International Cider Makers Return to Chicago for Cider Week 2015

Cider makers and purveyors from around the world will return to Chicago for the annual CiderCON and Cider Summit at Navy Pier. While the conference itself is industry-only there are a number of opportunities for the public to meet and taste some of the world's best hard cider, perry and mead.

All week, Featured cider drafts and bottles at The Publican. Featuring, on tap: Drouin Poire, DuPont Brute, Sanford Orchard Aston B. Bottles: DuPont Triple, Du Pont Pommeau, Tieton Reserve.

Feb 3rd, Luxbar Cider Mixer, 7:30pm: Mingle with the owners and cider makers of Wandering Aengus and Anthem Cider. Featuring many traditional favorites from Wandering Aengus and Anthem Cider and some new limited releases:

Anthem Cider Gin Barreled - Ransom barrels 2 months
Anthem Pinot Cider - Pinot grapes fermented within the cider fermentation.

Feb 3rd, Firkin Loves Vander Mill at Jake Melnicks, 7pm: Featuring firkins of Totally Roasted, Cyser and Single Varietal Gold Rush. Oaked Chapman's Blend, Ginger Peach, Hard Apple and Blue Gold will be on draft. Stop by for a chance to win a Vander Mill wearbles and cider cans.

Feb 4th, Karaoke + West Coast Cider at Emporium Arcade, 8pm: featuring a tap take from 2 Town Cider, Wandering Aengus Cider, Vander Mill Cider, Anthem Cider, Finnriver Cider, Sonoma Cider, Seattle Cider Company and Tieton Cider.

Feb 4th, Cider Maker Meet & Greet at Howells & Hood, 6-8pm: Join cider makers from Vander Mill, Ace, Wandering Aengus and Original Sin for a taste of featured ciders. Open to the public, no ticket required. Vander Mill will be raffling off a pair of tickets to Cider Summit at Navy Pier on 2/7.

Howells & Hood will feature a special cider flight for the week of Feb 2 - 8 in honor of CiderCON, featuring: Ace Cider Co. The Joker, Anthem Hops, Original Sin Elderberry, Vander Mill Totally Roasted 

Feb 4th, Bacon & Seattle Cider Party at Paddy Long's, 7pm. Featuring Seattle Cider Company's Semi-Sweet, Three Pepper and Oaked Maple ciders on tap. All 3 can be tried as a Bacon & Cider flight. Seattle Cider's Gin Botanical Cider will also be available in bottles.

Feb 4th, Meet the Cider Makers at Whole Foods Kingsbury 1550 Bar, 6:30pm: Sample ciders of Artisanal Imports, with Lanny Hoff from Aspall, Steve Wood of Farnum Hill and Kevin Zolinsky of E.Z. Orchards. Learn what foods pair well with various ciders. Raffling a pair of tickets to Cider Summit with purchase of any Farnum Hill, E.Z. Orchards or Aspall ciders.

Feb 4th, Twin Anchors Cider Event, 7pm: Almar Orchards (J.K. Scrumpy), Thistly Cross, and Sheppy’s Cider Bruce Wright (Scrumpy), Daniel Sherry (Thistly Cross), and David Sheppy will be in attendance. First availability of Sheppy’s in Chicago with the owner on hand to taste and share his cider. Casual food pairings and tastings!

Feb 5th, Jake Melnicks A Bushel & A Peck, Interactive Cider Dinner, 6pm: Cider and food pairing stations featuring Wandering Aengus, Original Sin, Vander Mill, Ace, Farnum Hill, Seattle Cider, Finn River, Virtue Cider, Uncle John's. Menu items will feature a wide array from BBQ shrimp and sashimi tuna to charcuterie, sausages and cheese. Tickets $35

Feb 5th, Monks Pub Cider Tasting, 7pm: Multiple cider producers on hand, featuring Ace Blackjack 21, Original Sin Northern Spy & Apricot, Aspall Imperial and Vander Mill Chapman's Blend.

Feb 5th, The Power of the Press at Fountainhead, 6pm: The Fountainhead and The Northman explore and celebrate ciders throughout the US, UK, Spain and France paired with inspired menu items from Chef Cleetus. Featured ciders on draft: Wandering Aengus Wickson Single Varietal, Farnum Hill Dooryard, Uncle John's Perry, Original Sin Northern Spy, Seattle Cider Company Gin Botanical, Aspall Imperial, Trabanco Cosecha Propia (Sidra Natural) Viuda de Angelon "Cidre Brut". Plus 35+ bottles available by the glass.

