Cider Event Planned for Feb. 18 in Albany

From state Agriculture and Markets:

In support of New York state’s farm cideries and agricultural producers, State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball and State Liquor Authority Chairman Vincent Bradley will join Nine Pin Ciderworks at its 3^rd annual Gathering of the New York Farm Cideries event Feb. 18 in Albany.

During the event, 15 farm cideries from seven regions across the state invite the public to taste and buy some of their most exclusive products made with New York-grown ingredients. 

The event also marks Nine Pin’s third anniversary as the first licensed farm cidery in New York state under the Farm Cidery Law, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013.   

The annual Gathering of Farm Cideries event is held at the Nine Pin Ciderworks tasting room and production facility in Albany. Attendees can enjoy up to three hours of free samples of unique ciders made from New York apples and provided by 15 different farm cideries from the Capital Region, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, Mid-Hudson region, North Country, Southern Tier and New York City.  

They also have the option to buy limited-batch ciders by the growler or bottles to go. The event will be split into two sessions: Noon to 3 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $20. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the New York State Cider Association.  

Tickets are available online by http://www.ninepincider.com/ going to this link. 

“I am thrilled to participate in this exciting event and to shine a light on the incredible synergy between the state’s farm cideries and our farms," Ball said. "New York’s craft beverage producers are some of the agricultural industry’s best customers. As their businesses succeed, the demand for agricultural products continues to grow and that’s truly a win for all New Yorkers."

“The Governor’s Farm Cidery Law has led to a renaissance in hard cider sales and production throughout New York," Bradley said. "In addition to creating 28 new manufacturers, farm cideries have driven demand for New York apples, created jobs, helped to protect the environment and increased tourism dollars in our local communities.” 

The craft beverage manufacturing industry in New York state is booming. Regulatory reforms, new legislation and robust marketing campaigns have paved the way for significant growth in the industry, which now has an annual economic impact of $3.5 billion.  

Since 2011, the number of farm-based craft beverage manufacturers in New York state has increased by 197 percent. 

Since the third anniversary of the New York Farm Cidery Law in October, the number of farm cideries has tripled from 8 in 2014 to 24 in 2016. Since then, four new farm cideries have opened, bringing the statewide total to 28.   

In addition, six farm cidery off-site branch stores have opened following changes to the Alcohol and Beverage Control Law last year, helping to boost sales, draw visitors and increase tourism in communities across the state.

New York is also home to 322 farm wineries, 149 farm breweries and 109 farm distilleries.  Twenty-three of those companies also manufacture hard cider.  

To further strengthen the industry, Cuomo’s 2017-18 Executive Budget proposes a new license allowing up to 10 Taste NY store operators to sell craft beverages along with food and souvenir items.  

Currently only vintners, brewers, and distillers that operate Taste NY stores can sell both alcohol and other products. 

Cuomo has also proposed expanding the sale of craft beverages at certain locations such as movie theaters, launching the first-ever New York Craft Beverage Week, and a new grant for craft beverage producers to engage in joint marketing campaigns and enter products in national and international competitions.

Here are the 28 cideries in New York state:

2 Way Brewing Co., Beacon
Bad Seed Cider, Highland
Blackduck Cidery, Ovid
Blue Toad Hard Cider, Rochester
Brooklyn Cider House, Brooklyn
Cider Creek Hard Cider, Canisteo
Clintondale Brewing Co., Clintondale
Cooperatown Beverage Exchange, Cooperstown
Dark Island Spirits, Alexandria Bay
Descendant Cider Co., Maspeth
Embark Craft Ciderworks, Williamson
Fishkill Farms, Hopewell Junction
Graft Cider, Newburgh
Grisamore Cider Works, Locke
Kaneb Orchards, Massena
Little Apple Cidery, Hillsdale
Metal House Cider, Ulster Park
Nine Pin Ciderworks, Albany
Riverhead Cider House, Calverton
Rogers' Cideryard, Johnstown
Saratoga Apple, Schuylerville
Sauvage Beverages, Oneonta
Sterling Cidery, Sterling
Stone Bridge Cider, Hudson
Sundog Cider, Chatham
Thompsons Cider Mill, Croton-on-Hudson
Wayside Ciders, Andes
Westwind Orchard, Accord


