Technical Skills Share Series 2025
Join the Cider Institute's workshop series to build your technical cider production skills.
Date and time
Location
Online
Refund Policy
About this event
- Event lasts 273 days 2 hours
The Cider Institute offers a monthly Technical Skills Share series, where producers, consultants, and researchers come together online to explore specific cider production topics in detail.
The series will occur on the second Thursday of each month from 2-3pm ET, starting March 13. You can buy a ticket for a single session or purchase a subscription for access to all sessions at a 30% discount.
August 14 @ 2PM EDT
Topic: Is Crossflow Right for You? Filtration & Stabilization Strategies for Your Cider
Speaker: Joe Gaynor, Head Cidermaker, Angry Orchard Cider House (Walden, NY)
Thinking about upgrading to a crossflow filter—or wondering how it fits into your overall product stabilization strategy? This Technical Skills Share session will help you assess whether a crossflow filter is the right investment for your cidery and how it fits into a broader product stabilization strategy. We'll explore how filtration and stabilization choices impact clarity, shelf life, and consistency—especially as your production scales. Perfect for cider makers evaluating new equipment or refining their QA process!
Join this session to:
- Understand when a crossflow filter makes sense for your scale and goals
- Compare crossflow to other common filtration methods
- Learn how filtration supports overall product stabilization
- Explore key stabilization options: Velcorin, pasteurization, and sterile filtration
- Weigh the pros and cons of each method in practical, real-world terms
- Gain insight into how filtration and stabilization contribute to product consistency
- Reflect on what consistency really means for your cider—and how scale influences that definition
September 11 @ 2PM ET
Topic: Pressing Apples, Pears, and Quince: Practical Approaches to Pome Fruit Processing
Speaker: Dave Klawer, Alma Cider (Skagit Valley, WA)
Processing pome fruits—apples, pears, and quince—requires tailored approaches to ensure efficiency and quality during pressing. From decisions around fruit ripeness and sweating to milling techniques and equipment choices, each step can dramatically impact juice yield, clarity, and flavor.
In this session, Dave Klawer will share practical insights and technical considerations for working with different pome fruits, helping cider makers optimize their pressing operations.
Join this session to learn:
- Key differences in handling apples, pears, and quince
- How fruit conditioning (e.g., sweating) affects pressability and flavor
- Best practices for washing, milling, and pressing each fruit type
- Tips for planning an efficient and trouble-free pressing day
- Considerations for juice quality, yield, and post-press handling
October 9 @ 2PM ET
Topic: Blending, Part II – What Works Well, What Doesn’t
Speaker: Nick Gunn, BenchGraft Consulting (Salem, OR)
In Part I, we explored the timing, techniques, and goals of blending in cidermaking—from orchard to ferment to finish. Now, in Part II, we take a candid look at the results: what makes a blend successful, and where things can go wrong.
Nick Gunn returns to lead a practical, example-driven session focused on real-world blending outcomes—both great and not-so-great. Whether you're blending for balance, complexity, or consistency, this session will help sharpen your instincts and expand your blending toolkit.
Join this session to learn:
- Why some blends work—and why others fall short
- Common mistakes in blending and how to avoid them
- Varietals that tend to shine in blends (and those that don’t)
- Techniques for evaluating blend potential
- Lessons from industry case studies and client experiences
- Tools for training your palate and making confident decisions
PAST TOPICS:
- Pressing tips (Christine Walter, Bauman's Cider OR)
- Blending deep dive (Nick Gunn, Benchgraft Consulting OR)
- Understanding free vs. total SO2 (Chris Gerling, Cornell University NY)
- Exploring flavor trends (Ryan Burk, Feel Goods Company NY)
- Using a product library and in-house sensory panel to better understand your products (Kira Bassingthwaighte, Western Cider MT)
- Working with single varietal ciders (Soham Bhatt, Artifact Cider Project MA)
- Understanding sugars and acids (Dave Takush, 2 Towns Ciderhouse OR)
- Operating an urban cidery (Brian Wing, Green Bench Cider FL)
- Facility design for new cideries (Cortni Stahl, Star Cider NY)
- Grafing & selecting rootstock (Maria Kretschmann, After the Fall Cider PA)
- Hopped Cider Production (Josh Sejat, Blake's Hard Cider Co MI)
- Disgorging & Packaging Traditional Method Ciders (Levi Danielson, RAW Cider Co OR)
- Barrel Maintenance & Aging Techniques (Matt Holley, Virtue Cider MI)
- Wild Fermentation: Evolving Approaches in Changing Conditions (Dion Stepanski, Presque Isle Farm Cider MI)
- Is Co-Packing the Right Fit for Your Cider Business? (Yann Fay, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards NY)
- The Art & Science of Bottle Conditioning (Martha Lowry, Woodfolk Cider ON)
- Optimizing Stone Fruit Fermentation in Cider Production (Patrick Chavanelle, Allagash Brewing Company ME)