Member Spotlight: Number 12 Cider

TELL US YOUR NAME, YOUR CIDERY NAME, AND A BRIEF INTRODUCTION.

My name is Stephen Hance - my business partner is a lifetime friend - Colin Post. The name of our cidery is Number 12 Cider. It is an urban cidery located in the North Loop We also operate a dedicated wood-fired pizza truck called Little Tomato. We have 16 tap lines that offer the full spectrum of ciders from traditional, dry and tannic to modern, fruited and semi-sweet. We source apples that we press in-house and juice from specialty growers around the midwest. We offer a range of products in distribution throughout the metro area and beyond. We believe the best ciders come from pairing the best apples with the most suitable yeast using traditional methods. We set out to reinvent the cider tradition one cider at a time.

“Cider is a category as broad as beer or wine with product profiles ranging from sweet and fruity to dry and tannic...”
— Steve Hance, Number 12 Cider

WHAT DO YOU FIND TO BE THE MOST INTERESTING THING ABOUT CIDER?

The elegant simplicity of cider is what drew us in together with its fascinating history. It is amazing that the simple interaction between apple juice and yeast can result in such a diverse range of beautiful and delicious ciders. We are dedicated to mastering all of the many methods and traditions of cider-making. We were also drawn to this tradition of cider-making after learning of its history from the silk trail, ancient Rome and its popularity in early America.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WISH EVERYONE IN MINNESOTA KNEW ABOUT CIDER?

That cider is a category as broad as beer or wine with product profiles ranging from sweet and fruity to dry and tannic, including barrel-aged, imperial, hopped, pet-nat and many other styles.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CIDERY’S HISTORY. WHEN WERE YOU FOUNDED? WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO MAKE CIDER?

We got our first boost of confidence winning a blue ribbon in the Minnesota State Fair cider-making contest in 2012. That cider, which was made from apples foraged and pressed together with Sapsucker Farms in Mora, was entered as "Number 12" based on the number that was assigned to the batch that year.  From there we partnered with the Deer Lake Orchard and started a farm winery in about 2015 in Buffalo, Minnesota. After 3 years operating a very seasonal and part-time business we decided to go full time and moved the business to the North Loop in Minneapolis opening our doors in 2018.


WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU ONLINE?

Our website is www.number12cider.com. Customers can check out our offerings and even order merchandise or cider products (for out of state customers) through the website. We also have a YouTube page with cider-making videos: https://www.youtube.com/@Number12Cider, an Instagram page and a Facebook page. Come check out our beautiful taproom and patio at 614 N. 5th St., Minneapolis, MN 55401.

Member Spotlight: Sapsucker Farms and Yellow Belly Cidery

TELL US YOUR NAME, YOUR CIDERY NAME, AND A BRIEF INTRODUCTION.

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Sapsucker Farms Yellow Belly Cidery is owned by Jim & Debbie Morrison. We own and operate a diverse certified organic farm and cidery located in Quamba, Minnesota (yes, there really is a Quamba Minnesota) which is 70 miles north of the Twin Cities near Mora.

WHAT DO YOU FIND TO BE THE MOST INTERESTING THING ABOUT CIDER?

Cider is such a refreshing beverage in general, but what is fun about making cider is the versatility. All of our ciders flavors are made from ingredients that are grown on our farm (ginger, lemon basil, cayenne peppers, wildflowers) and it’s fun experimenting with different crops to infuse into the cider. If we don’t grow it ourselves, then we work with a local farmer who does grow it, such as cranberries, which we source from a Wisconsin farmer.

“ All of our ciders flavors are made from ingredients that are grown on our farm (ginger, lemon basil, cayenne peppers, wildflowers).”
— Debbie Morrison

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WISH EVERYONE IN MINNESOTA KNEW ABOUT CIDER?

Cider is not beer. Nor is it “cider beer.” Cider is actually a wine, since it is a beverage that is made from fermented fruit juice. In this case, the fruit is apples, not grapes.

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR CIDERY’S HISTORY. WHEN WERE YOU FOUNDED? WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO MAKE CIDER?

We admit that starting a cidery was never in our long term plans. In fact, being farmers was also never anything we planned. But in 1997 while living in the cities, we bought a 172-acre piece of land. We camped on the weekends for 3 years and eventually decided to build a house and move to Quamba in 2000.

Over the course of the past 20 years we fell in love with the land, and just started doing different farm things: making maple syrup, (thus the name Sapsucker Farms), native prairie restoration, honey bees, growing vegetables and herbs and running a CSA, adding a flock of laying hens, starting an apple orchard and pressing apples for fresh juice. Back in about 2012 when we starting pressing apples, we met Steve Hance and Colin Post (founders of Number 12 Cider) who introduced us to making hard cider, and inspired us to give it a try. Then in 2015 we launched Yellow Belly cider which is now distributed in six states: Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah.

In 2018 we built the 80’ x 80’ cider barn, where we now have a tasting room, performance stage, and lots of room for family fun.

SPREAD THE LOVE… WHAT CIDER WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FROM ANOTHER MN CIDERY?

