Hard Cider School Pt 2

Hard Cider School Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. We told you yesterday about the Cider School at the WSU School of Food Science in Mount Vernon that begins next Monday. We spoke with the instructor, Bri Ewing who says it's a booming industry we're seeing more and more of in the stores ...

BRI EWING ... "Despite you seeing it more and more, it's still a fairly small percentage of the market. It comes in at about just over 1 percent of the total beer market in the U.S. Some of that's bigger in some places, like in Oregon. Oregon is the biggest cider-consuming state in the country, at the moment, and they have about 4 percent of the beer market. And Washington isn't too far behind. And it's growing really fast. It's still just a very small section of our alcohol industry."

I asked Ewing if Washington's apple-centric reputation had anything to do with hard cider's popularity in our state ...

BRI EWING ... "I think that probably has something to do with it. The Pacific Northwest, and also the northeast, see a lot more cider production than other regions throughout the U.S. So, there's probably something to do with where apples are grown, but we're also seeing an explosion of cider production throughout the U.S. and through Canada regardless of where apples are grown. So, it's really spreading."

You can find out more about the week-long Cider School that starts Monday online at cider.wsu.edu or by calling the School of Food Science in Mount Vernon. Or by calling Bri Ewing at 360-416-5208

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