Cider Influencers: Movers & S̶h̶Makers on Instagram

cider-experts-and-cider-influencers

Cider is taking the world by storm, and those who are excited about real cider can be found far and wide. Some people make it, many promote it, while others share it. No matter how they’re involved, there are established and new organizations, publications, teams and cider experts championing cider that are worth following.

This is by no means a conclusive list - If I’ve missed someone, please let me know so I can follow their journey as well! 

Cider Influencers in North America

cider-influencers-and-cider-experts

Ryan Burk – Angry Orchard - @ryanjamesburk

Ryan is one of the most prominent US cidermakers and his passion for the craft brings something for everyone. He is on the USACM board, and when he’s not making cider he can be found hosting cider tasting and paring events. AO’s line of premium ciders showcase his passion for natural fermentation, barrel aging, blending, collaborations, and experiments.

Ron Sansone – Drinking Cider – @drinkingcider

Ron is the cidermaker and co-owner of Spoke + Spy Ciderworks in Connecticut. His profile Drinking Cider is a fantastic source for shared cider industry news, new cider release announcements, cider events, and cider apple content. You’ll also find periodic and welcome posts about his own @spokeandspy cider and his travel to cider-centric events.

Diane Flynt – Foggy Ridge – @foggyridgecider

Diane was making heirloom cider before it was cool. Final Call, the last Foggy Ridge Cider, was released in 2017 as she decided to focus solely on cultivating cider apples. Foggy Ridge continues to support the cider industry by hosting events on orcharding, cider apples, and orchard-based cider, as well as by selling proper cider apples to cidermakers.

Website: foggyridgecider.com

Cider Culture – @ciderculture

Cider Culture is an online publication for those who love cider, by those who love cider. As the name suggests, it encompasses all things found in cider culture, offering recipes, news, events, interviews, destinations, trends and more across multiple platforms. They also offer photography, writing, and other services to further promote a culture of cider.

Website: ciderculture.com

Ellen Cavalli – Tilted Shed Ciderworks and Malus Magazine – @tiltedshed

Ellen and her husband Scott own Tilted Shed Ciderworks, where they make orchard-based cider from organically grown cider and heirloom apples. They allow the apples and the terroir to speak for themselves. Ellen is also a cider evangelist, cider educator, and editor/publisher of Malus, a quarterly zine focused on cultivating US cider conversation.

Tilted Shed Website: tiltedshed.com
Malus Zine Website: maluszine.com

Mike and Beth – Cider Table – @cidertable

Mike and Beth are a Pennsylvania couple dedicated to sharing the good news of cider. Mike is a Certified Cider Professional and member of the PA Cider Guild and Beth is a seasoned wine taster and baker. They share cider-infused recipes, pairings, tasting notes, travel, and the experiences had while enjoying cider at their table.

Website: thecidertable.com

Ria Windcaller – Cider Chat – @ciderchatciderville

Ria is a cidermaker, writer, and podcaster who extends an open invitation to Ciderville, where Cider Chat takes place. All aspects of cidermaking from the apple to the bottle, terroir, cider-centric events, and those involved in the process are explored in Ciderville. New podcasts are uploaded weekly, so grab a glass of cider and listen along.

Website: ciderchat.com

Ramsay & Julia – Cider Couple Blog – @cidercoupleblog

Ramsay and Julia are based in Boston, Massachusetts but blog about cider from everywhere they go. Aside from a common interest of cider, they both enjoy traveling, program SQL, and both want to get a dog (albeit of different sizes). They share cider reviews, events, cidery visits, recipes, and other content from their adventures in the world of cider.

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We spent this weekend out in Albany, NY for @ninepincider annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries. We were joined at the event by Julia’s brother, & together, we tasted our way through all of the cideries at the event. There were so many tasty ciders at the event, but some of the standouts were @brooklynciderhouse Kinda Dry, Nine Pin’s La Casa (a dry, taproom exclusive cider), @embarkcraftciderworks Crab Series, @patriotsheritagecider Oaky Dody (cider aged in @buffalotrace bourbon barrels), and Little Apple Cidery’s Nobletown Bourbon Barrel Cider . All in all, it was a great event, and we are already planning on attending next year’s Gathering. We’ll be doing a full write-up of the event, so stay tuned for that ☺️ . Did you also make it out to this year’s Gathering? What were some of your favorite ciders? . . . #cidercouple #hardcider #cider #cidre #sidra #craftcider #drinkcider #cidertime #drinkcraft #ninepin #albany #newyork #ny #iloveny #upstateny #drinknyapples #craftbeer #craftbeerlife #travelersnotebook #travelguide #worldventures #mytinyatlas #travelcouple #familytime #darlingescapes #weekendgetaway #igs_world #travelvibes #lifewelltravelled