I suggest getting yourself an Adventure Card and go on the road to visit as many Minnesota cideries as possible. Personally, I think all of the cideries make some really wonderful ciders. But what really makes the ciders special are the stories behind them all.

WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU ONLINE?

@SapsuckerFarms is the social media handle for all of our channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, as well as our website sapsuckerfarms.com

Member Spotlight: Tallgrass Cider

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Tell us your name, your cidery name, and a brief introduction. 

Tallgrass Cider is owned and operated by John and Brooke Knisley.  Our cidery is located in the tallgrass prairie biome of Minnesota and we stive to incorporate this landscape into the essence and story of our ciders.  Tallgrass officially became a “Farm Winery” in August of 2020 and has released three ciders to date (with more to come this summer).  The organic fruit is grown and harvested at our farm, Alternative Roots Farm, with orchards near Madelia and Lake Crystal, Minnesota. 

The cidery is part of the Knisley’s full-circle farming system, which includes pigs, chickens, winter greens and various perennial fresh fruit.  All of the orchards that are managed by the Knisleys are certified organic.

 What do you find to be the most interesting thing about cider? 

We believe that the apples that we grow and the landscapes they are grown on are diverse and complex, which is reflected in the cider.  With over 50 apple varieties, pears, apricots, plums, raspberries, blackberries and elderberries grown on the farm there is ample opportunity to explore flavors and fruit pairings. 

“With over 50 apple varieties, pears, apricots, plums, raspberries, blackberries and elderberries grown on the farm there is ample opportunity to explore flavors and fruit pairings.”
— John Knisley, Tallgrass Cider

There is a certain terroir evident, and distinctive, between the apples from the two different orchards.

What is something you wish everyone in Minnesota knew about cider?  

We come at this philosophy as we have for our farming local produce over the last decade - everyone should know where their cider comes from, where the apples are grown and who is making it. Like grapes for wine, the region the fruit is grown in and the practices used to grow the fruit all add to the cider.

 Tell us a bit about your cidery’s history. When were you founded? What prompted you to make cider?  

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

John and Brooke started Alternative Roots Farm in 2011 with a focus on vegetables and a random opportunity to manage an orchard.  This first orchard experience grew John’s passion for growing perennial fruit crops. Four years ago we decided to focus 100% on our orchard operation, on perennial fruit. In a twist of fate, at that same time, John met another orchardist looking to retire and for someone to manage 10 acres of apple trees. The first trees were planted at the older orchard site the year John was born, in 1984. This orchard is full of life – native prairie wildflowers, fox snakes, skinks and many different plant species. This expanded our production beyond the 4.5 acres home orchard.  When it comes to cider, we had been homebrewing with friends since 2013, refining our process.  In 2019 we decided to pursue our Farm Winery license, becoming fully licensed in August 2020.

Spread the love … What cider would you recommend from another MN cidery?  

We were just at Number 12 and I (John) would highly recommend Syndicate! Brooke loves the Raspberry Hibiscus cider from Wild State Cider.  

Not going to lie, I enjoy drinking cider and knowing the people behind making them – there really is not a cidery in Minnesota that I do not enjoy or appreciate!

How can folks find you online? 

Instagram: @tallgrasscider, Facebook: Tallgrass Cider, Website: www.tallgrasscider.com

Member Spotlight: Urban Forage

Tell us your name, your cidery name, and a brief introduction.

Photo by Angela Knox

Photo by Angela Knox

We are Jeff and Gita Zeitler. We started Urban Forage Winery and Cider House in 2015 on a shoestring budget. We live in St. Paul and have two teenage kids.

What do you find to be the most interesting thing about cider?

What's interesting is that there's still so many unexplored possibilities with cider! With beer, you have a category that has ossified into a number of strictly defined styles that all have BJCP descriptions. Wine is much the same. But cider is wide open, it's a smaller category overall, and there's a lot of experimentation going on. It's exciting because people are trying new things all the time, and a lot of them work!

What is something you wish everyone in Minnesota knew about cider

That it's naturally gluten-free. There's no gluten in apples and cideries that operate under a wine license aren't supposed to even have grain on the premises of their winery! People with gluten allergies and celiac can find a safe alternative to a brewery taproom at their local cidery.

Tell us a bit about your cidery’s history. When were you founded? What prompted you to make cider?

We started out shortly after I was laid off from my 'real' job as a landscape architect by a company I had worked at for 8 years. I had been a cidermaker and winemaker as a hobby for over 20 years at that point, and had some recipes that I thought were pretty good, and had also learned some production techniques that didn't use preservatives as I was really into organic gardening. When I brought my homemade booze to parties people enjoyed it- so when I suddenly didn't have a job, I decided to take the leap to making cider and wine professionally.

“I found that people with residential fruit trees rarely used all the fruit they produced - if any. When I offered to pick it to make cider - I was almost always overwhelmed with gratitude”
— Jeff Zeitler

We opened the basement winery in 2015, then the taproom in 2017. The foraging part of the business grew out of my earlier job - where I found that people with residential fruit trees rarely used all the fruit they produced - if any. When I offered to pick it to make cider- I was almost always overwhelmed with gratitude, and phone calls from their friends with fruit trees who wanted me to take their fruit too. I started to see that this wasn't an isolated thing - people all over the place had fruit they didn't want - and I was able to do something with it!

