Yesterday afternoon a group of 16 cider experts gathered together to serve as judges in the first-ever Pacific Northwest Cider Awards (PNWCA). I was not one of the judges, but I did serve as the moderator, working to insure a fair process. The PNWCA judging saw nearly 100 ciders compete for medals in 10 categories. The judges also awarded a medal for Best in Show. Below, I provide a list of the medal winners.
The awards served as a precursor to the PNWCA Cider Festival, which starts today at 3:00 and runs all weekend. The festival takes place at The Woods tasting room in Seattle’s SoDo district (4700 Ohio Ave. S). For more information about that event, including the amazing list of draft ciders, see our previous post.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Winners of First Annual Pacific Northwest Cider Awards Announced!
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95 entries, 26 cideries, 16 judges and one amazing competition; celebration begins today at PNWCA three-day cider festival in SoDo
SEATTLE (June 6, 2014) – On Thursday, June 5, 16 judges from across the Pacific Northwest gathered at Seattle’s Capitol Cider for the first annual Pacific Northwest Cider Awards. The inaugural competition drew an exciting 95 ciders from 26 cideries throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, Montana and parts of Canada. Divided into 10 distinct categories, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for each category, as well as a “Best in Show” medal, chosen from a second tasting made up of the gold medal winner from each category.
“This is a competition focusing solely on Pacific Northwest ciders and the first of its kind in Seattle,” said Kendall Jones, PNWCA committee member and competition moderator. “The growth and change this industry is seeing is amazing, as were many of the ciders we tasted today. The PNWCA and its corresponding festival are not only helping to raise awareness for this exciting industry, but also give growing cideries the feedback and praise they deserve.”
Winners of the first annual Pacific Northwest Cider Awards include:
MODERN DRY
Gold: Red Tank Cider Company “Roughneck”
Silver: Seattle Cider Company “Dry”
Bronze: 2 Towns “Bright Cider”
MODERN SWEET
Gold: Seattle Cider Company “Semi-Sweet”
Silver: Red Tank Cider Company “Happy”
Bronze: Cascadia Ciderworkers United “Dry”
NEW WORLD DRY
Gold: Dragon’s Head Cider “Manchurian”
Gold: Seattle Cider Company “2013 Washington Heirloom”
Bronze: Traditions Ciderworks “Riverwood 2011”
*no silver medal awarded due to a tie for gold medal
NEW WORLD SWEET
Gold: Wandering Aengus Ciderworks “Bloom”
Silver: Montana CiderWorks “Darby Pub”
Bronze: Alpenfire Cider “Spark!”
OLD WORLD
Gold: Sea Cider Ciderhouse “Pippins”
Silver: Wandering Aengus Ciderworks “Oaked Dry”
Bronze: Alpenfire Cider “Pirate’s Plank”
WILD FERMENT
Gold: Sea Cider Ciderhouse “Wild English”
*with only four ciders entered in this category, only a gold medal was awarded
WOOD AGED CIDER
Gold: Sea Cider Ciderhouse “Prohibition”
Silver: Finnegan Cider “Wood Aged”
Bronze: Finnriver “Fire Barrel”
FRUIT/SPICE/HERB INFUSED
Gold: Schilling Cider “Ginger”
Silver: Blue Mountain Cider Company “Cherry”
Bronze: Whiskey Barrel Cider Company “Fall Cider”
HOPPED
Gold: Methow Valley Ciderhouse “Howling Wolf”
Silver: Anthem Cider “Hopped”
Bronze: Reverend Nat’s “Hopland”
SPECIALTY
Gold: Red Tank Cider Company “CHOPS!”
Silver: Seattle Cider Company “Three Pepper”
Bronze: Liberty Ciderworks “New World”
BEST IN SHOW
Schilling Cider Company “Ginger”
To celebrate the winners and the Pacific Northwest’s growing cider offerings, PNWCA will be hosting at three-day cider festival with more than 25 ciders on tap. Taking place Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8 at Seattle Cider Company’s tasting room in SoDo (The Woods; 4700 Ohio Ave S), tickets – available through Brown Paper Tickets – can be purchased for each day of the festival for $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Admission includes a 13-ounce PNWCA tulip glass and 8 tasting tokens, each good for a 5-ounce pour – or a 10-ounce pour for two tokens – of any of the 25+ Northwest ciders on tap. Doors will be open Friday from 3-10pm, Saturday from 1-10pm and Sunday from 1-6pm for the event. Food will be available for purchase from popular gluten-free food truck Contigo on Friday and Saturday, as well as Where Ya at Matt on Saturday and Sunday, who will be offering a host of special gluten-free menu items just for the event. Additional tokens will be available for purchase at the event for $2 each. Discounted Uber codes for new and existing members can be found at pnwca.com.
As part of the festival, each ticket purchased will be accompanied by a People’s Choice Award voting ballot. The cider on tap with the most votes at the end of the festival will be awarded the People Choice Award, to be announced Monday, June 9. Please note this is a 21+ event. For more information, visit www.pnwca.com or email register@pnwca.com. Purchase tickets at: http://pnwca.brownpapertickets.com. Be sure to follow PNWCA on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news and events.
All media related inquires should be sent to Caitlin Braam at caitlin@caitlinbraam.com. All other PNWCA-related inquires should be sent to register@pnwca.com.
About PNWCA
Pacific Northwest Cider Awards (PNWCA) is comprised of a one-day private judging, followed by a three-day festival to be held at The Woods tasting room in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. With more than 25 cideries participating and 25 ciders on tap, the PNWCA and its corresponding events were created with the intention of raising awareness for the amazing ciders being produced throughout Washington, Oregon, Montana and Canada. Through the PNWCA, we hope to continue to raise awareness for the unique and spectacular ciders being produced while helping to make them more accessible to the public. Cider lovers and producers are encouraged to learn more by visiting PNWCA.com, or following PNWCA on Facebook and Twitter. Purchase tickets at Brown Paper Tickets today.
