's Marketplace big collection of both cider and beer – 3560 SE Powell Blvd -Portland, OR 
  • McMenamins has a large selections
  • New Seasons Market
  • Pick up cider and beer at the Portland International Airport
    • Look for Made in Oregon Store in airport

 Sean's PDX Tips for Fun in Portland

PDX Tips for Cannabis: Oregon Legalized Cannabis in 2015. There are 5 dispensaries around the hotel conference center. Look up: WhatsLegalOregon.com

Mentions in this Cider Chat


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
297: Flavorful Righteous Odd Apples [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:46
Are Apples Odd? They sure are for those who solely define apples not by their names (which are often rather exotic like Mountain Rose or Kingston Black) but rather call them by their color, red, green or yellow. In this…
296: Bauman's |Oregon's Destination Farm Cidery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:59
Who is Bauman Cider Christine Walter is the cidermaker and visionary of Bauman's Cider. She grew up on an apple farm in Oregon runned by her family. As she tells it, Angry Orchard's "Crisp" was the first cider she ever t…
295: Western Cider | Missoula, Montana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:59
Who is Western Cider Texans Michael Billingsley and Matthew LaRubbio are childhood friends who now both live in Montana and founded Western Cider in 2010. The cidery is based in Missoula and has an indoor and outdoor tas…
294: Lockhorn Hard Cider | Bozeman, Montana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:48
Who is Lockhorn Hard Cider Alaskan natives Anna and Glenn Deal opened Lockhorn Cider in 2010 in Bozeman, Montana. Anna is a botanist and Glenn came to Montana to study and is a nurse. Lockhorn makes modern ciders with ap…
293: Lee McAlpine of Montana CiderWorks | Established 2002 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:51
Who is Montana CiderWorks Lee McAlpine is the Founder and Owner of Montana Ciderworks based in Darby, Montana. In 2022, Lee will celebrate the 20th year of operations and has a special Pommeau release made with her cider…
292: A Little Italy at Westwind Orchard | New York [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:39
Who is Westwind Orchard and their cider Fabio Chizzola & Laura Ferrara are the owners/farmers of Westwind Orchard located in Accord, New York on the west dies of the Hudson River. The orchard was bought in 2002 and was a…
291: The Century Farm of Ploughman Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:39
Who is Ploughman Cider Ploughman Cider is based in Wenksville Pennsylvania on a family farm owned by the Wenks Family for the past 100 years. The farm is called Three Springs and it is exactly 1.5 miles from the ancestra…
290: Publican Perfection at Tattiebogle Ciderworks | Pennsylvania [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:32
The Publican at Tattiebogle CiderWorks Cidermaker Curt Henry has been envisioning a future cidery in Acme Pennsylvania overlooking the lowland valley in southwestern portion of this commonwealth for years. In 2017 he had…
289: The Road Less Traveled at Big Hill Ciderworks | PA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:35
The Makers at Big Hill Ciderworks Troy Lehman and Ben Kishbaugh are long time friends who originally met while working in the automotive industry. Years later they team up on a very new career path as cidermakers! Both m…
288: Spacetime Mead & Cider Works | Pennsylvania [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:38
Who is Spacetime Mead & Cider Works Dan Schreffler had been home brewing and fermenting for many years before opening Spacetime Mead & Cider Works in 2018. He is a self proclaimed science nerd, which is part of the reaso…