San Francisco, Calif. — Wednesday, March 13, 2019 — California’s leading artisanal cider festival Cider Summit SF returns to San Francisco’s historic The Presidio for its 6th annual showcase of Northern California’s foremost craft ciders and international classics at the Presidio Civil War Parade Ground (Main Post) on Saturday, April 13, 2019. With over 50 exclusive cidermakers — the majority of which who are based locally in the Bay Area — featuring nearly 200 premium ciders, Cider Summit SF is the West’s best-in-show festival for handcrafted ciders. VIP/GA tickets are now on sale at cidersummit.com.
Local and regional cideries are at the heart of the current double-digit growth for artisan cider in the United States. Cider Summit SF celebrates singular Bay Area cidermakers at the forefront of this burgeoning sector of the craft beverage market. With more than 800 cideries now operating in the United States, Cider Summit SF handpicks the best of the region for a truly unforgettable imbibing experience. Cider Summit SF announces today a total of 59 cideries with nearly half of the featured ciders not previously been poured at the festival: 101 Cider House (Los Angeles, CA), 2 Towns Ciderhouse (Corvallis, OR), ACE Cider (Sebastopol, CA), Angry Orchard (Walden, NY), Aspall Cyder House (Suffolk, England), Blindwood Cider (Hayward, CA), Brooks Dry Cider (San Francisco, CA), California Caboose Cider (Healdsburg, CA), Ciders of Spain (Portland, OR), Common Cider (Auburn, CA), Cyder Miloslawski (Miloslaw, Poland), Domaine du Coquerel (Normandie, France), Eden Specialty Ciders (Newport, VT), Embark Craft Ciderworks (Williamson, NY), E.Z. Orchards (Salem, OR), The Far West Cider Company (Richmond, CA), Finnriver Farm & Cidery (Chimacum, WA), Golden State Cider (Healdsburg, CA), Goat Rock Cider Company (Santa Rosa, CA), Hemly Cider (Courtland, CA), Horse & Plow (Sebastopol, CA), Humboldt Cider (Eureka, CA), Indigeny Reserve (Sonora, CA), J. Seeds Cider Whiskey (Fairfield, CA), Lecompte Calvados (Notre-Dame-de-Courson, France), Locust Cider (Woodinville, WA), Menacing Fog Cider (San Leandro, CA), Mission Trail (Bradley, CA), Nektar (Ferndale, MI), Pacific Coast Cider (Lodi, CA), Pear UP (East Wenatchee, WA), Red Branch Cider (Sunnyvale, CA), Redwood Coast Cider (San Carlos, CA), Portland Cider Company (Clackamas, OR), Santa Cruz Cider Company (Santa Cruz, CA), Redstone Meadery (Boulder, CO), S&H Brands West (S. San Francisco, CA), Samuel Smith’s (Tadcaster, England), Santa Cruz Scrumpy Hard Cider (Felton, CA), Seattle Cider Co. (Seattle, WA), South City Ciderworks (San Bruno, CA), Stem Ciders (Denver, CO), Stoked Cider (Los Angeles, CA), Tag + Jug Cider (San Francisco, CA), Two K Farms (Suttons Bay, MI), Two Rivers Cider Company (Sacramento, CA), United International (Redding, CT), Virtue Cider (Fennville, MI), and WildCraft Cider Works (Eugene, OR). For a comprehensive product list detailing the specific ciders that will be poured at Cider Summit SF, please visit: cidersummitnw.com/producers.
New attractions for the 2019 festival include a “Heritage Cidermakers Pavilion” highlighting brands that utilize traditional cider apples and production methods, such as Ethic Ciders (Petaluma, CA), Far Cider (St. Helena, CA), Gowan Heirloom Cider (Philo, CA), Hidden Star Orchards (San Leandro, CA), Lassen Traditional Cider (Chico, CA), Sawhorse Cider (Sebastopol, CA), Specific Gravity Cider (Sebastopol, CA), Tilted Shed Ciderworks (Windsor, CA), and Wrangletown Cider Co. (Eureka, CA). The Oregon Fruit Products “Fruit Cider Challenge” features pilot batch ciders from a dozen cidermakers with a “People’s Choice” award garnered through text message voting. A collaboration cider produced by Seattle Cider Company “Cider Summit Reserve” will be available for tastings at all four Cider Summit 2019 festivals. An innovative range of apple/fruit spirits and cocktails will also be at the Cider Cocktail and Fruit Spirits Pavilion, and notable cidermakers and industry veterans will be interviewed live onsite by The Crafty Cask, which will also be broadcasted via Facebook Live throughout the festival.
“We’re thrilled to return to the beautiful Presidio for our 6th annual Bay Area festival,” says Alan Shapiro, Founder of Cider Summit SF. “It’s an exciting time in the cider category with so many new and imaginative ciders coming on the market. Cider Summit gives attendees the opportunity to sample not only exceptional West Coast ciders, but also a chance to learn more about traditional cidermakers from around the world.”
“Cider Summit SF is the signature cider event in the Bay Area,” says Jolie Devoto, Co-Founder & Farmer at Golden State Cider. “It provides a great sampling opportunity for the rapidly expanding pool of consumers interested in cider. We love the direct contact with current and potential customers, and it has been incredibly helpful to Golden State in building our brand awareness.”
Cider Summit SF invites select media to an Exclusive Press Preview Happy Hour at Upcider (1160 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA) on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Join an array of the Bay Area’s best cidermakers for a special tasting event featuring their latest releases and hear all about what’s in store for Cider Summit SF. Please RSVP by March 18 directly to Jesse P. Cutler at jesse@jpcutlermedia.com. Cider tastings and small bites will be provided.
Delicious foods by onsite vendors will be available at Cider Summit SF from Slow Hand BBQ; Full Moon Crepes; Copper Top Pizza; and sampling vendors include Cypress Grove Cheese, RX BAR, and Brew Dr. Kombucha. Additional vendors will be announced soon.
Sponsors of Cider Summit SF include Sports Basement; Upcider; Oregon Fruit Products; J. Seeds Apple Cider Whiskey; Winesellers, Ltd; Wag Hotels; and BART. Media sponsors are San Francisco Chronicle and CIDERCRAFT Magazine. Beneficiaries of Cider Summit SF include the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research and Berkeley Humane. Cider Summit SF features a “Dog Lounge” hosted by Berkeley Humane and Wag Hotels.
VIP tickets are $45 (Feb. 18 – March 17; $50 thereafter; VIP tickets not sold at gate) and include a souvenir tasting glass, 18 tasting tickets and early admission at 12pm. GA tickets are $35 (Feb. 18 – March 17; $40 thereafter; $45 at gate) and grant festival access from 1pm – 5pm. Designated driver tickets are available at the gate for $5. During the week of March 18 – 24, discounted $35 GA tickets can be purchased at various Sports Basement locations (Presidio, SF Bryant, Redwood City, Berkeley, Novato, and Sunnyvale). From March 25 – April 13 at Sports Basement, GA tickets will be $40 (without any online service fees). For each ticket sold at Sports Basement as of March 18, a $2 donation will be made to Berkeley Humane.
PresidiGo Shuttle service is available at the Embarcadero BART stop. For more information, please visit: presidio.gov/transportation/presidigo
For more information, please visit: cidersummit.com.
