Hard cider starts flowing in Bend

Published 5:00 am Sunday, May 5, 2013

Bend may be Beertown USA, but local cider companies hope to make the city just as famous for its hard cider.

“Introducing the new drink to Bend is our goal,” said Dan McCoy, owner of Atlas Cider, one of several new hard-cider makers in Bend. “Most people that enjoy craft beer are going to be the same people that are going to love craft cider.”

McCoy plans to open Atlas Cider, at 900 S.E. Wilson Ave., in about two weeks.

Less than a mile away, on Southeast Woodland Street, Red Tank Cider opened its cider production and tasting room to the public Friday.

And Outlaw Cider Co., located on American Loop, hopes to sell organic hard cider to local bars this year.

Until recently, alcoholic, or hard cider, has been a, somewhat, dormant drink in the U.S., said Brad Page, cider maker and board member of the United States Association of Cider Makers, which formed in February.

“Cider was a traditional drink in the U.S. before Prohibition, and all the way back to the settlers,” he said. “Prohibition put the nail in the coffin. But (cider) was in the decline in the beginning of the 20th century when beer was surging.”

Hard cider is starting to get some momentum now, he said, and Page attributed the growth to craft cider makers like those in Bend. He also noted Oregon is one of the leading states in hard cider production, along with Washington, New York and states in New England.

Nationwide, cider makers bottled 18 million gallons last year, nearly double the amount bottled in 2011, according to statistics from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Trade Bureau.

The hard cider industry has its top producers, just as in the beer industry.

Boston Beer Co., which makes more than 50 beers under the Samuel Adams, or Sam Adams, labels, began national distribution of its Angry Orchard Hard Cider last year, according to its 2012 annual report. And Vermont Hard Cider Co. shipped 3 million cases of its Woodchuck Hard Cider last year, according to Beverage Industry magazine.

“There’s not going to be too many Angry Orchards or Woodchucks. Those guys are the big producers,” Page said. “The real industry is towards the small craft cider maker.”

He said the cider industry is analogous to the craft brewing industry 25 years ago.

“There’s a number of small startups … who have a passion for cider and are starting out in a market that doesn’t really exist yet,” he said.

McCoy, of Atlas Cider, said he wanted to start his business to expose Bend to hard cider.

His wife, Samantha, introduced him to hard cider during a backpacking trip in Europe, where it’s much more popular than in the U.S., he said.

“When we were over there, all the pubs would have them … . Coming back from there, it was kinda like, ‘Why don’t we have all these ciders? Why isn’t it popular as a drink (in the U.S.)?’” he said.

McCoy decided to go back to school to study fermentation, believing cider could become something big in the U.S. and Bend.

“There are so many people out there that haven’t had craft hard ciders,” he said. “Every time they have one for the first time, they’re like, ‘Wow, this is a great drink. I want it.’”

He said craft ciders taste differently than some high-volume ciders.

Craft ciders are fermented from fresh juice, not concentrate.

Atlas plans on distributing about 100 barrels, or 3,100 gallons, throughout Oregon per month. Red Tank has the capacity to produce about 40 barrels, or about 1,240 gallons, a month and hopes to add more tanks after the summer to boost production.

Red Tank cider maker Aaron Cousins said cider making is a hybrid of winemaking and brewing.

“We’ll ferment and stylize it like a winemaker will do, add yeast and monitor fermentation,” he said. “As far as carbonating it and packaging it, it’s more like brewing.”

Cousins said Red Tank will make two different categories of cider: draft cider, a less-expensive cider made from table apples like Grannie Smith and Golden Delicious that takes less time to ferment, and its signature cider, made from what he calls heirloom apples that are extremely tart and used specifically for cider.

For the draft cider, Cousins said, Red Tank works with a fruit co-op, which presses Oregon- and Washington-grown apples into juice. For the signature cider, he said, he plans to pick the apples and press them at Red Tank’s farm east of Bend.

He said flavors will range from apple and berry to a hop cider, chili cider, and his personal favorite — bacon cider.

Both Red Tank and Atlas plan on selling their ciders at growler stations, as well as restaurants, and even breweries in town.

They will also have tasting rooms where the public can fill growlers and try the cider.

Red Tank hopes to be packaging its cider in 16-ounce cans by next month. And Atlas plans to start filling 22-ounce bottles of cherry and apple cider this month.

Kizer Couch, co-owner of The Growler Guys in Bend, said more customers have been asking about and trying hard cider.

Couch said he’s had a number of Northwest craft ciders on tap, but there hasn’t been a local option. On Thursday, Red Tank Cider is expected to hit the Growler Guys taps.

“We’re definitely looking forward to having some Central Oregon and Bend cideries on (tap). And we’re going to keep them on pretty regularly,” he said.

Even though Bend has 14 craft breweries and counting, McCoy said there’s room for hard cider.

“It makes sense that people will appreciate it just as much as they appreciate the awesome IPAs and other craft drinks,” he said.

“Being in the heart of the Northwest, the heart of apple and berry country, it just makes perfect sense to introduce this to people who love the Northwest.”

As locally produced hard cider becomes more prominent,people are going to be drinking more of it, and looking at it as an alternative to beer when filling up a growler or having a pint, he said.

“Within a year there’s not going to be anybody in Bend who isn’t going to be aware of it,” he said.