Atlanta: Hard Cider Experience

As I have been living in Nashville for a couple years now, I have become accustomed to weekends trips to nearby destinations. May it be Panama City Beach, Asheville, Memphis, Indianapolis, or Atlanta, I have had my fair share of exploration. In all of my visits, I have yet to make one cider-centric. The easiest way to make this possible was to load up the car and make my way to Atlanta.

My first trip to Atlanta was actually a surprise visit from my girlfriend. She has a habit of doing some form of animal encounter, so we went to the Georgia Aquarium and got to interact with beluga whales. Yeah, it was pretty special. We also made a trip to the World of Coke. That, too, was pretty awesome. But, this time, this trip, I was ready to cider up!

I reached out to Treehorn Cider, Urban Tree Cidery, and Atlanta Cider Co. to see what they had planned for the weekend. Luckily, I was able to stop by and speak with their respective teams.

If you already know the journey of Atlanta Cider Co., you may know that they currently do not have a physical location. So, this is actually where our weekend began. We drove to Atlanta, got to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed to Ponce City Market to meet up with Liz and Mark Deno, owners of Atlanta Cider Co. We were ecstatic to have a suggestion from locals as we generally go into a new city and find one place to stop where we ask for suggestions. We rolled up to Ponce City Market and made our way in. If you are unfamiliar with the space, like we were, this is a building that houses a food market, clothing stores, luxury condos, rooftop boardwalk, and businesses like Stuff You Should Know.

For a taste of the history, Ponce City Market was once one of the largest Sears, Roebuck and Co. It was a retail store, warehouse, and regional office when in operation. Now it is a focal point in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, home to our first dive into the cider world in the ATL.

Atlanta Cider Co.

Walking through the market, we find Liz & Mark enjoying some of their ciders with two ready for us to experience. As we get acquainted, I taste the cider. Their offering, the Crisp Apple, was extremely balanced, one of my favorite straight-down-the-path ciders. It was dry but bustled with sweet accents from the natural sugar from the apples. What really accentuated the experience was the can. It was textured and felt like it was gripping me back. As small as this is for some, it really accentuated my sensory experience, making me feel more in tune with the tasting. And, having as many champagne ciders as I do, I was really impressed.

As we continued to chat, we made our way to a ramen restaurant in the complex, Ton Ton. We sat down and ordered. I got the Hakata Tonkotsu Classic, a ramen bowl made with pork belly, soft-boiled egg, butter garlic corn, scallions and more. As we waited for the food, we got into my they started their own cider company.

It turns out that Mark discovered he had Celiac disease, a common driver for individuals getting into the industry. Mark tasted some ciders and loved the experience, but he desired more. Seeing this as a fledgling opportunity, we started learning how to make the stuff. He gained his education from cider makers like Rev Nat & the kind folks at Noble Cider. Mark now developed the skills to make the product he would enjoy. And, this really opened his eyes to make this a business in his city of Atlanta. With his wife Liz’s marketing experience and his newfound education, they started up Atlanta Cider Co. And, they are getting close to having their physical location open at 1283 Marietta Boulevard NW.

As the conversation continued, we received our food. I have had plenty of ramen, as I make it with my girlfriend literally every week, but Ton Ton was a delight. The ramen was perfectly balanced with some of the most tender pork belly I have ever had. The environment was quaint, lively, and inviting. The food was affordable and left me feeling perfectly full. We wrapped up the meal and stepped into the main food hall.

Not certain of where the day would take us, Liz suggested that we make our way to the Skyline Park, a true boardwalk experience on the roof of the building where you can see every conceivable view of Atlanta.  We took the large industrial elevator that was utilized for decades in the Sear’s store to make it to the roof. As the doors opened, we made our way into the space. There were carnival games, mini-golf, a giant slide, seating areas, and a bar for the taking. We walked past all the smiling faces to get a drink at the bar. As I looked over the menu, Mark & Liz let us know they were on the menu, and we indulged.

They have already done a wonderful job getting the foot in all the right doors, and having their product in the Ponce City Market is a testament to the success they will have.  We started down while a few of their friends joined us for a conversation. We enjoyed their cider while the rain started. We talked for a few hours about Atlanta and the growth it is experiencing, much like Nashville. We talked podcasts, Pokemon Go, cider and sports. As the weather started to shift, we made our way downstairs. We knew our weekend was shorter than most, so we said goodbye to Atlanta Cider Co. & company to get some food.

Food & Drinks

Per Liz’s suggestion, we made our way to an authentic pizza place, Antico Pizza. In an area near the Atlantic Station, we were welcomed to a pocket of Italian restaurants. They had a cafe and a bar with plenty of exterior seating, but we hurried ourselves to the pizza across the street. As we walked it, we were welcomed with a long line of pizza lovers. While the line was long, it quickly dissipated. We stepped up to order and decided on their Pomodorini, a pizza make with fresh cherry vesuvian tomato, bufala, garlic, basil.

