Booze notebook: Snohomish Hard Cider Festival marks 5 years

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Snohomish Hard Cider Festival, and the annual celebration seems to have hit its stride.

Along with the cider industry as a whole, the festival continues to grow, going from eight producers at last year’s festival to 14 this year, including Everett’s first cidery, Soundbite Cider, and Chelan’s Washington Gold Cider.

It’s a long way for organizer Melody Dana, who admittedly didn’t know much about cider when the festival started in 2014.

“I didn’t know what cider was before the festival,” said Dana, who is the Snohomish Kiwanis president. “Now I’ll bring a bottle of cider to our Kiwanis events instead of wine.”

The availability of apples makes the Northwest one of the largest cider producing regions in the country, much like hops from Yakima is to beer.

“I’m flabbergasted at the number of cideries across the country,” Dana said.

Proceeds from the event go to support the Kiwanis, which in turn benefits children’s education through scholarships and other nonprofit educational outreach like the Boys & Girls Club.

Along with Soundbite and Washington Good, this year’s festival also includes Elemental Cider, Locust Cider and Seattle Cider.

This year the festival is bringing the food in-house. Steve and Maureen Dana, former owners of the Hub Drive-In, will make a variety of small plates of brisket, ham, chicken and vegetables to pair with cider. Smooth grooves band Jelly Wine Incident will perform live music.

Snohomish Hard Cider Festival

This year’s Snohomish Hard Cider Festival is from 1 to 5 p.m. Aug. 11 at Thomas Family Farm, 9010 Marsh Road, Snohomish. Taste cider from 14 local cideries, cheese and charcuterie. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Admission gets you six tasting tickets. More at www.snohomishciderfest.com.