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Many of the vendors at Toronto Cider Festival started out as small farmers that were trying to compete with conglomerates.HANDOUT

In an industrial space across from an impound lot, Alberta’s first cidery, Uncommon Cider Co., is finishing construction on its tasting room. Close by, Calgary craft breweries Village and Cold Garden have recently added a cider to their lineups. The Prairies are known for their grains, but cider is a challenge in a province that doesn’t grow many apples – the three companies source their fruit juice from British Columbia, with Uncommon often supplementing its product with hefty local crabapples, cherries and dusty blue haskap berries.

The added obstacles are worth the effort. Across Canada, demand is increasing for options beyond the imported commercial cider that often stands alone on beverage menus dominated by local pale ales and intriguing IPAs, and a wave of craft cider houses is coming fast on the heels of the craft brewery explosion. Sales of cider and perry – cider made with pears and often fermented with the wild yeast that exists on the skin of the fruit – was about $90-million in Canada in 2006 and reached $256.17-million in 2017.

“The boom has been happening for several years,” says Janet Vouzas, marketing director for Northam Beverages in Vancouver, which represents several brands including Lonetree Cider. She says the drink’s rise in popularity can be attributed to an increased demand for local and gluten-free products, and the fact that it appeals to both women and men. (It fits the sweeter flavour profile generally targeted at female consumers, and for men, “it’s not like drinking a cooler or glass of white wine, which may seem foreign to a male lager drinker.”) And, she says, "the rise of dry ciders made from locally grown, fermented apples have attracted new consumers.”

The beverage is beginning to develop a more sophisticated image in the process. “Most people have this impression that cider is a kind of alcoholic pop,” says Nik Durisek, proprietor and cider maker at Howling Moon Cider just north of Oliver, B.C. Durisek compares the cider-making process with that of winemaking: The fruit is harvested in the fall, it’s pressed and juiced in the same season, and is fermented and allowed to mature for a few months before it’s bottled in the spring or summertime. Big commercial cideries, on the other hand, “can make theirs year-round using concentrate or sugar water, and bring apples or juice from wherever,” he says.

Durisek and his wife and business partner, Kate, also helped found the B.C. Farm Crafted Cider Association, which now represents more than 20 cideries. To be classified as craft, a member must own and operate two acres of orchard, their cider must contain 95-per-cent juice without added sugar or concentrates and not be diluted with water. They produce their ciders in small batches using 100-per-cent B.C. apples – mostly ones they grow themselves. The group is lobbying to make craft cider its own official category – right now, cider is included in a generic refreshment/beverage category, and some sugary brands could be more accurately described as coolers – in order to help consumers recognize the difference.

“Many of our cider partners started as small farmers guided mainly by their passion to create something special, while competing with the big conglomerates like Strongbow and Somersby,” says Shalini Soares, partner and marketing director of the Toronto Cider Festival.

Variety has also become a major draw for consumers. Rougemont, Que., the region of Canada with the most cider houses, produces a wide range of styles, including ice cider and amber-coloured “fire cider,” which has a higher alcohol content – typically 9 per cent to 14 per cent. Fourth-generation cider maker Michel Jodoin produces sparkling rosé using a traditional champagne method and rare red-fleshed Geneva apples.

The character of a cider is defined by its fruit; the Duriseks have 3,000 trees in more than 30 heritage and heirloom varieties planted over three-and-a-half of their five acres, including the U.S. hybrids Winesap and Liberty, and English varietals Michelin, Cox’s Orange Pippin and Stoke Red. “We’re growing vintage heirloom varieties that have almost gone extinct as the galas, spartans and more popular eating apples push them out,” Durisek says.

While there are still distribution obstacles to overcome, the industry has had a hand up in some areas; in 2017, Ontario announced a $4.9-million boost for craft cideries and distillers, who can each receive up to $220,000 a year on sales to the LCBO and restaurants, bars and other venues. In December, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission reduced the markup for small distilleries, cideries, meaderies and cottage wineries when they sell their product out of their own facilities or at farmers markets. For ciders, the markup dropped to 32 cents a litre from $1.81.

Back at Howling Moon, Durisek hopes cider’s image is evolving along with consumers’ interest in locally sourced and handcrafted products. “In the next 10 years, you’ll see a huge difference as new craft cideries establish their orchards,” he says. “Thirty years ago, the wine industry here only had 10 wineries, and now it’s 300. Who knows, cider could be as big as the wine industry in the next 30 years.”

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