Those participating in the Albany event are:
Little Apple
Nine Pin
Saratoga Apple
Stone Bridge
Sundog
Black Creek 
Blackduck
Blue Toad
Embark
Bad Seed
Fishkill
Rogers' Cideryard
Brooklyn Cider House
Kaneb
Wayside

Hard Cider Sales in New York Gets Some Help from Federal Law

From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:

By MARC HELLER
Empire Farm & Dairy
 
WASHINGTON — A small change in federal tax policy may help give some extra kick to New York’s apple cider industry — all the way to Europe.
 
Congress agreed in December to treat hard cider more like beer — instead of wine or champagne — for purposes of a federal excise tax, which may spur cider makers to make their brews a little stronger to compete with beer, said Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, a trade group.
 
Under the law, called the Cider Act, cider with an alcohol content of up to 8.5 percent will be taxed at the lower rate of 23 cents per gallon that also applies to beer. Previously, hard cider with an alcohol content greater that 7 percent faced the same $1.07 per gallon rate as wine, or as much as $3.30 per gallon depending on the level of carbonation.
 
The law puts U.S. producers on a more even keel with competing countries, meaning export markets may open, apple industry representatives said.
 
Smaller producers will see an even bigger benefit, keeping a 17-cents-per-gallon rate that they pay, and which will apply to all of their hard-cider production, said Mark Seetin, director of regulatory and industry affairs for the U.S. Apple Association, a lobbying group for growers.
 
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was a chief sponsor in the Senate. In the House, Upstate New York lawmakers widely supported a similar version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Collins (R-Clarence). The Senate Finance Committee reported that the cost to the federal Treasury, in foregone revenue, is negligible.
 
Schumer said the definition of hard cider used in the Internal Revenue Code was outdated, especially given how the industry has grown and how the process of making cider is just inexact enough to send the product beyond the old limits unintentionally.
 
“Under this legislation, apples that would otherwise be sold at a loss or thrown away, are now ripe for the cider press,” Schumer said in a news release after the bill’s passage. “By modernizing the definition of hard cider, our hard cider industry would pay less in taxes and be able to expand and compete.”
 
Congress passed the tax change as part of a year-end tax and spending measure. Advocates fell short on a related goal to also ease excise taxes on craft beer, wine and spirits, although Congress could revisit that issue later this year or in 2017.
 
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, New York ranks second to Washington state in apple production and has more apple cider producers than any other state, with more than 50.
 
Apples are big business in the state, with 55,000 acres in production and 694 commercial growers, the New York Apple Association said. That translates to about 10,000 direct agricultural jobs in growing, harvesting and packing, for instance, the association said.
 
New York cider makers such as Angry Orchard, in Walden, could expand into higher-alcohol varieties, Allen said. Angry Orchard makes cider with a 5.5 percent alcohol content, and the company touted the new law on its website. Among other gains, producers will be able to use fruit such as pears, in addition to apples, and U.S. law will be more in tune with competing countries, said Ryan Burk, the company’s head cider maker.
 
“Our cider friends in other parts of the world were already aligned with these standards, so these regulations will level the playing field for American cider makers to export cider abroad, and allow folks all over the world to get a taste of the great cider we are producing here in the U.S.,” he said.
 
“The cider industry in New York is growing, and new cider varieties are being budded and planted,” Allen said. “The craft cider business is certainly trailing the craft beer in volume, but it is reaching the same consumers and same age groups.”
 
Nationally, hard cider has expanded fast. Ratings by the Nielsen Company show that sales of cider in the United States grew from $78 million in 2011 to $470 million in the year ending in January 2015.
 
Drinking habits of younger Americans are largely at play, Nielsen said. In addition, cider tends to be a “gateway” drink, which people buy along with beer, for instance, the company said.
 
“The changes in hard-cider taxation will greatly benefit smaller hard-cider producers, and by making U.S. standards compatible with those of the EU, cider makers will potentially have access to European markets as well,” Seetin said.