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Website: cidercouple.com

Krista Scruggs – ZAFA Wines – @kristakscruggs

Krista Scruggs is a winemaker, grape grower, cidermaker and orchardist with a motto of “Farm+Forage+Ferment.” Her natural, hybrid wines and ciders are made with as little intervention as possible, to let what’s in the bottle speak for itself. She recently partnered with @shacksbury to open @cocellars, a ZAFA winery and Shacksbury cider tasting room.

ZAFA website: zafawines.com
CO Cellars: cocellarsvt.com

Cider Scene – @ciderscene

Cider Scene is cider blog started by twin brothers Trevor and Nolan O’Malley. Along with other cider industry professionals, they share cider news, reviews, recipes, and more. Their website also features a cidery finder and cidery distribution list quick-reference. Their latest campaign, #CiderIsntBeer, aims to clear up consumer confusion about cider. 

Website: ciderscene.com

Eleanor Léger – Eden Specialty Ciders – @edenciders

Eleanor founded and co-owns Eden Specialty Ciders which, among other accolades, was the first US cidery to be granted approval to call their cryo-concentrated cider Ice Cider. Eden now makes many kinds of heirloom, aperitif, and ice cider. She also created Cidernomics, a website with real-world information on the economics of operating a small cidery.

Eden website: edenciders.com
Cidernomics Website: cidernomics.com

Cidercraft Magazine – @cidercraftmag

Cidercraft Magazine is a digital and print magazine focused on cider, industry news, cidermakers and cideries, recipes, orchards, and all other cider happening in North America. Print issues go out three times per year, with loads of digital content in between. Erin James, editor-in-chief and writer of Cridercraft, also wrote the book Tasting Cider.

Website: cidercraftmag.com

Meredith Collins – Along Came a Cider – @alongcameacider

Meredith lives in the cider rich New York Finger Lakes, but in her blog, she explores ciders from all over. She is a Certified Cider Professional who shares cider reviews, travel, and her own expertise on cider gained through years of cider tasting experience and being involved as the industry has grown.

Website: alongcameacider.blogspot.com


Cidercentricity – @cidercentricity

Cidercentricity, as defined in their words, “a: the quality or state of being cider(ec)centric; b: deviation from an established norm; odd or whimsical behavior concerning cider.” And Cider centric they are. Cidermaking as a hobby (and the challenges that come with it), cider reviews and cider travel. This cider-centric account has it all!

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Pinch me! The New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet now has a heirloom cider section at selected stores--including the one closest to me. Of course I am happy for yours truly, but I am even happier about the statement it makes for heirloom cider makers. Cheers! Pictured: @redbyrdcider--Workman Dry, 0% residual sugar, blend of heirloom, bittersweet, bittersharp, sharp and wild apples. 8.2% ABV; @kiteandstringcider --Geneva Russet, off-dry, hand disgorged, Geneva and Golden Russet, Margil, Major, Somerset Redstreak, Chisel Jersey; @evescidery --Autumn's Gold, traditional method, Yarlington Mill, Northern Spy, Ellis Bitter, KB, mixed dessert apples, 8% ABV; @blackdiamondcider--First Fling, medium dry, a "cidre nouveau" made with early ripening Ellis Bitter, Somerset and Herefordshire Redstreak, St. Edmund's Pippin, Chestnut Crab, William's Pride, and Sansa, 7.2% ABV; @stemciders --L'Acier, young, clean and dry. 6.4% ABV. . . . #heritageciders #nycider #flxcider #redbyrdcider #kiteandstringcider #evescidery #blackdiamondcider #stemcider #nhliquorandwineoutlet #ciderculture #cidernation #cideriscider #cideriswine

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Kristen Jordan – Sea Cider House – @seaciderhouse

Kristen is a sixth-generation farmer and no stranger to apples, but it wasn’t until 2002 that she worked the family orchard over to cider apples with a dream to make organic, orchard-based cider. Since 2007, Sea Cider has fermented organic cider apples, grown into an agricultural tourism hot spot, and promoted local agriculture in British Columbia.

