Last night we took a break from Homebrew Con to attend the annual Portland International Cider Cup awards ceremony, held at the Lagunitas Community Room in north Portland. Like last year, it was an interesting glimpse into the regional cider scene and a lively evening. I took notes on all of the winners, but in the press release below, only the gold medal winners are listed.

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 28, 2018) –– Thirteen Pacific Northwest cideries took home 16 gold medals earlier tonight at the awards party for the Northwest Cider Association‘s 6th Annual Portland International Cider Cup (PICC). For the first time, a cidery from British Columbia—Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse—took home the Best of Show Award, the competition’s highest honor, and received the coveted Cider Cup.

The party unfolded at the Lagunitas Community Room in North Portland and drew in 100 cidermakers and cider fans, who celebrated ciders crafted in the Pacific Northwest—the largest cider market in the United States for consumption and home to a quarter of the country’s cidermakers. The PICC competition was hosted at Square Mile Cider on March 25 and was so popular that it increased exponentially this year, growing to almost 170 ciders entered from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The event featured 60 experienced industry judges from across the nation.

Within the 19 categories sampled, judges found ciders in 16 categories worthy of gold medals, including:

• Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, British Columbia: Bittersweet (English Sweet), Best of Show
• 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Oregon: Brightcider (Modern Dry)
• 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Oregon: Nice & Naughty (Spiced/Herbed Cider)
• 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Oregon: Traditions 2015 La Mure (Wild/Non-Sac)
• 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Oregon: Traditions 2016 Cidre Bouche (French)
• Bauman’s Cider, Oregon: Clyde’s Dry (Heritage Dry)
• Cider Riot!, Oregon: Shaken Tree (English Dry)
• Dragon’s Head Cider, Washington: Perry (Traditional Perry)
• Draper Girls Cider Co., Oregon: Aronia Berry (Fruit Cider – Other)
• Elkhorn Brewery, Oregon: Very Perry (Modern Perry)
• Liberty Ciderworks, Washington: Manchurian Crab Single Varietal (Specialty)
• Montana CiderWorks, Montana: Darby Pub Cider (Heritage Sweet)
• Portland Cider Company, Oregon: Sorta Sweet (Modern Sweet)
• Rack & Cloth, Oregon: Pêche (Fruit Cider – Stone)
• Square Mile Cider Co., Oregon: Hopped Apple Cider (Hopped)
• Swift Cider, Oregon: Marionberry (Fruit Cider – Cane)

These 16 ciders went on to compete in the Best of Show round, in which the head judges from each table found the Sea Cider Bittersweet to be the best of the best.

“We are thrilled that Bittersweet has been awarded Best of Show at PICC,” said Kristen Needham Jordan, owner and cidermaster at Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse. “Bittersweet reflects our farm: it is 100% estate grown, pressed, fermented and bottled at Sea Cider. Bittersweet is also one of our most traditional ciders, and showcases the earthy, spicy phenolics of the traditional bittersweets and bittersharps that we grow.”

Draper Girls Cider Co. won the the Best New Cidery award, which carried with it a $500 prize. Awards were given to Montana CiderWorks (Darby, MT), Swift Cider (Portland, OR) and 2 Towns Ciderhouse (Corvallis, OR), respectively, as Small, Medium and Large Cideries of the Year. Montana CiderWorks was also the runner up for the Cider Cup for the second year in a row. The full list of medalists and past cup winners can be viewed on the Northwest Cider Association website.

“Our Northwest cidermakers make such a wide range of flavorful ciders, innovating from what our ancestors used to make in America’s early days,” explained Emily Ritchie, executive director of the Northwest Cider Association. “The next time you’re in the grocery store, we encourage you to pick up one of the medal winning ciders.”

Many of these ciders will be available at this weekend’s Cider Summit Portland, which concludes Oregon Cider Week. The 8th annual hard cider festival—the largest in the Northwest—is taking place June 29 from 3pm to 8pm and June 30 from 12pm to 5pm, at The Fields Park, 1099 NW Overton St. The event will feature more than 200 hard ciders from over 60 producers. For more information, visit CiderSummit.com.

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About Northwest Cider Association

Founded in 2010, the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA) brings cideries and cider lovers together to learn, experience and enjoy the Northwest cider culture. Representing more than 80 commercial cidermakers from throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, the group is dedicated to supporting, promoting and growing its thriving industry. NWCA hosts cider-themed events, including Cider Rite of Spring, Summer Cider Day, and Cider Weeks in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. For more information, visit NWCider.com and follow @nwcider on social media.

When I get a chance I’ll post all the winners by category.