An interview with Meredith Collins of Along Came a Cider
To celebrate Women's History Month in March and highlight members of the group who work within the cider industry, we interviewed leading women making waves as makers in the cider industry. We hope you enjoy our feature and get to know more about the Women in Cider who are being highlighted.
This year, Matt had the chance to do all of our interviews for Women in Cider, with some great cidermakers and industry members. Next up below is my fellow New Yorker, Meredith Collins of Along Came a Cider! Read up on her amazing cider journey below, and don’t forget to head over to her blog, linked below!
-Ryan
Matt: Thanks for agreeing to share and chat with us. Tell us a bit about yourself!
Meredith: Hey friends, I’m Meredith Collins; I write Along Came a Cider and do some freelance writing, judging, speaking etc. on cider all over the place. I started writing about cider in 2013 when I lived in New York City and suddenly had access to much more cider than I’d seen before. My background is in chocolate, coffee, and writing. And when I’m not cidering, I work in a library.
Matt: What drew you to cider?
Meredith: Gosh, it’s fun to think back that far. I studied abroad in England back in 2002, and got introduced to cider in Norwich. I used to drink Snakebite & Black (½ cider, ½ lager, and black currant concentrate) at the Uni pub and goth nights there. I liked that cider tasted like apples.
Matt: How would you describe your role in cider?
Meredith: I’m a cider advocate for life. What I want to do is to encourage folks to expand their view of the category. Cider can be so many things, so I review a wide range of ciders and pair them with lots of different foods and situations. I want to share the breadth of what cider can do.
Matt: What was it like to be a cider blogger when you were just starting and how is it different now, if at all?
Meredith: At first, I was making it all up as I went along. I had no structure, schedule, or expectations. What was challenging then was feeling like I had to build up my style from knowing more about other categories. I also didn’t know many people in the cider world at first. Things changed a lot after I moved to the Finger Lakes Region and worked in a cidery for two years. Being at Bellwether Cidery (still a criminally underrated cidery) allowed me to meet folks and learn from the behind-the-scenes point of view. That’s also when I got involved with Cider Week FLX. Participating in the wider cider world (Events like Cider Days in MA and GLINTCAP in MI) gave me opportunities to train with professionals and improve every aspect of the blog. I’m so grateful for everyone who teaches and tastes and creates cider; we’re all still educating each other and improving the cider scene together.
Matt: Do you have a few truly memorable ciders that you've had the pleasure of partaking in over the years?
Meredith: Oh absolutely! I remember tasting at the Good Food Awards I think in 2017 and really loving some ciders from out west. At the time I had a lot less access to ciders from that region, and it was a delight to try the Reserve Perry from Snowdrift Cider and Gibb's Farm Single Farm from Whitewood Cider Company. But every competition introduces me to amazing new ciders.
Matt: How does a cidery approach you about getting one of their ciders reviewed?
Meredith: Email is the best way! You can reach me at alongcameacider@gmail.com. I get plenty of email or messages on social media, and I try to respond to every request. I’m always happy to review ciders, but at this point the wait can be fairly long. My cellar runneth over!
Matt: In addition to having ciders sent your way, do you get out to cider events often? Any events that you're particularly fond of?
Meredith: Getting to see friends at cider events, that’s probably the very best part of the cider world! I love The Gathering of the Farm Cideries in Albany, Cider Days, GLINTCAP, the PA Farm Show cider competition, Cider Week FLX, Cider Con. There are too many good ones to make it out to each annually, so I try to vary where I go. And there are a ton I’ve not gotten to try yet.
Matt: Follow up, how did the Covid-19 pandemic affect your cider blogging experience especially as it pertains to getting out to cider events or competitions? Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel?
Meredith: The pandemic has been difficult, more so for everyone relying on a hospitality-related business than for me. Please support your local and favorite cideries, restaurants, and events as you can. People have been so creative in finding safe and distanced ways to keep cider flowing as it were. It's also just been hard on all of us living through it. I reduced my reviews from two reviews per weekly update back down to just one. I have to be realistic about what’s sustainable these days. I do think things are improving for cider events and that we can gather now more safely than we could a year ago or two years ago.
Matt: What are the best avenues for you to get the word out about new blog posts or things that are going on at Along Came A Cider?
Meredith: I think social media makes a big difference here. The cider community is pretty active on Instagram and Facebook. I hope people see what I’m doing, at least if it's useful to them.
Matt: At TCE, we're as much about community as we are about cider. What do you enjoy about the cider community?
Meredith: I don’t think I know any community that loves food and farms and landscapes like the cider community. We’re rather a dreamy poetic bunch before and and after the cider starts flowing. To be serious though, some of the most golden memories of meals of my life have been with cider friends. We encourage each other to try new things, and folks share generously with each other. I love listening to stories about orchard misadventures, histories of cider events, and recipes that hold meaning for my cider friends. I love how warm, sharing, and open the community it. We welcome new cider drinkers, fruit growers, cider makers, and more, and that makes me proud of us.
Matt: Are there any ciders you've wanted to try but were not able to get ahold of? What are the cider "whales" for someone who reviews cider? We may know someone who knows someone…
Meredith: Oh wow! What a fun question. I’m more about apple varieties or cideries than specific white whales. I love crabapple ciders, especially Wickson heavy ciders. That goes double for anything naturally sparkling and dry. I do have one though. I have wanted to taste the First Flora again from Angry Orchard’s Walden cider house for a long time. I was lucky enough to try it at Cider Con in Baltimore, but I’d love to try it again in a more leisurely way. I love trying cider at events, but I’m so distracted by enjoying people that I often like to try a special cider again at home. I need the quiet environment to fully appreciate a cider’s nuances.
Matt: Anything else you'd like to add?
Meredith: I’d just love to say thank you to so many amazing cider people who I’m grateful to know. People have shared their ciders, knowledge, time, recipes and stories with me so generously. We truly have a wonderful community. Further away Botanist and Barrel, Tanuki, Santa Cruz, Tilted Shed, South City, to name a few), this wouldn’t be such a rewarding business to be in. The TCE folks have been wonderfully supportive and we are so thankful for our super fan club members, who are keeping the lights on for us. We really are inspired by all these folks and we intend to perpetuate all that good energy they give out.
Along Came a Cider