Portland, OR — Swift Cider, an urban craft cidery, has grown their distribution by partnering with Kendall’s Pioneer Distributing of Kelso, Washington. After five years of selling cider in Oregon, Swift will now be available in ten southwestern Washington counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum. The new partnership between Swift and Kendall’s Pioneer comes at a time when cider continues a six year boom across the country, but it can still be hard for find a local craft cider outside of the major urban centers like Portland and Seattle.
Aidan Currie founded Swift Cider in 2011 as a homebrewing project to make better cider. Currie says, “we couldn’t find any decent local cider to drink at the time, so we built an apple press and decided to make it for ourselves.” Rebranded as Swift Cider in the Spring of 2014, the Company launched into the Oregon market with three flagship ciders: the Wholesome Apple, the Marionberry, and the Dank Hop. The company’s expansion into Washington marks the first time their cider has crossed state lines.
Kendall’s Pioneer Distributing is a family-owned distribution company with roots dating back to the 1930’s in Bend, OR. The fourth generation of Kendall’s saw today’s demand in Southwest Washington for local craft beer, cider, wine and spirits and brought the family’s focus back to these categories to serve consumers looking for fantastic local brands. Swift will become the second cider producer in the Kendall’s sales book, adding three flavors of cider on draft and in 22oz bottles.
Swift takes pride in making balanced dry ciders, which contrast starkly with the sweeter styles sold by other producers. According to the head cider maker, “you are what you drink,” so every effort is made to use wholesome ingredients. Their base cider is made from seven Oregon and Washington grown apples. When blending in additional fruits, hops, and spices, they source minimally processed ingredients and avoid anything that contains concentrate, sugar, preservatives or artificial flavors. This close attention to the quality of their ingredients has paid off. This year Swift took home two gold medals and a bronze for their flagship ciders at GLINTCAP 2015, the World’s largest blind cider competition.