Events / local food

September is our busiest month of the year and this year was no exception.  We spent 8 days at the Big E in Springfield MA and during that time we gave out over 25 gallons in samples alone, holy wow, that's a new record! Twenty five gallons translates to about 17,500 Fire Cider samples - in home compostable sample cups of course!  We are so thankful to everyone who came out and gave our strange tonic a try. [caption id="attachment_742" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Sheri and Dan taking their daily shots of Fire Cider at the Big E.[/caption] While the Big E was going on, four of us went to Baltimore Maryland for Natural Products Expo East, second only to Expo West which we will be attending in March.   We were lucky to have Daniel Esko, formerly of the Berkshire Coop Market join Team Fire Cider on September 2nd.   Daniel, Brain, Dana and I drove 6 hours to Baltimore, in two cars packed to the gills with Fire Cider for the Expo. [caption id="attachment_746" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Arriving at Expo East in the Baltimore Convention Center.[/caption] We had an awesome time at the Expo- we met a whole bunch of our retail partners, whom we have known for years via email and phone.  It was so nice to finally meet them in person!  We also connected with a lot of people who were excited to try Fire Cider for the first time as well as some super fans who went home with free bottles, t-shirts and shot glasses. [caption id="attachment_747" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Having fun at the Expo! Daniel, Brian and Dana with the backdrop I made.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_749" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Fire Cider was nominated for the NEXT award given out by New Hope Media who runs Expo East and Expo West, what an honor![/caption] It was certainly not all work for the three days we were at the Expo in Baltimore.  Mom's Organic Market, one of our retail partner's held a party at Alewife, a local bar with 40 beers on tap, at the end of the first day of the Expo.  We had a blast, thanks guys! [caption id="attachment_743" align="aligncenter" width="538"] The Mom's Organic Market party was the place to unwind after the first day![/caption] And we got a recommendation to try out a Butcher Shop and Restaurant called Parts and Labor that sources local and humanely raised, free range animals which they butcher and cook on site, using the whole animal.  This place was so similar to Fore Street in Portland Maine it's almost as if the idea of nose to tail local butchers working closely with near by farms is catching on! [caption id="attachment_754" align="aligncenter" width="538"] This Wendell Berry quote on the menu really captures the whole knowing your food and your farmer idea.[/caption] And on that note we ate about half the menu, our dinner ended with a recommendation from our server Issac who we will all remember forever for his insights: [caption id="attachment_752" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Best ham ever, it was truly a divine experience.[/caption] Thanks Baltimore, it was fun, it was exciting and we are already planning for Expo West in L.A. this coming March 2015! [caption id="attachment_750" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Sheri had more than a TON of shipping to do after the Expo, 4 pallets plus the cart, all in one day![/caption]

Have I mentioned lately how amazing it is to be working in partnership with the Franklin County Community Development Corporation- say that 5 times, fast!   They offer guidance to anyone interested in starting a business and they have provided us with a space to produce Fire Cider and continue to grow our small business.  The CDC is currently under construction to expand their cold and dry storage as well as their commercial kitchen.   We are stoked to have more space to make more batches of Fire Cider. Last year the CDC's loan program, headed by Alan Singer, made it possible for us to upgrade all of our equipment to food grade stainless steel.   We were super happy to say goodbye to all of our plastic barrels.  We found them homes as rain barrels! [caption id="attachment_323" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Stainless steel steeping tank, stainless steep pump parts, only the best for your Fire Cider![/caption] Less than a year later, we approached Alan with another loan request, this time for two pieces of kitchen equipment that would save us many long hours in the kitchen, taking a lot of stress and physical labor out of making Fire Cider.  The result?  An awesome scrubbing tunnel that has turned a 10-12 person hour job into a 30 minute exercise.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It used to take 2 people working non stop scrubbing organic horseradish for hours on end just to prep that one ingredient for 2-3 batches of Fire Cider.  Now, we can achive even better results in just 30 minutes, and that includs set up, clean up and break down!   Here's a fun video of Dana and Brian trying out the scrubbing tunnel for the first time.  It's a bit loud, so turn the volume down! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f43-STEMEe8&feature=youtu.be Here are the before and after photos, can you tell we are super impressed with our investment?! [caption id="attachment_644" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Organic horseradish, covered in not so delicious organic dirt![/caption] [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="538"] So fresh and so clean and ready to be turned into Fire Cider.[/caption] With our second loan we were also able to purchase a chopper for the lemons and oranges.  Processing hundreds of pounds of citrus by hand is just asking for carpal tunnel, not to mention an injury waiting to happen.  This chopper, with it's graphic warnings, is definitely scarier than the chef's knives we've been using, and will save our hands and arms, as long as we keep them away from the blades! [caption id="attachment_646" align="aligncenter" width="538"] All thumbs ups, not to worry, we have cut resistant gloves to protect our hands while cleaning the machine.[/caption] And here's our new chopper in action, making batches Fire Cider just got a lot easier, which means that the three of us can safely continue making you Fire Cider for many years to come.   Yup, this video is loud too, what can I say, I'm working on my videographer skills! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSoH5OwJdiE&feature=youtu.be We are super thankful to the CDC and their staff for supporting the growth of our small business, we truly couldn't do this without them!  If you are thinking about starting a business, the CDC has you covered from the very beginning.