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
468: Foraging Flavor: Pierrepont Cider | NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:06
Cider Maker and Founder Lee Van DeWater of Pierrepont Cider shares his story in this episode on how he is forages apples to share a taste of terroir from New York's North Country. Lee Van DeWater Foraging Apples for Cide…
467: Canton Apples and Frosty Twig: New York Cider Makers Unite [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:13
How Canton Apples and Frosty Twig Fused Two Brands into One In New York's "North of Upstate" region, in the town of Canton is the Canton Apples production building. It is now also home of a partnership shaping the local…
466: Growing Cold-Hardy Trees at Saint Lawrence Nursery | NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:06
A Century of Cold-Hardy Trees Saint Lawrence Nursery in Potsdam, NY, has been helping cold-climate growers find success since the 1920s. Originally founded by Fred Ashworth and later expanded by Bill MacKentley, the nurs…
464: Czech Cider: From Roadside Apples to Cellar Ferments [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:01
A conversation with Czech Cider Fan Dan Samek This episode brings us to the heart of Europe by way of Vermont. Ria sat down with Dan Samek, a cider enthusiast and home distiller from Prague, to talk about the evolving ci…
463: Zydeco Meadery: Fermenting Roots from Trinidad to New England [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:00
Eric Depradine of Zydeco Meadery crafts mead with Heart, Honey, and Heritage As securing permission, Eric was able to start his fermentation journey in high school with a science project using cane juice. That spark stay…
462: Cider in a Cathedral of Opulence | The Newt, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:43
A Digital Media Empire Embraces Cider at The Newt The Newt in Somerset is a world-class estate blending cider-making, luxury hospitality, and horticultural excellence. The estate is owned by South African owners Karen Ro…
461 RAW Levi Danielson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:24
Levi Danielson is the founder and cider maker at RAW Cider, based in Dayton, Oregon. With roots in the Driftless Region of Minnesota and a cidery nestled among cider apples and pears in the Willamette Valley, Levi's stor…
460: James B. Forbes on Little Pomona's Ciders & Legacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:47
An intimate sit down with James Forbes of Little Pomona to talk about grief of losing his wife and business partner Susanna Forbes, the growth of the cidery, and the evolving identity of one this select cidery. Rememberi…
459: The Apple Finch's Pet-Nats at de Groote Wei Cider | Netherlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:43
Fourth-Generation Farmer, First-Generation Cidermaker Sophie Horstink of De Groote Wei, which means The Great Meadow in Dutch, is crafting Dutch cider as a value added project at her family's farm. Located in the eastern…