PORTLAND, Ore.— Portland’s Cider Riot! rings in the New Year with the relaunch of its Burncider Pub Draught cider in Oregon’s new sustainable multi-use bottles. The locally made bottles are intended to be washed and refilled rather than crushed and recycled and craft breweries throughout the state have begun using them for beer. Cider Riot! is the first in the state to adopt them for cider, and celebrates the bottles with a party at its pub Friday Jan. 11 from 5-7 p.m.
Cider Riot! founder and cidermaker Abram Goldman-Armstrong has been advocating the use of refillable bottles for over a decade, publishing an article on the subject in American Brewer magazine in 2008.
“As an Oregonian I grew up learning to reduce, reuse, and recycle from an very early age,” he says. “When I first started homebrewing in the 1990’s I always sought out refillable glass bottles as they were heavier and better quality than the one-way glass. When we launched Cider Riot! in 2013 we chose a bottle that was rated for multiple fills, but we did not have access to a washing facility. The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) has cleared this hurdle for our cider, creating the BottleDrop Refill program so brewers and cidermakers can use bottles that are built to last over and over again.”
“The refillable bottles can be used as many as 25 times, and produce only 10 percent of the emissions of single use cans or bottles because they eliminate the energy required to melt down and recycle the glass or aluminum,” says Joel Schoening of the OBRC.
Burncider is Cider Riot!’s best selling Pub Draught Cider made with a blend of dessert apples from Yakima and Hood River and rare cider apples grown in Goldman-Armstrong’s native Yamhill County. A true heritage style cider, it boasts rich tannins from the cider fruit to support the fruity flavors of the dessert apples. Like all Cider Riot! ciders, Burncider is a natural product and contains no artificial preservatives.
“The great thing about the BottleDrop refill program, is that it integrates seamlessly into Oregon’s existing bottle deposit and return program,” says Schoening. “So, unlike other brand specific refillable bottle programs, the BottleDrop bottle has the same 10 cent deposit the consumer would pay on any single-use bottle, and can return it conveniently.”
Burncider Bottle Release Event
Friday, Jan. 11 5-7 pm at the Cider Riot Pub, 807 NE Couch St. Portland, Oregon 97232. Half-litre bottles of Burncider will be on sale for $4.90 plus deposit during the event, and BottleDrop Refill staff will be on hand to answer questions about the bottles and refilling program.
About Cider Riot!
An urban cidery and pub founded in 2013 focused on the production of refreshing dry ciders, Cider Riot! is located just off East Burnside street. The pub is open seven days a week offering ten ciders on draft and two guest beers as well as non-alcoholic options, darts, meeting rooms and pinball. Cider Riot ciders are sold in Oregon, Washington, California, Norway and Japan.
About BottleDrop Refill
The BottleDrop Refill program is operated by the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative. The Refill bottles are made in Portland at the Owens Illinois plant, from 70 percent recycled glass content. Bottles are washed and inspected and then returned to craft beverage makers for reuse. The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative is the industry steward of Oregon’s nationally recognized bottle deposit and return program. Through partnerships with beverage distributors and retailers, OBRC reduces litter and helps conserve Oregon’s pristine landscape by recovering, recycling or reusing 90 percent of the beverage containers sold at retail in Oregon.