2C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
Hard cider makes an easy connection between urban and rural
Cushman said there is
“huge interest” in cider and
demand is strong. “We need
ODELL — About 3,200 more staff to really serve the
people packed the Hard- market that’s out there for us.”
Pressed Cider Fest here in
Cushman teamed with
April, which itself isn’t that high school classmate Steve
unusual. In terms of consumer Bickford, an orchardist and
tastes and response, hard cider vineyard owner, to form Hood
is following in the successful River Ciderworks in 2013.
Paciic Northwest footsteps of Valley residents, long familiar
regional beer and wine.
with traditional, fresh-mar-
The news may lie in who ket pear and apple production,
attended. Anecdotally, at appear to have embraced wine,
least, the crowd’s demograph- cider and other new forms of
ics leaned heavily to young value-added agriculture.
and urban. Cider makers say
“They now recognize that
the same kind of people who diversity in business is a good
like microbrews and ine wine thing to have here, rather than
also like hard
focus solely on
cider.
one
business
‘People
And
rural
segment
like
producers, gen-
lumber
or
some-
keep
erally, are glad
thing,” Cush-
they do. In some
drinking man said. “Some
cases, especially
other counties,
it, so
with niche mar-
that was their
kets, winning
ball of
we keep entire
the favor of city
wax and they’re
buyers can lead making it. still struggling.”
to success.
Attendance
“ S e a t - It’s a good data for the
tle and Port-
cider fest is lim-
land are really agricultural ited, but inter-
good about try-
Of the
product. esting.
ing new things,”
384
tickets
said Bob Fox,
sold
online,
41
I think it percent were
who manages
Fox-tail Cider
bought by peo-
helped
in the Hood
ple
residing
out with in Portland or
River
Valley,
where the festi-
suburbs;
the apple its
val was held. He
another 12 per-
said many of the
were from
market.’ cent
people stopping
the Vancouver,
at his tasting sta-
Wa s h i n g t o n ,
Bob Fox
tion were from manager of Fox-tail Cider area. A smatter-
those cities, and in the Hood River Valley ing were from
from Bend and
Seattle;
peo-
the Tri-Cities area as well.
ple living in or near Hood
Fox is a ifth-genera- River bought 22 percent of
tion orchardist, an oper- the online tickets, according
ation that began with his to the Hood River Chamber
g r e a t - g r e a t - g r a n d f a t h e r, of Commerce.
August Paasch. He said
he grows “pears and cher-
Alcoholic cousin
ries, apples, peaches and
of sweet cider
what-not.”
Industry observers say
Looking to diversify oper- production of hard cider —
ations, the family branched the alcoholic cousin of sweet
off a new business and began apple cider — is growing rap-
making Fox-tail Cider in idly, especially in the West.
2012.
Cider’s rapid acceptance
“So far, so good,” Fox by consumers comes even as
said. “People keep drinking some producers are hastily pur-
it, so we keep making it. It’s suing and planting old English
a good agricultural product. and French variety cider apples.
I think it helped out with the Most hard cider made today
apple market.”
is from repurposed dessert
apples, lavored in some cases
Cornucopia of fruit
with berries, rhubarb, tangerine
Hood River vineyard and more. Fox and Cushman
owner and winemaker Rich aren’t convinced it’s necessary
Cushman said hard cider is a
good it for the valley. With
the cornucopia of fruit
grown nearby, much of
which can be used to
make or lavor cider,
the valley ought to lay
claim to the title of the
U.S. “cider capital,” he
said.
“I think we should be
all over that in Hood River,”
he said.
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
?
9-1-WHAT?
THE BEST OF THE WORST CALLS TO ASTORIA 911 DISPATCH
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Patrick Martin of Bull Run Cider in Forest Grove pours a tasting glass during the Hard-Pressed Cider Fest in April in
Hood River. More than a dozen Northwest cideries brought samples of their products.
to use traditional cider apples;
Fox believes boutique cider-
ies will spring up to claim that
niche. A retired Cornell Uni-
versity apple researcher, cider
maker and professor, Ian Mer-
win, described the Northwest
cider scene as “a total free-for-
all, no rules.”
He estimated that people
in Oregon, Washington state
and California drink 80 per-
cent of the hard cider con-
sumed in the U.S. Speakers
at the U.S. Cider Associa-
tion’s annual convention, held
in Portland in February, said
cider accounts for 1.7 percent
of alcohol sales nationally, but
about 4 percent in Portland
and Seattle.
The February convention
attracted about 1,200 cider
makers, apple growers, dis-
tributors and others from 44
states and eight countries.
In related news, the North-
west
Cider Association
announced Emily Ritchie will
become the group’s execu-
tive director effective
Monday.
Ritchie, now the
association’s pro-
gram manager, pre-
viously was a mar-
keting and sales
associate for Tru-
itt Family Food in
Salem and directed the
Oregon FoodCorps pro-
gram at the state Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Pacific Northwest hard cider makers were pouring tastes in April at the Hard-Pressed
Cider Fest in Hood River.
Safety irst
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ometimes, it’s all about safety.
Like the guy in Svensen shooting at the water from his vehicle. Or the
shooter in Seaside scaring a neighbor’s dog. Or the kid in Warrenton wear-
ing all black climbing a gazebo ...
Follow reporter Kyle Spurr on his 9-1-What? Twitter watch, where a few of
the sometimes head-scratching calls to area dispatch take center stage. The full
feed is at www.twitter.com/9_1_WHAT.
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