We took the pizza back to the hotel, Sheraton Suites Galleria, in our very large, very comfortable quarters. In our living room space, we laid the pizza out and started to consume. This pizza was as authentic as it gets. The cheese, crust, and tomatoes were incredibly fresh. The crust was thin, moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside. The cheese was thin, but a proper platform the juicy tomatoes and basil, providing most of the flavor. We put that pizza down in minutes.

After some time of digesting and getting ready to go out, we made our way out. I did some a Google search and found the Westside Provisions District, a bustling area for twenty-somethings. We pulled into the area and saw a huge line of people waiting for Jeni’s Ice Cream. As we were properly full, we made our way to through the buildings.

We ended up finding an alleyway where people were flowing in and out like bugs to a light in the evening. This was Little Trouble, a futuristic, 80’s-inspired joint with all sorts of neon. This places packed to the gills with people, unfortunately. But aside from this initial experience, the drinks and atmosphere certainly made up for it.

I had the Dew and Don’ts, a drink made with gin, yellow chartreuse, honeydew, basil, lemon. My girlfriend had the Suntory Sunset. This one was made with japanese whisky, st germain, yuzu, lemon, and soda. Both cocktails were tasty. We enjoyed our beverages while snapping some pictures in front of all the neon lights.

As we walked out we stayed in the neighborhood and made out way to JCT. Kitchen & Bar. Things were closing down, but we had the change to grab a quick beer and chat on the patio. It was quaint, but we didn’t; really get to explore the entire space. Looking at images of the bar now, I wish we would have. The main floor looked extremely fancy. But, this just makes us more inclined to make a trip again!

After our beer, and a long day, we made our way to the car to head back to the hotel. We arrived and got a good nights rest in our king size bed. We planned a big cider day for that Sunday, making our way to Urban Tree Cider and Treehorn.

Early Morning Eats

Before we got our drink on, we headed to H&F Burger for their Atlanta-famous burgers. To save you the scroll, the burgers were legit. The best part? The buns. Those puppies are delicious and, apparently, they sell their buns for other restaurants to use. So, all of Atlanta apparently needs them! We even got ourselves their the shake of the month, a minty, lucky charms concoction. Delicious!

Urban Tree Cidery

Once we finished eating, we made our way to Urban Tree Cider. As we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by their team and a bar fully stocked with patrons. As I have had many of their ciders, I went to my current favorite, the Vintage Gala. I actually loved it so much, we did a review on it. Christine had the barrel-aged cider, her cider of choice anywhere we go. Both ciders were made from Nicaraguan rum barrels and sport a woody, vanilla flavor. We grabbed one more cider a piece, their Original offering. This was a balance, non-sweet experience. They make this European-style cider boastfully tannic, tart, and acidic. We took in the drinks while speaking with the knowledgeable bartenders. After sucking up all of the vibrant atmosphere and cider, we headed out to make out last stop before the weekend came to a close (or our four-hour car ride commenced).

Treehorn Cidery

Our last spot on the map was to Treehorn Cider in Marietta, GA. When we walked in, we were greeted by their family members of the Treehorn family. We had the opportunity to sit down and speak for a while about all of their offerings. From their core ciders like the Hoppy Little Trees to their Ginger reserve, they had the usual suspects. But, Treehorn also offers their El Treeablo, a jalapeno, habanero, and Hatch chile-infused cider. This was definitely on the hotter cider of peppered ciders that I have had.

We also tried their Amarillo By Morning offering. This cider was infused with hops and grapefruit. I was surprised by the amount of grapefruit flavor I received, but it blended so well with the hops. This is as if you had a more tropical mimosa in a can. But, the truly best cider they had on hand was their Miyabi. This cider, with a review to come in the future, was astounding. This actually may be my favorite cider at the moment. This cider was infused with Shiso and Yuzu This cider runs you through the gambit from floral elements, to sour elements, to sweet and tangy angles. It was complex and had a pleasant, if not equally complex scent. it carries its carbonation very well, too. And this cider, like all of their ciders, sits in the 5.9% ABV range. Due to local laws, they must stay below a 6% ABV to maintain their form of licensure.

After thoroughly enjoying the catalog of their work, we chatted about their story, which can be discovered here. It was very heartwarming to see how Treehorn, and the greater Atlanta area, really embraced the cider culture. I am honestly very proud of the way cider is growing in this city, and cities nearby like Nashville. But, these cideries, Atlanta Cider Company, Treehorn, and Urban Tree are doing a wonderful job getting their products across Atlanta. Every bar we went to, they had one of their canned ciders in-house. Knowing how Nashville is set up, this is far from the case. These companies are really doing some legwork to be a tangible option at all of the must-be spots, like Ponce City Market and the best 20-something-year-old spots.

Our Experience

All in all, Atlanta is making massive strides in the Southern region of the United States in the cider industry. It is rare to see such vibrant and diverse group of cider makers and cider flavors in a region where apples aren’t sitting in your backyard. I can’t wait to see what happens in our region as cities embrace or take notice of cities bustling like Atlanta. Cider on!

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