What is this “cider” thing I keep hearing about? I’ll admit that while I have done a bit of hard cider coverage here on SBN in the past, I have not explored the beverage much at all myself. I’ve been pretty busy drinking beer…and wine more often than you’d know.

If you haven’t noticed, hard cider has been gaining steam for quite a while. New cideries are popping up everywhere, and from what I hear some impressive offerings are available these days. Events like the Cider Summit, held in Seattle, Portland and Chicago, are showing consumers just how much great craft cider is available these days.

I plan to delve into the cider world more than I have in the past, and I’m excited to start. I like the idea of learning more about a beverage I’m not familiar with, and I think there will be plenty of opportunities in the near future.

Here in Seattle, Joel VandenBrink of Two Beers Brewing recently announced that he will also soon open the first Seattle-based cidery since prohibition: Seattle Cider Company. They plan to roll out their initial Dry and Semi-Sweet offerings on tap and in 16oz cans in September.
Many bars across town have a few ciders available for customers these days, but none have the selection that the new Capitol Cider has been reported to have. This newly opened bar in Capitol Hill will typically have about 10 to 15 of their 30 taps dedicated to cider, in addition to 50 ciders available in bottles.

I’ll be finding out more about what is going on down south in Portland when I visit this weekend to check out Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider and their new cider house, as well as sampling some of the many ciders pouring at The Portland Cider Summit. Also worth noting is that my new editor at the Northwest Brewing News, Abram Goldman-Armstrong, is in the process of opening a small cidery called Cider Riot. They will be launching a Kick Starter campaign this weekend, I believe.

While I’m looking forward to getting familiar with cider, beer fans shouldn’t worry. I won’t be changing the name of the website to Seattle Cider News anytime soon. Do expect to see more cider coverage here in the future, though.

Cheers.