Spread the love … What cider would you recommend from another MN cidery.

I really love Keepsake's heritage apple ciders, particularly the Normandy style ones. They're on a level with some of the best European ciders. I think Nate is creating amazing things with apples grown in the Upper Midwest. Keepsake is one of the ciders that when I drink it, I think "I wish I had made that!"

How can folks find you online?

We're on Facebook and Instagram with the handle @urbanforagewinery. Our website is urbanforagewinery.com.

Photo by Angela Knox

Photo by Angela Knox

Member Spotlight: Milk & Honey Ciders

Tell us your name, your cidery name, and a brief introduction. 

Peter Gillitzer, Milk and Honey Ciders. We focus on celebrating this important cultural and historical beverage. We use unique cider and heirloom apples with expressive aroma, body, mouthfeel, acid and tannins that elevate the beverage. Our St Joseph cidery focuses on the experience- walk the orchards, sample the ciders, see the pressing and cellaring operations.

What do you find to be the most interesting thing about cider? 

We love that it is an agricultural beverage with a tie to the land, the orchards, the seasons. It is endlessly complex and pairs well with food. The interaction of the orchard and pressing/fermenting/cellaring creates a lifetime of challenging and engaging work.

“We love that it is an agricultural beverage with a tie to the land, the orchards, the seasons. It is endlessly complex and pairs well with food.”
— Peter Gillitzer

What is something you wish everyone in Minnesota knew about cider? 

Minnesota has a long history of apples and interaction with this agrarian beverage. We are heartened to see people rediscover it and enjoy it across a range of environments from high end dining to backyard BBQs.

Tell us a bit about your cidery’s history. When were you founded? What prompted you to make cider? 

We incorporated in 2011 completed two years of R and D and sold commercially first in 2014. We are interested in craft beverages, good food and agriculture. Cider was the natural confluence.

Spread the love … What cider would you recommend from another MN cidery? 

Keepsake’s Chestnut Crab and Number 12’s La Route.

How can people find you on social media?

Facebook: @milkandhoneyciders Instagram: @milkandhoneyciders

Minnesota Cider Guild Members During COVID-19

Sweetland Orchard 
Apples available. You can also purchase gift cards and shirts available to purchase online. 
http://sweetlandorchard.com

Keepsake Cidery 
Open for bottle pickups Saturdays 1- 4 pm plus by appointment. Keep checking in for take out food options and local farmer vendors!
http://www.mncider.com/

Duluth Cider
25 oz Crowler cans (or glass bottles) available at their Walk-Up Window or online for Duluth delivery. Walk-Up Window 2-7pm weekdays, 12-3pm weekends. Free Duluth delivery available for orders of $30 or more!
https://duluth-cider.square.site/crowlers

Number 12 Cider
Number 12 Cider and Little Tomato pick up pizza and cider.
Number 12 Cider Hours: M-F 4-8PM; Sat 12-8PM; Sun 12-6PM
Little Tomato pizza truck: W-F 4-7PM; Sat 2-7PM; Sun 2-6PM
www.LittleTomatoMN.com

Falconer Vineyards & Winery 
Curbside pick up available. Call 651-388-8849 to place your order.

Minneapolis Cider Company
Order online pick up curbside.  
https://minneapoliscider.square.site/

Carlos Creek Winery 
Open for pick up
WED-FRI 3:00-7:00
SATURDAY NOON-7:00
Growlers, Bottles of Wine, Pizza & Wings
Current Special: FREE Shipping on 6 Bottles or more shipped anywhere in Minnesota! https://www.carloscreekwinery.com/

Urban Forage Winery and Cider House 
Free delivery within the 494/694 loop. and prices haven't changed a bit.
https://my-site-102886-103659.square.site/

Sapsucker Farms 
curbside pick up M-F 3pm - 6pm; Saturday/Sunday Noon - 3pm. You can pre-order via the online store, or you can pay at time of pick up. Products include: Yellow Belly cider (all flavors), farm-made root beer, ginger ale and kombucha, apple juice, maple syrup, honey, Heggie's frozen pizza, and Smude's popcorn.
https://www.sapsuckerfarms.com/buy-now/shop

Milk & HoneyCiders
Support Milk & Honey and local artist Bruno Press by purchasing limited apple prints from our taproom or through our online store. Support art, support your neighbors, and add some apple magic to spruce up your home! Taproom is open for safe pickup of cider and merch M-F 8am-5pm.
https://bit.ly/2UBDfoo

Salem Glen Winery 
Curbside pick up, Thursday - Saturday Noon - 7pm, Sunday noon - 5pm. You can pre-order online or call during our open hours at 507-365-8758
https://my-site-105253-103287.square.site/

Thor's Hard Cider 
Available at Stillwater stores City Liquors and Liberty Village.

Wild State Cider 
Available for pick up. hours are weekdays 3-6pm, weekends noon - 3pm.
https://wildstatecider.square.site/