Feb 6th, Vander Mill Firkin Tapping at The Publican, 6pm: Firkin tapping of "Too Gold," a blend of Golden Russet, Grimes Golden and Gold Rush apples.

Feb 6th, Cider Sampling at Walgreens (151 N. State St.), 5-8pm: Louis Glunz will be pouring featured cider samples from their portfolio including Wyders Pear, Reposado Pear, Sam Smith Organic Cider, Uncle John's Apple and Tieton Apricot Cider.

Feb 7th, Cider Summit Chicago, 11am and 4pm sessions in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier: SBS Imports and Seattle Beer Collective return for a third year to produce Chicago's largest cider tasting event. Cider Summit will feature sampling of 162 ciders from around the world, with cider makers on hand. Advanced TICKETS recommended. Chicago Brew Bus will provide shuttle service starting at 10:30am between the Blue Line Grand stop, Red Line Grand-State stop, and Navy Pier throughout the day. CTA buses also run directly to Navy Pier. Onsite parking is available in the Navy Pier garages.

Feb 7th, Rare Vander Mill Ciders at Links Taproom, 11:30am: Sip on some very rare artisanal ciders from Vander Mill that will showcase the range of tasty possibilities in this emerging trend. Featuring Ancho Mama (crisp with a gentle heat imparted from dried poblano peppers), one of only 2 kegs in the entire city. Complete your evening with a Chicken Sausage Link served with an apple slaw with a jalapeño-cider mustard to create the perfect pairing for these crisp and refreshing ciders. These special ciders will be available until the kegs run out. Also on tap: Loving Cup (pink peppercorn & hibiscus), Chapman's Blend Oaked, and a firkin of Too Gold (Golden Russet, Grimes Golden & Gold Rush apple varietals, barrel-aged for 8 months).

Feb 7th, Right BEEday Party at Kaiser Tiger, 7:30pm: Join Right Bee Cider at Kaiser Tiger for cider and curling (weather permitted).

Feb 8th, Vander Mill Cider Brunch at Farmhouse, 10am-2pm: Featuring a three course paired brunch for $25. First Course: Bagel & Lox (paired with Ginger Peach). House Cured Salmon, Pickled Red Onion, Capers, Whipped Cream Cheese. Second Course: Sweet Potato Hash (paired with The Lovin' Cup). Braised Short Rib, Root Vegetable, Fried Farm Egg. Third Course: Bread Pudding French Toast (paired with Totally Roasted). Orange Curd, Spiced Pecans. Reservations recommended.

Feb 8th, Ciders of Spain at Binny's Lincoln Park, 2-4pm: Ciders of Spain founding importer James Asbel will be on hand to taste through a selection of his unique portfolio

Chicago's Cider Con Events

The 2014 Cider Conference is bringing some of the world's top cider makers to our own backyard during the first week of February. While the conference itself is industry only, there are a number of events throughout the city to meet the cider makers and taste some unique offerings, hitting Chicago for a limited time.

Feb 3rd, Anthem Cider at Luxbar 7pm: Kick off CiderCon week with Wandering Aengus Ciderworks/ANTHEM Cider owners James Kohn & Nick Gunn. They'll be tapping a special barrel of Blind Tiger Ransom, a bourbon barrel aged cider.

Feb 4th, Globe Pub Aspall Event 7pm: World premiere tapping of Aspall John Barrington Still cider. Meet Henry Chevallier Guild, 8th generation of the Chevallier cider making family. Taste a wide range of Aspall ciders from both draft and tap.

Feb 4th, Virtue Cider Tap Takeover at Jake Melnick's 8:30pm: As the kick-off event to Cider Con, Virtue will be featuring The Mitten, Cidre and Percheron, as well as the company of industry experts joining the party from around the world.

Feb 5th, Sonoma Cidermaster Dinner at Sun Wah BBQ 6pm: An evening featuring hard ciders hand-crafted by veteran Cidermaster, David Cordtz. Tickets available through Sun Wah.

