Nothing pairs better with warm weather than a tart, refreshing drink. And no one does tart and refreshing better than cideries and meaderies.
Like breweries who turn grain into IPAs, stouts, and lagers, there isn’t just one type of cider or mead. Cideries and meaderies create a wide variety of styles using apples and honey from different orchards and gardens; if you think you’re not a fan, chances are you haven’t even scratched the surface.
Go deeper at these local spots for drinking cider and mead.
Heidrun Meadery
(Courtesy of @heidrunmeadery)
In 2012, the owner of Heidrun Meadery began transforming an old West Marin dairy farm into a honey bee oasis. Ten years later, the honey wine purveyor in Point Reyes Station is a wonderland of flowering plants that stretch like a multihued ocean as far as the eye can see. At its center is Heidrun’s patio, where sparkling monoclonal and wildflower meads, like the succulent California Sage Blossom and the rich and complex Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Blossom, are available by the flight or the bottle. The raw material for Heidrun’s meads, honey from their bee colonies and others around the U.S., is also available at their sweet onsite mercantile.
// 11925 State Route 1 (Point Reyes Station), heidrunmeadery.com
Far West Cider Co.
(Courtesy of @kl_beer)
Far West Cider Co’s apples are grown on a 100-year-old, fourth-generation family farm in San Joaquin County. But it’s at the Richmond cidery where they go from innocent fruit to fermented hard ciders like the crisp and tart Nü Dry and the fresh and tropical You Guava Be Kidding Me. Crack them open at Far West’s waterfront taproom, which shares the historic Riggers Loft Wine Company building and a calendar of live music and events, with several wineries.
// 1325 Canal Blvd (Richmond), farwestcider.com
Flora and Ferment
(Courtesy of @floraandferment)
Located in Albany, Flora and Ferment is a charming cider house pouring a rotating selection of small-batch ciders, meads, and hard kombuchas from all across California. With a bright and cozy ambiance, this local favorite encourages you to bring your pup and your own snacks to try their featured flavors and peruse the botanical arrangements for sale. Whether you’re a cider connoisseur or just in the mood for something refreshing, Flora and Ferment delivers an easygoing atmosphere and seriously good sips.
// 1122 Solano Ave (Albany), floraandferment.com
Golden State Cider
(Courtesy of @cidercraftmag)
Sebastopol's Golden State Cider began with the region’s heritage apple, the gravenstein. And while that storied fruit still stalwartly serves the cidery (and forms the foundation of their gravenstein apple brandy), today they work with orchards across the West Coast to infuse each cider variety with its own unique terroir. Both perennial and seasonal styles—the flagship Mighty Dry, the tropical Radical POG, and the zesty Gingergrass—are available at the Sonoma taproom, where they host regular live music and Thursday night trivia.
// 180 Morris St #150 (Sebastopol), drinkgoldenstate.com
Upcider
(Courtesy of @upcidersf)
Upcider is a cider house, not a cidery. They don’t produce their own brand of cider, they stock the best on the market including bottles from hard-to-find, small-scale and international cideries like English Aspall Cyder, French Bordatto Etxaldea, and German Bembel. Stop by the cozy lower Nob Hill gastropub at dinnertime to pair their tart, refreshing elixirs with tasty sliders, flatbreads, and snacks like buffalo fries and caramel bread pudding.
// 1160 Polk St, 2nd floor (Lower Nob Hill), upcidersf.com
SideTrack Mead
(Courtesy of @sidetrack_mead)
This new meadery working out of East Brother Beer Co. in Richmond doesn't have its own taproom (yet), but its honeyed elixirs are already making a splash around the East Bay. Try the first ferments from maker Steven Phillips—the crisp Orange Blossom Traditional, and the invigorating Hidromiel de Jamaica, a balance of sweet orange blossom honey and tart hibiscus flowers—at Flora & Ferment, as well as The Factory Bar (12517 San Pablo Ave.) and Roma Caffé & Bar (401 South Garrard Blvd.) in Richmond. You can also bring home a four pack from a handful of local grocers.