Website: seacider.ca

Cider society – @cider_society

Cider Society keeps it simple – their mission is “bringing society together one cider at a time.” Though they’re based in New York State, you’ll find cider from all over the world being poured by Cider Society, and their concise reviews give the facts you want and no fluff.

 

Hard Cider Reviews – @hardciderreviews

Matthew and Elisabeth offer more than reviews of cider. Matthew is certified in cider and perry production by the Cider Institute of North America (CINA) and a Certified Cider Professional, and Elisabeth is learning more about cider every day. They explore cider, cider events, and cider education, even diving into nuances such as glassware to elevate cider.

Website: hardciderreviews.com

Cider influencers in the UK and Europe

cider-influencers-and-cider-experts

Gabe Cook – The Ciderologist – @ciderologist

Gabe possesses an immeasurable amount of passion for cider, the industry, the people who make, it, the places it’s made, and the people who enjoy it. In his book, Ciderology, he details his adventures in cider, from apprenticing at Ross-On-Wye cider to traveling the world, seeking out cider and those who are immersed in it. Plus, he has an excellent moustache.

Website: theciderologist.com

Susanna Forbes – Little Pomona/DrinkBritain/The Cider Insider – @littlepomona @drinkbritain

Susanna is a singlehandedly changing the global cider game. As the co-founder of Little Pomona Orchard & Cidery, a regular writer for Imbibe magazine, author of The Cider Insider, and head of DrinkBritain.com, you’d have to live under a rock to miss her contributions to cider as a producer, educator, and influencer.

Website: littlepomona.com

Bill Bradshaw - @billbradshaw

Bill Bradshaw is a cider enthusiast and evangelist who writes and contributes photography to various magazines and co-authored some of the most interesting and comprehensive books on the cider in the last 20 years. Bill fell in love after visiting Somerset orchards and has taken a cidery mission to "educate, document, and connect" on his trips around the world.  

(the title image of a certain Ciderologist is Bill Bradshaw marvelous work!) 

website: billbradshawphotography.co.uk 

James Finch – The Cider Critic – @thecidercritic

James is a cider and perry enthusiast with a goal of discovering as much real cider as possible – be it from large producers or a farm stand. He shares reviews, recommendations, and stories from his own cider travels and experiences. He’s also a regular writer for they @craftynectar blog, elevating it to one of the top cider blogs in the world.

Website: thecidercritic.com

Tom Oliver – Oliver’s Cider and Perry – @olivers_cider

Tom is a cider and perry maker in Herefordshire who needs no introduction. Rather than focusing on making the same cider repeatedly, his ciders are fermented naturally with minimal intervention (aside from blending), embracing the difference each harvest brings. He readily collaborates with others in Europe and the US, uniting cidermakers worldwide.

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Cider and Perry

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Website: oliversciderandperry.co.uk
 

We are Hawkes – @wearehawkes

We are Hawkes are a London-based Cidery and taproom. They are pushing ahead with real cider, to the point that they’re pressing and fermenting apples right in urban London. They even have a collab cider with Tom Oliver, bringing bold and tannic west cider apples and sharp, aromatic culinary apples, and the people that ferment them, together.

Website: wearehawkes.com

Crafty Nectar – @craftynectar

Crafty Nectar is the UK’s no.1 destination for cider. Their subscription and gift cider boxes bring real, orchard-based cider from small independent producers with limited distribution within the reach of anyone in the UK. They also one of the leading voices in the cider industry, supporting producers on campaigns such as #ReThinkCider and curating some of the best cider content online to one of the worlds largest cider communities. 

