WOW yesterday at Cider Summit was a BLAST.💃 Not only did I walk away with way to many new ciders but also just an overwhelming feeling of pure joy with the cider community. Less pretentious then the craft beer community and you can really tell theres so much happiness and passion around what they do – “Take it seriously but not too seriously” kinda attitude, and I’m obsessed. 😄😄
Crazy to think a year has gone by since I went to this festival, became a “cider convert” and covered it as my first “official” blog post. While last year I had no expectations but also certain expectations about what I “thought” cider tasted like (I was wrong btw), this year I went back with a different mindset: wallow in the environment, meet brewers, and find the top new ciders…and I did just that! 🍎🍻🍐🍻😋
So my top ciders (in no order) for this year’s Cider Summit are as follows:
- Worley’s Cider – all the way from the UK, both their Special Reserve and Mendip Hills were the bomb.
- E.Z. Orchard’s Poire (Pear) Cider – best pear cider I’ve had in awhile
- Common Cider’s “Hibiscus Saison” and “Blackberry Sangria” – both could’ve gone down a dangerously sweet road but were actually quite pleasant to drink. Not too sweet, just the right amount of flavor and super pretty in my tasting glass 😉
- Seattle Cider Company – classic, dry, high in ABV anddd great branding. All around the most solid
typicalreliable cider choice of the day.
And for most creative/different of the day:
- 101 Cider House came out with “Black Dog” – the worlds first black cider due to the activated charcoal in it that comes from coconuts, plus they added fresh Ventura lemons making it drink like a “creamy black lemonade. Bursting with lemon punch and farmhouse funk!” – HELL YES 🍋
- William Tell Ciders brought an Apple Mango Muscat Cider that I expected to go horribly wrong but actually went very right. The mango flavor was super fun and unlike anything I’ve ever tasted.
Still gotta give a shout out to my boys at Reef Points. Couldn’t award them for a second year in a row but, their “Dewbies” apple & olallieberry cider gets me every time, or maybe it’s their outgoing yet chill California vibe, either way I keep coming back for more! 👍😎
All in all was another great Cider Summit event. If you guys haven’t been, I HIGHLYYY suggest getting tickets next year. I always look forward to it and couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday in San Francisco.
Cheers, and Happy Sippin’ Sunday to all you Cider makers and drinkers out there!! 👋🍺😛
PS if you go now you can still see coverage of the event on my Snapchat: @chasingkendall
