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Craft Cider
Bryant’s Ciders:
Creating a Niche Market in the Cider World
By: Nan McCreary
A driving force in the craft beverage market orchard). Bitten by the cider bug, he attended a
today is to create unique tastes and prod-
cidermaking course through Cornell University in
ucts—and even tasting rooms— not found Geneva, New York, and returned home determined
anyplace else. One cider maker, Jerry to make the farm (replanted in 1998) sustainable.
Thornton, is trying to do just that with Bryant’s He immediately converted the 40s era garage built
Small Batch Ciders in the heart of Virginia’s cider by his grandfather into the cidery, and a nearby
country. building into a tasting room. The tasting room
opened in May 2018.
Thornton’s journey began when he inherited
his family’s sixth-generation farm and orchard, Thornton’s goal then—and now—was to “produce
Edgewood, located near the Route 151 beverage authentic farm-to-table hard ciders using tradition-
corridor in Nelson County. Thornton had a success- al methods while creating an organic and always
ful career in corporate finance at the time but saw evolving consumer experience.” With its rustic
an opportunity in the property, where the family charm, the cidery is a throwback to pre-
had been growing apples since 1865 (except for a prohibition days when cider ruled. But there is
brief time after hurricane Camille destroyed the nothing rustic about the ciders.
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