Feb 5th, How Do You Like Them Apples? at Fountainhead 6pm: Join the cider makers for a tap takeover including E. Dupont, Tieton Cider Works, Vander Mill, Uncle John's, Original Sin, Ace, Farnum Hill and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks.

Feb 5th, Cider tasting dinner menu at tap take over at Longman & Eagle with Virtue Cider. Seatings between 3pm and 8pm.

Feb 5th, Cider Dinner at Publican 7pm: A special menu featuring pairings from Aspall, Farnum Hill and EZ orchards. Cider makers on hand to discuss. Rare draft ciders on draft and bottle.

The folks behind Farmhouse are set to open Nordcider, a nano-cidery and restaurant this fall. They are offering a preview of Nordcider in a series of pop-up dinners on February 6th-7th. Tickets available through City Eats.

Feb 6th, Meet Zeffer Cider Maker Josh Townsend at Binny's South Loop and taste their fine New Zealand offerings - Apple, Pear, Slack Ma Girdle. 6-8pm. No RSVP required.

Feb 6th, Vander Mill Cider Firkin Launch, Jake Melnicks 6pm: Join the Vander Mill Cider crew as they launch their firkin program with 3 offerings: Perry Chretien, Totally Roasted and Chapman's Blend. Puff the Magic Cyser and Ginger Peach will also be on tap.

Feb 6th, Revel Room Tap Takeover 7pm: Meet some of the top cider makers in the world. Aspall, Farnum Hill, EZ Orchards and Virtue Cider. Enjoy catering by Bangers & Lace, 4 rare and exclusive cider drafts including super rare Farnum Hill draft, a custom cider cocktail, and sample special bottles from each cider maker in an intimate environment.

Feb 6th, Cider Karaoke! at Emporium Arcade 9pm: featuring a tap take over of all cider makers that distribute in Chicago.

Feb 7th, Jake Melnicks Tap Takeover 7pm: Meet and greet with the cider makers of Aspall, Farnum Hill and EZ Orchards. Enjoy special draft ciders including the all new Aspall John Barrington Still Cider, a world premier tapping for Chicago Cider week! Special bottles from each cider maker will be available. A pair of tickets to Cider Summit will be raffled.

Feb 7th, Meet Virtue Cider Maker Ryan Burk for a mini tap take over at the Red Star Bar, Whole Foods Lincoln Park, 8pm.

Feb 7th, Cider Makers Meet & Greet at Sheffields 7pm: Join cider makers from Ace, Original Sin and Vander Mill while drinking the delicious offerings they have on tap.

Feb 8th, Cider Summit Chicago 11am and 4pm sessions in the Lakeview Terrance Room at Navy Pier: SBS Imports and Seattle Beer Collective return for a second year to produce Chicago's largest cider tasting event. Cider Summit will feature sampling of over 90 ciders from around the world, with cider makers on hand. Advanced TICKETS recommended. Chicago Brew Bus will provide shuttle service starting at 10:30am between the Blue Line Grand stop, Red Line Grand-State stop, and Navy Pier throughout the day. CTA buses also run directly to Navy Pier. Onsite parking is available in the Navy Pier garages.

River North Beer is giving away two pairs of tickets to Cider Summit. One winner will get two tickets to the first session, and one winner will get tickets to the second. To enter, follow @RiverNorthBeer on Twitter and fill out this form: http://bit.ly/1eNWcGf


Feb 9th, Farmhouse's Post Cider Con Brunch with Vander Mill Cider. No tickets required. Contact Farmhouse for more details.

Passport to Cider: Artisanal Pomme Beverages From Around The World
Thursday, Jan 30th, 7pm at the Hopleaf Classroom, 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago 

With the 2014 Cider Conference and Cider Summit approaching, we are pleased to bring you an educational opportunity to learn more about the recent submergence of craft cider in the US market.

Cider expert Brian Rutzen will take you through the history and process of cider making as well as how European trends are influencing how cider is being made in the US today.

We will have folks from Shelton Brothers, Paramount Merchants, Louis Glunz, B. United and Artisanal Imports sampling and talking about cider.

Fountainhead Chef Cleetus Friedman will be stopping by to talk about their latest venture - Chicago's first cider bar, The Northman to open in 2014.

Light snacks will be provided.

This is a small, intimate venue and seats are limited. Advanced tickets recommended. ciderpassport.brownpapertickets.com

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