\nThe ciders are presented like fine wine, \u201cbut consumers still struggle to see it that way.\u201d\u2014Lee Briante, Alma\u2019s Cider & Beer<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The most customers can spend is about $35-$40 on a bottle, estimates Occam Cider\u2019s Burk. \u201cThere\u2019s really no high end in cider.\u201d The package size can also limit adoption. While large-format bottles have fallen out of favor in beer, many cideries favor wine\u2019s 750-milliliter bottles. The ciders are presented like fine wine, \u201cbut consumers still struggle to see it that way,\u201d says Briante of Alma\u2019s. Revamping perceptions can be incremental. When Larsen started 2 Towns nearly 15 years ago, customers asked him how he got his grapes to taste like apples, or \u201cthey tried to give it to their children,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we\u2019re like, \u2018No, no, no. There\u2019s alcohol in that.\u2019 Consumers have gotten much more educated.\u201d<\/p>\n
American hard cider is rooted in history and untethered from tradition, allowing cider makers to plant fresh paths. More than 7,000 apple varieties are grown across all 50 states, according to the US Apple Association. Some are for eating, and others are best fermented\u2014boundless possibilities that can be served any which way. Cider\u2019s new rules are being written in real time. This summer, Yonder will open its own taproom in Cashmere, Washington, and release ros\u00e9-like Wenatchee Wave cider in a bag-in-box, packaged still, and sold for summertime thrills.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tastes like a ros\u00e9 wine but it\u2019s 7 percent ABV and naturally pink,\u201d Braam says, the tint supplied by red-fleshed Wenatchee Wave apples. \u201cIt\u2019s all these interesting concepts merged into one to break what people think about cider.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n