If you’ve hung around the local beer and cider scene long enough, you might recognize her name. Caitlin Braam handled all the Public Relations for Two Beers Brewing Company and then played an instrumental role in the launch and growth of Seattle Cider Company. Thereafter, she worked as a Brand Strategist for Angry Orchard. Working with a couple of other industry veterans, Caitlin is now launching her own cider venture, Yonder Cider. But that’s not all; she’s also involved in a new cider-focused, business-to-business venture called The Source Cider.
Yonder Cider was founded by Caitlin Braam (President), Tim Larsen (Head Cidermaker) and Maddy Porter (Creative Director). Each has more than a decade of experience in their respective field. The team spent the last nine months crafting the Yonder brand, putting branding right alongside cidermaking in importance. The company’s goal is to offer “ciders as beautiful as the packaging it comes in, and through creative marketing, introduce an entirely new audience to the world of cider.”
Yonder Cider
Early next month, Yonder Cider plans to introduce a new line of craft ciders. Picked and pressed in Wenatchee, Washington, Yonder describes its ciders as “more full-flavored and complex than traditional modern ciders, while still remaining affordable and wrapped in packaging that’s perfect for any occasion.”
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Beginning in early August 2020, look for Yonder Cider products in cans and on draft, available for purchase in Washington state and online in an additional 40 states.
“The Wenatchee Valley is home to more than 100 known varieties of apples, growing in abundance between its rocky cliffs, making for not only a beautiful sight, but unlimited potential for cider,” said Caitlin Braam, founder and president of Yonder Cider. “The depth of flavors and character coming from these apples are what help set our ciders apart.”
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According to the introductory press release, Yonder’s ciders are crafted using a blend of bittersweet cider apples and juicy culinary apples to creates ciders that are hardly simple and that you can always count on as being interesting. With a foundation of flavorful Fuji and Honeycrisp apples, a variety of cider apples – containing added tannins, acid and body – are blended in to create a beautifully bright and complex cider.
Products available for launch include:
Dry (6.5% ABV) – Bright, light and refreshing. This easy drinking cider is a blend of traditional and modern cider apple varieties with bright notes of citrus. Hints of orange and lime dance with flavors of tropical fruit, making this a very refreshing but hard to define cider. Apples: Fuji, Honeycrisp, Roxbury Russet, Ashmead’s Kernel, Wickson Crab
Semi Sweet (6.5% ABV) – Juicy, crisp and beautifully balanced. Bold tones of peaches and strawberries compete with the nuance of spice, bringing the best out of our red fleshed and traditional cider apples. This stunning and complex blend will keep you coming back to pinpoint just what makes it so delicious. Apples: Fuji, Honeycrisp, Golden Russet, Dabinett, Various Red Fleshed Apples
Palisades (6.5% ABV) – The perfect mix of tangy and tart. A blend of juicy culinary and old-world apple complexity meets bright and mouthwatering Pacific Northwest blackberries, all of which is supported by an herbal hint of sage. Inspired by a favorite cocktail at Seattle’s Oliver’s Twist. Apples: Fuji, Honeycrisp, Roxbury Russet, Dabinett, Various Red Fleshed Apples
Yonder Cider will also feature a selection of single varietal ciders available only on draft.
Founded by Caitlin Braam (President), Tim Larsen (Head Cidermaker), and Maddy Porter (Creative Director), Yonder Cider was born out of a true love for cider, both modern and traditional. With more than a decade of experience in each of their respective fields, the team at Yonder has spent the last nine months crafting the Yonder brand. Putting branding right alongside cidermaking in importance, Yonder Cider offers ciders as beautiful as the packaging it comes in, and through creative marketing, hopes to introduce an entirely new audience to the world of cider.
“We’re launching during an interesting time, and it’s forced us to get creative in how we market and promote our ciders,” added Braam. “Instead of the traditional tasting room, we’re opening a walk-up retail store. Instead of launch parties, we’re partnering with restaurants to pair our ciders with their to-go offerings. It’s not the norm and it pushes us to think outside the box, but that’s alright – it’s how we approach our brand anyway.”
Available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans ($11.99) and on draft beginning August 7, Yonder Cider products will be available at Seattle-area bars, restaurants, and grocery stores, as well as online through the Yonder Cider website. For more information and updates, follow Yonder Cider on Instagram and Facebook, or visit the website at yondercider.com.
The Source Cider
Caitlin Braam and Tim Larsen are also part of a cider-focused, business-to-business venture called The Source Cider. Basically, they’re creating a way for new and growing cider producers to expand their businesses. Here’s the press release about The Source Cider.
The Source Cider Launches in Washington State, Offering Premium Juice and Custom Fermentation to Growing Cideries
Whether tanker or tote, the new “custom press” facility provides cideries across the country with access to high quality fruit, flexible capacity and growth without the capital investment
SEATTLE (June 30, 2020) – Starting and growing a cidery is expensive, and The Source Cider – located in Wenatchee, Washington – is determined to change that. Similar to “custom crush” models now commonly found in wine, The Source Cider aims to reduce the barrier to entry and to growth for cideries across the country. Providing easy and affordable access to premium juice and custom fermentation, The Source hopes to help cideries invest in quality, rather than capital, while growing their brand. Founded by Caitlin Braam and Tim Larsen – who combined have been part of the cider industry for more than 20 years – the new juice and fermentation facility is scheduled to launch July 20, just in time for the 2020 harvest.
“Tanks alone can run a new cidery upwards of $80,000,” said Caitlin Braam, co-founder of The Source Cider. “Add in a press, time to secure apple contracts and building a skilled team, it can add up quickly, on top of being limited by the amount you can produce. By working with The Source, we can drastically reduce those costs and offer cideries unlimited growth potential with quality products.”
Considered the heart of apple country, The Source is centrally located in the Wenatchee Valley, home to more than 100 known varieties of apples with hundreds more growing wild, thanks to the area’s homesteading history. From popular culinary apples – commonly used as base ciders – to highly sought-after cider specific varieties, The Source works directly with local orchards to source high quality fruit at competitive prices. Offering flexible production capacity with small and large order volumes, clients will be able to work directly with the experienced team at The Source to create exactly what they need for their cidery, from base blends and single varietals, to custom blending and recipe matching. With pricing offered per tote or tanker, The Source will also work with clients to create volume and contract discounts for both juice and finished cider.
Featuring state-of-the-art equipment and a centrally located facility, The Source is able to press more than 14,000 pounds of apples per day, with current capacity rivaling the largest craft operations in the industry and plans for expansion in the coming years. With higher yields, consistent fermentations and extensive blending opportunities, The Source provides cideries with the opportunity to increase their brand’s production and quality at the same time, with prices that work, guaranteeing fast turnaround and scheduled deliveries to keep production and sales on schedule.
For more information and updates – including limited apple offerings and harvest updated – follow The Source Cider on Instagram or visit the website at thesourcecider.com. For order inquiries, visit the website to build a custom quote, or email info@thesourcecider.com.
