The Original Roots of Portland Cider’s Gold-Medal Champ

A while back, our award-winning Sorta Sweet Cider went away. We knew it wouldn’t be forever, though, and we recently relaunched it with a new name: Original Gold, a nod to its growing collection of gold medals, and its status as one of Portland Cider’s very first ciders. There’s more to the story, though…

Portland Cider founders Jeff and Lynda were fans of traditional, dry English-style cider right from the start. But there weren’t a lot of those to be found in the Pacific Northwest back in the early 2000s. For years, Jeff would make the trip to his favorite British Columbia cidery a couple of times a year to stock up on the kind of cider that he really liked. Ultimately, that wasn’t a very cost-effective, sustainable way for the couple to source their cider, so naturally, they decided to make their own! They bought up gallons and gallons of juice pressed locally from English cider apples, hauled it home, and learned how to make the kind of cider that they really loved to drink. 

By 2010, the Parrishes were producing upwards of 60 gallons of their homemade cider per year, and their friends (and eager taste-testers) encouraged them to take it to the next level. They took a leap of faith, quit their corporate jobs, and Portland Cider Co. was officially born in a small production facility in Oregon City.

They knew they wanted to offer a dry cider and a slightly sweeter one, and they wanted the names to make it very clear what the difference between them was. Kinda Dry is a more traditional dry cider, and Sorta Sweet was more appealing to people who expected their cider to be a little more juicy. The two ciders share the same short, simple ingredient list, but Sorta Sweet had more fresh, unfermented apple juice and a lower alcohol content. Both ciders have been consistently popular throughout the company’s 10-year history, and both have won awards, but Sorta Sweet’s list of regional, national and international awards grew longer and longer. At the same time, however, Kinda Dry was more popular in the marketplace, which didn’t add up. The palates of the competition judges couldn’t possibly be that different from cider fans in our home town!

In the meantime, all sorts of cider companies popped up, and some of the larger, national brands were producing ciders that were far sweeter than anything Portland Cider had been producing. By comparison, Sorta Sweet really was just a bit sweet. As the cider selection in stores and bars had evolved over the years, it was time for its name to evolve, too. 

In the two months since we relaunched Sorta Sweet as Original Gold, it’s already earned another gold medal in the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition. And if you’ve avoided Sorta Sweet because you don’t like cloying cider, consider giving Original Gold a shot. Jeff compares the taste of OG to biting into a fresh, juicy apple. It has a clean, honest apple flavor, and pairs perfectly with any spicy food—especially the Thai Beef on the menu at the Clackamas Taproom!