12:30 PM – 3:00 PM Tour & Tasting at Schilling’s Production Space – FULL! 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM NW Cider Pre Party at the Brewery Blocks
Tuesday, March 18
Location: Greater Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Commerce St, Tacoma, WA 98402
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Check In & Coffee in the Trade Show 8:15 AM – 8:50 AM Great NW Scion Exchange 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Opening Session & Discussion Groups 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM Workshop Sessions A 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM Visit the Trade show 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM Lunch 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Workshop Sessions B 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM Visit the Trade Show 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Workshop Sessions C 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Cider Happy Hour in the Trade Show
All times are pacific time
Each workshop session (A, B, & C) will feature 4 concurrent workshops. Workshops focus on making cider, cider business, marketing, and growing apples.
During the Symposium you’ll have 3 opportunities to attend an educational breakout session. There are four tracks to choose from: Executive, Making, Growing, and Marketing.
Making Track Sessions
Workshop Session A: 10:45 am – 11:45 am
Location: Ballroom D
Filtration isn’t everyone’s favorite word, in fact we’ve heard it called boring and complicated (fair). However, filtration is an important step in achieving a shelf-stable product. This presentation will cover basic filter types, how they work, pros/cons and best uses. We’ll also offer example setups for a wide range of real-world scenarios.
Yeast strain selection and fermentation kinetics dynamically influence cider quality and experience. Join a liquid yeast lab and enterprising cidermaker in comparing distinctive wine and beer strains fermented on a single variety, and learn through this experience how the elements of fermentation can develop and refine the sensory profile of your cider.
Join this interactive session for tips and take-aways to ensure quality assurance and quality control in your cidermaking. You’ll be guided through two real-time sensory analysis panels with record-keeping templates. Panelists will discuss setting up and maintaining a product library and other tools for informing your QA/QC program. Bring your batch logs to share and compare!
Session organized by Cider Institute of North America
Discover the links between orchard health and the quality of your cider. In this presentation, we will guide you through the fundamentals of orchard nutrient management, exploring how nutrient imbalances create challenges in both the orchard and during cider production. Learn how to implement practical solutions to ensure a healthy orchard.
Explore small-scale orcharding for cider fruit, with tips for orchardists, aspiring growers, and anyone interested in learning more about what it takes to grow fruit for cider. Hear from three orchardist-cidermakers about the year-round process of managing a small orchard, season by season.
Workshop Session C: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Meeting Room 316
Speakers:
Darlene Hayes, Author & Apple Historian, Apple Tales: Stories from the Orchard
Christine Walter, Owner & Head Cidermaker,Bauman’s Cider
How do we as cider makers and orchardists decide what apples to put in the ground? Do growing considerations align with marketability? How do we account for the Northwest’s shifting climatic zones and disease pressures? All of these answers and more, paired with some delicious single varietal ciders from award-winning Northwest cider makers and apple growers.
Marketing Track Sessions
Workshop Session A: 10:45 am – 11:45 am
Location: Meeting Room 316
Discover how to maximize the tourism and agritourism potential of your cidery tasting room. This session offers insights and strategies for attracting customers to your orchard, building brand loyalty, and boosting sales. Perfect for both established and new tasting rooms, it includes examples, partnerships, and actionable tips to elevate your operation.
Unlock the secrets to successful distributor partnerships at this expert-led session. Learn proven communication strategies, avoid common pitfalls, and gain invaluable insights from regional sales and distribution veterans. Discover how to choose and collaborate with the right distributor to ensure lasting success for your craft cider brand.
Discover how to use data to inform strategic marketing decisions. This session explores leveraging sales data, dashboard metrics, and direct consumer feedback from taprooms. Gain insights from industry experts on effectively marketing cider brands for success. This session addresses learning from both innovation and mistakes to uncover actionable, authentic and brand aligned strategies by audience.
Learn how to navigate a down market while running a lean cider business. This session explores using data to drive efficiencies, optimize your operations, and streamline sales and distribution. Gain actionable insights to tighten your ship, enhance productivity, and position your business for resilience and growth in challenging times.
Explore practical strategies to improve time management and foster a strong organizational culture. From time-blocking and zero-inbox Fridays to shared communication, role hierarchies, and core values for hiring and firing, this session offers actionable insights to streamline operations and strengthen your team’s cohesion and focus.
Discussion Groups
Tuesday morning starts with the Opening Session and two rounds of Discussion Groups. These round table discussions are designed to get attendees talking about common interests.
