Atlas Cider is defining the leading edge for the nascent hard cider industry and showing what expanding potential the beverage has.
This summer, Atlas opened a cider tasting room (along with rotating beer taps) on the outskirts of the Old Mill District. Its instant popularity has planted a flag in the ground for cider's staying power.
The tasting room caps off their first three years of operation.
Owner Dan McCoy had previously been a social studies teacher for the Redmond School District, but returned to college to study fermentation after a backpacking trip through Europe introduced him to ciders.
"We have world class beer all around us, and my wife and I were like, 'Where are the ciders?'" McCoy says.
Behind their flagship blackberry cider—a tartness that complements the apple's effervescence—Atlas has kickstarted the next beverage craze in Central Oregon. (PB)
2nd place: Red Tank Cider
