It has been more than two years and over 200 batches of cider since brothers Alex and Andrew Perez began the process of starting their own hard cider company. After years of hard work and dedication they are finally ready to launch Highpoint Cider, a modern craft hard cider company, located in Victor, Idaho.
Highpoint Cider hit the ground running, this summer, with construction underway for a new brewhouse and taproom, in Victor, along with five flavors of hard cider, soon to be found in stores and on tap throughout Jackson and Teton Valley.
I’d always wanted to start a business, but never really found anything that I felt super passionate about. Both of us have a connection through the apples, growing up on a New England farm. Once we got out west, there was nothing, in terms of cider options. A good, crushable cider to drink didn’t exist. There was a gap in the market.
Alex Perez, co-founder and CEO of Highpoint Cider
The hand crafted, hard cider, is made from fresh pressed Rocky Mountain apples, in Colorado. The apples are picked, stored in a cold climate, and pressed, before being shipped to Highpoint (in Victor, Idaho), where the fermentation process begins. Fermentation takes anywhere from 10 days to two weeks, during which time, flavors of zesty ginger, floral hops, hand picked huckleberries, and wine tanins, are infused into the cider to create interesting and unique flavors. Each cider is gluten free, unfiltered and has only the naturally occurring sugar from the apples themselves.
The ciders will typically be a little more hazy. It gives a smooth velvety mouth feel. It’s a more natural, unfiltered color.
Alex Perez
If you’re looking for a little kick, the Spur is a ginger infused, session cider. A refreshing drink that pairs well with spicy foods, while maintaining a clean, crisp finish. The Tram-Line, a bright, citrus-y, floral, mosaic dry hop cider, is “the beer drinkers cider,” and what the Perez brothers are most excited to market. And, after growing up on an apple orchard in New Hampshire, it seemed only fitting to create the Transplant. A straightforward classic, semi-dry New England style cider. A smooth, slightly cloudy, and unfiltered homage to the New England tradition of small batch cider, and to the skiers “who venture west in search of new beginnings, community, and champagne powder.”
Highpoint Cider launched a kickstarter campaign, in November, to help fund the purchase of a centrifuge, which will allow for an increase in production volume, and complete the build out of the taproom by the end of 2020. So far, the campaign has raised over $25,000. Once up and running, Perez will operate using four, 40 barrel tanks, enough to produce 1,200 gallons of cider.
By the end of January, early February, we will be rockin’ and rollin’.
Alex Perez
Follow @highpointcider on Instagram for brewhouse and taproom construction and distribution updates. If you’d like to help support a small business this holiday season, there are 15 days left in the kickstarter campaign. Highpoint Cider apparel is available for purchase, and keep your eyes peeled for limited edition and seasonal batches, as well.
So, by backing this project, you will literarily be able to come enjoy a delicious cider in the space you helped us create. Twenty-twenty was a long year for everyone and we are really looking forward to seeing family and friends, and locals, come into the taproom, enjoying and sharing our product.
Alex Perez
