State’s First Farm Cidery to Re-release 10 Favorite Ciders Renovations to Tasting Room Set to Complete by April Public Celebration Planned for February 28th
Nine Pin Ciderworks, New York State’s first farm cidery, located in Albany’s warehouse district, is celebrating 10 years this February. To commemorate this well-achieved milestone, Nine Pin will be offering a complimentary 6oz pour of their Signature cider, recently judged as World Class Cider by Beer Connoisseur magazine, to patrons who come to join in the celebration on February 28, 2024.
Nine Pin has a number of exciting events and announcements to help celebrate and acknowledge their 10th Anniversary which will be announced in time, but first, they’re selecting ten of their fan favorite ciders to re-release over the course of the nest 10 months on the last Wednesday of every month, beginning with Hunny Pear on February 28th.
Each cider will don a specially designed new label, that is an original acrylic painting made with a combination of multiple monotype transfers and airbrushing. Rather than a digital design, this special bottle series embraces a unique traditional hand-made approach to creating the label.
Nine Pin is partnering with Jacob Alejandro of Troy, New York, for each of the cider re-releases who will create a specialty baked good or pastry to pair with the cider. Jacob Alejandro will be on site for the kick off of the re-releases when Hunny Pear becomes available, offering a Hunny Pear Cake between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Nine Pin Hunny Pear cider was first released in September of 2014 as a fall seasonal and quickly proved to be a fan favorite. Hunny Pear is crafted from a blend of New York State pears including Barlett, Bosc, Potomac, Seckle, and Clap, all grown in the Hudson Valley. This perry is off-dry and finished with a touch of cinnamon and honey.
Interested cider lovers may pre-order all of the 10 new flavors for $140, saving $1 off each 750 mL bottle, beginning January 31st, and ending February 14th. Each re-release will be announced in time, but fans can check the website for updates and pre-orders.
Nine Pin’s Ciderworks opened its doors officially in February 2014, but was born two years earlier when Co-founder Alejandro del Peral initially had the idea to build a cidery focused on New York’s agriculture and using all locally grown apples and fruit from within the state’s borders.
On October 17, 2013, former Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the farm cidery bill into law, and by February of the next year, he announced Nine Pin Ciderworks as the state’s first farm cidery. Shortly thereafter, the cidery’s flagship product, Signature, was born using only New York apples from Samascott Orchards. Within a very short time, Nine Pin began to use approximately 1.5 million pounds of apples each year.
In 10 years, Alejandro and his team of innovative cidermakers have developed hundreds of new and different ciders. Sixteen varieties are available regularly through a distributor throughout the year, and can be found at local retailers locally in the Capital Region and beyond. Many others are available in the cidery’s tasting room on rotation or seasonally.
Nine Pin started giving back with its plethora of cider varieties through its consumer challenge: the Nine Pin 26ers. Each year that the program runs, Nine Pin invites participants to try all 26 unique ciders that are produced every two weeks throughout the year, the proceeds from which raise money for the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Summit Steward protection and research program, a clear nod towards the ADK’s 46ers club. So far, they’ve raised nearly $17,000 for the Club.
“I’m not exactly sure I can put into words how impactful meeting this milestone is,” said Alejandro del Peral, co-founder and cidermaker. “We founded Nine Pin Cider with a mission statement about supporting New York agriculture. Looking back on 10 years, and realizing the profound impact we’ve had on local orchards and farms is incredibly meaningful. I’m very thankful to our team, my family, our orchard partners, and our loyal customers for their unwavering support. Cheers to Nine Pin’s next decade!”
Nine Pin was awarded an Empire State Development Grant in 2023 to expand its indoor tasting room and create appropriate delineation and barriers for its manufacturing space. Construction has already begun, with an anticipated completion in early April.
This won’t be the first time Nine Pine has renovated or restructured their space. In 2015, they won an ESD Grant to upgrade and expand its production facility to meet the increase in demand for New York State hard cider and to renovate their tasting room. In November 2022, Nine Pin cut the ribbon on the new canning facility, known as the Cannery, at 32 Learned Street, just around the corner from their production facility.
Other stand out items on the Nine Pin timeline include:
- March 2017 –– Nine Pin becomes available in all of Massachusetts through a partnership with distributor Berkshire Brewing Company.
- August 2017 –– Nine Pin becomes available in Connecticut through a partnership with Berkshire Brewing Company.
- March 2018 –– Nine Pin launched the Urban Orchard Project in Albany’s Washington Park.
- September 2018 –– Nine Pin becomes available in New Jersey working with distributor Remarkable Liquids.
- March 2020 –– Nine Pin quickly shifted to shipping product direct-to-consumer across NYS when temporary special permissions were allowed from the NYSLA, due to the pandemic.
- April 2020 –– Through a partnership with VinoShipper, Nine Pin was available to consumers in 35 states and D.C.
- November 2020 –– Nine Pin became available in all New York Stewart’s Shops.
- June 2021 –– Nine Pin begins Mobile Bar services at private parties in a cleverly restored and renovated horse trailer.
- January 2022 –– Nine Pin begins using the NYS Grown and Certified seal, helping shoppers identify cider they can trust.
- January 2023 –– Nine Pin offers non-alcoholic juices and sparkling teas in its Tasting Room.
Nine Pin maintains relationships with many New York orchards and farms, primarily in the Hudson Valley, and Capital Region, but also the Finger Lakes Region and Western New York. The Cidery has exciting plans for 2024 and will announce them in due time; stay tuned! Cider connoisseurs may enjoy Nine Pin’s ciders seven days a week in their Albany Tasting Room, located in the City’s Warehouse district, and from retailers across New York State, Massachusetts and New Jersey, as well as at bars and restaurants who proudly carry Nine Pin products. Residents in other states may purchase Nine Pin’s ciders through Nine Pin’s online store.