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2018 was fun and such an exciting time for cider! Here's our cidery review (better late than never!) ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Looking back at 2018 we... ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️worked with 72 amazing Producers, 144 different ciders & tasting notes! 🙌🏻🍏🍐sending thousands of boxes to the good people of the UK 🚚⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ✔️crafted 1000+ cidery social posts 💻⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ✔️Brought the fabulous @rambornciderco to the UK! 🇱🇺🍏⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ✔️Made music history at Stonehenge with @PaulOakenfold 🎶⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️Cider school'd 🎓@beerandcideracademy⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️Collab'd with the @Ciderologist on our best box ever ✨⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️Helped create/judge the #StableCiderAwards 🏆⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️Supply/Curate an exciting new bottle range for the @StablePizza! 🧐⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️Judged at the International Cider Challenge 🌍⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ✔️Launched the worlds 1st crowdsourced cider (created from 1000's of reviews!) 🚀⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ and finally became the No.1 ranked cider blog in the world 🥇thanks to the amazing writing from the fantastic James Finch (aka @TheCiderCritic)⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ....doing our bit for cider education, representation and help push the craft cider revolution in the UK! Thanks to all the cider lovers, followers, producers, pedlars and experts who helped make this possible. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Bring on 2019! ✊🏻#CiderRevolution #Wassail #CraftCider . . . . . . . ⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⠀⁣ #ciders #hardcider #cider #heritagecider #noadditives #champagne #realcider #craftcider #naturalwine #sidra #cidre #nopreservatives #glutenfree #craftnotcrap #imbibe #drinkup #cider #drinking #cheers #craftbeer #drinkoftheday #vegan #organic #drinkstagram #organicwine #drinkporn #drinksofinstagram

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Ross on Wye Cider & Perry – @rosscider

Ross on Wye produces natural cider and perry from proper fruit and nothing else. While bottles of their single varietals and blends are sought after worldwide, the full line of bottled and draught cider and perry can be found and enjoyed at their own pub, the Yew Tree Inn. Tours and tastings are offered at the farm, where an annual cider festival is also held.

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Coming in spring...

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Website: rosscider.com

Natalia – Cider Explorer – @ciderexplorer

Natalia is a PharmD and cider enthusiast living in Germany whose goal is to explore cider from all over Europe (and other areas when possible). This search brings cider reviews, stories of travel to cider bars, shops and events, and a platform to cultivate an appreciation for and share the culture that surrounds real cider.

Website: ciderexplorer.wordpress.com

Cider influencers in Asia

cider-influencers-and-cider-experts

Lee Reeve - inCiderJapan – @inciderjapan

Lee is the mastermind behind inCiderJapan: a media company, importer/retailer of cider-related goods, and publisher of inCiderJapan, Japan’s first and only bilingual cider magazine. Their mission is to educate those in Japan about cider and its availability, report on apples and cider in Japan, and to support the growth of cider and the cider industry in Japan.

Website: inciderjapan.com

Authentic Cider – @authenticcider

Authentic Cider are curating fine cider and perry from the UK and importing it to Hong Kong, giving much of Asia access to cider they wouldn’t otherwise have, such as Dunkertons, Little Pomona, Oliver’s, Once Upon A Tree, Perry’s and Ross Cider & Perry.

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You know what needs to be done.

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Website: shop.authenticcider.com

Cider influencers in Australia

cider-experts

Hugh Mckellar – Real Cider Reviews – @realciderreviews

Hugh writes real reviews of real cider, usually from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, though guest appearances from other regions are welcomed. He also shares cider news and happening in Australia. His website has an interactive cider map that pinpoints the locations of cideries, cider bars other places to find cider in Australia and New Zealand.

Website: realciderreviews.com

Cider-Focused Organizations

USACM – United State Association of Cider Makers - @pickcider

The USACM is an organization focused on promoting, growing, advocating for, and supporting the cider industry in the US. It is the result of the collective efforts of all of its members and its board of amazing individuals all contribute to the cider industry in inimitable ways. CiderCon, the annual convention and meeting for cider industry professionals, continues to grow thanks to the efforts of Executive Director Michelle McGrath and Administrator Ellen Husch, along with the USACM board members.

Website: ciderassociation.org

GLINTCAP – Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition - @glintcap

GLINTCAP is the world's largest judged cider competition and is entering its 14th year. Commercial cider producers and individuals all around the world are encouraged to enter. 2018 was a record-breaking year with 1,334 total entries. The 14th Annual #GLINTCAP will be held May 15-18, 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. GLINTCAP is directed by Eric West a.k.a. @ciderguide who also hosts a website with numerous resources for cider and perry enthusiasts.

GLINTCAP Website: glintcap.org
Cider Guide Website: ciderguide.com

MASSIVE THANKS to Kyle (aka the @TheCiderSeeker) for helping us curate this list and write this wonderful article. Please give him a follow and some cidery love below:

 

 


2 comments


  • Jimmy carbone

    Eric west @ciderguide


  • Brian Charles Dozoretz

    While not on Instagram, (besides newyorkwinejapan), New York Wine Traders on Facebook has many FLX Cider reviews in the “Notes” / blog section.

    Thanks!


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