Events: Arizona - Phoenix - Scottsdale

Southwest Cider Festival 

Saturday, November 10, 2018

1 – 6 p.m.

Tickets: $50

https://swciderfest.eventbrite.com

Arizona’s first cidery and tap room is recognizing its one-year anniversary with a celebration not just for itself, but for all the craft cideries in the region. Cider Corps is debuting the Southwest Cider Festival on Saturday, November 10 where people can sample and learn about craft ciders from Arizona, California and other neighboring states. The event will be at the Downtown Mesa taproom.

In just one year, three craft cideries have opened in Arizona and they're part of a national rise in popularity for this new take on an ages old beverage. Craft cideries are developing new techniques for cider making and experimenting with styles and culinary collaborations that pushing boundaries on what traditional cider flavors. 

When brothers Josh and Jason Duren opened the doors to Cider Corps on Veteran’s Day last year, they didn’t know what to expect. They hoped the public would like their craft interpretations of hard cider. And they hoped that with time the taproom would become a community space to honor the great sacrifice of veterans. The response was resounding and almost instantaneous. They cidery served 2,600 people on opening day. In the year since the brothers have put nearly 70 different cider styles on tap, helping to define the emerging craft cider market, and collaborated with breweries, businesses and chefs. 

 “The support we’ve gotten from Arizona chefs, brewers and others in the food and beverage world has been beyond anything we imagined,” said Josh Duren. “People are so interested to learn about and experiment with cider and that’s what these events are all about – a chance for everyone to continue to learn, sample and collaborate.”

The Southwest Cider Festival will take place on Saturday, November 10 from 1 – 6 p.m. at Cider Corps in Downtown Mesa. Tickets are $50 and include up to 20 samples of ciders and a $5 voucher for food at one of several food truck vendors. A portion of all ticket sales will go to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization supporting military families in our communities. 

Confirmed cideries include Cider Corps, Crush and Stoic from Arizona and Newtopia Cyder, Raging Cider, and Serpentine Cider from California.

Cider Corps is a veteran-owned and operated company with a mission to Drink Great Cider. Honor Great Sacrifice. On Monday, November 12 it will have Free Coffee for Veterans from 10 – 11 a.m. before the City of Mesa’s Veteran’s Day parade. Cider Corps also has a year-round veteran’s discount. All veterans and active military receive $1 off a pint at the taproom.