PORTLAND — Bauman’s Cider Co. started small in 2016, tucked into a corner of the family farm store near Gervais, Ore.

Customers shopping for garden starts and produce would accidentally stumble upon the cider.

But a transition happened in recent years, said Christine Bauman Walter, founder and head cider maker.

“A lot of people go to get cider and are like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you have a farm here,’” Walter chuckled.

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A farm business offshoot has quickly turned into a leader in the cider industry.

Business is booming and Bauman’s Cider opened a taproom, restaurant and cidery at 930 SE Oak St. in Portland in mid-April.

The company also plans to build a new cidery from scratch at Bauman’s Farm & Garden, which needs improvements to host a large winery-type facility and tasting room. Groundbreaking could occur in 2025.

The cidery’s 2023 production, all at the farm, was 130,000 gallons, but it’s also creating cider in Portland now.

Capacity could expand to 500,000 gallons in coming years, said Chris Cummens, operations director.

“Sky’s the limit,” Cummens added.

While the Portland location will concentrate on modern cider, the farm will focus on traditional harvest-driven, small batch production. Both locations will feature fruit from the farm.

Tons of fruit

The top seller for Bauman’s Cider is its Loganberry cider, and it will use 21,000 pounds of Loganberries this year.

The cidery also uses tons of apples, peaches, other berries, mint and rhubarb from Bauman’s Farm & Garden, as well as fruit from other partners.

Since the farm doesn’t have controlled atmosphere storage, the cidery also purchases apples from the Hood River Valley and Central Washington in the spring and early summer.

The cidery also helps support Bauman’s Farm & Garden by purchasing fruits, vegetables and other items for its restaurant. The location offers fresh produce such as berries for sale, as well.

Cidery origins

Bauman’s Cider started with an Alaskan fishing trip in 2011. Walter went to a bar with her father, and there was bad beer, no wine and nothing to drink but an Angry Orchard cider.

“It was the first time it ever occurred to me that we could ferment apples,” Walter said. “I thought, ‘Why aren’t we doing that on the farm?’”

The farm already sold gallon jugs of pressed apple juice every fall.

When she returned to Oregon, she came across a bottle of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, and realized craft cider was a different beast.

With advice from Nat West of Reverend Nat’s, Walter started fermenting cider in her laundry room.

She got to know several other cider makers and began experimenting, adding different fruit to her ferments.

“I just kind of fell in love with it,” Walter said.

Family members were skeptical, but Walter talked her cousins into letting her lease a small section of the store.

With an initial investment of $5,000, she started Bauman’s Cider Co., thinking she’d never sell bottles anywhere but the farm.

Today, Walter sells nationwide, has 16 employees, awards from international competitions and she’s president for the American Cider Association board.

And farmers seeking a side hustle often ask Walter for advice on making cider with their fresh fruit.

Christine Bauman Walter

Christine

Bauman Walter

Age: 51

Occupation: Cider maker and founder of Bauman’s Cider Co.

Hometown: Portland

Family: Jeff Walter is an HP Inc. employee; children Hannah Bartlett, works in design with the cidery and Gino Cicerone is a college student