Thanks Chicagoans drinking more of our dry, delicious orchard ciders this year!
And to our cider-wise reps at Paysage Brands and A.J.Maka! AND to our IRL Windy City cider-influencers: you know who you are, you only recommend what you really like best...
To the avant-garde Northman cider bar, where many Chicagoans developed their cider palates - now morphed into the riverside Northman Beer and Cider Garden. More Chicagoans are sipping Farnum Hill at Northman, Hopleaf, and Off-Color Brewing - and some of them must be finding certain Chicago stores (listed on our website) to grab some FHC for home. Cheers now!
But our Chicago love starts way back... just being there is exciting.
We're grateful for years of cider history made in the Windy City. In 2013 a few score cidermakers converged in Chicago to start USACM (US Association of Cidermakers). Early meetings were so full of energy, we were amazed: many new young cidermakers, many many people planning to become cidermakers! Some were orchard people planning to grow and make cider, others looking to buy in their fruit. Back then Steve and Louisa presented as experts quite often. Now there are lots more experts to choose from.
That little USACM quickly grew the body and shrank the name to American Cider Association - ACA. It's a real trade group, lobbying for more equitable taxes on cider, training cider pros, etc etc. Amazing what's happened in ten years. ACA admin is spread around now, but its face-to-face origins were in Chicago. Our Steve Wood was of course deeply involved.
Also, we mustn't forget that Chicago Cider Summits started in 2016. Cider Summits are big tasting fiestas, offering a mad range of cidermaking to the public. Though the first Cider Summits in other cities happened earlier, Chicago's is the one we repeatedly joined because it gave confidence and oomph to our small outfit. All in all, Chicago's great people and its embrace of fun and flavor have lifted Farnum HIll!
