Because you can do so much better than a cider made from concentrate.

At Brick River Cider, we craft our crisp, authentic hard cider using ONLY fresh-pressed fruit juices sourced directly from Midwestern fruit growers.

This is one reason why we are the leading hard cider brand in our region. 

Therefore, we founded Brick River Cider to support regional fruit growing in a meaningful way, helping sustain a local supply chain for fruit growers in the Midwest and uniting our communities.

BR cider is currently sold in more than 800 venues including Walmart, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's. 

Our unique fresh ingredients define our ciders. Compare this to the hardest cider in America, which is made from rehydrated apple juice concentrate sourced from around the world, while often including artificial flavorings.

Brick River Cider currently takes the second largest share of the hard cider market in our region of distribution, sitting just behind the industry giant Angry Orchard and ahead of roughly 10 other hard ciders distributed in the region.

Our history spans back to 1869 when founder Russ John’s great grandfather Theodore established a homestead farm with 130 apple trees in southeast Nebraska. The John family has grown apples in the Midwest ever since!

Here's a 150-year-old affidavit as proof of our history: 

Here’s the journey of Brick River Cider so far:

Established in 2018, Brick River Cider is St. Louis’ first dedicated ciderworks, committed to crafting exceptional hard cider made exclusively from regional fresh-pressed fruit.

We named our cider Brick River to honor the connection between the City of St. Louis and nearby rural communities. St. Louis was once a major source of brick making, and the rivers carried those bricks in every direction, enabling communities to be built throughout our region.

“Each brick reminds us of our strong connections. We continue to forge these connections today by bringing the fruits of the region back to the city and crafting authentic hard ciders to celebrate with friends and family.” - Russ John, Founder of Brick River Cider

Since launching, Brick River Cider has recorded sustained year-on-year growth, even during the Covid-19 pandemic years when our primary sales channels (bars and restaurants) had been forced to close.

We have grown case sales by over 50% a year, every year since our inception except 2020 during the pandemic.

The popularity of hard cider is growing with each year and the market shows no sign of slowing. 

In the United States alone, the hard cider market – which was worth less than $20 million 10 years ago – is now valued at more than $400 million.

It’s reported that the North American cider market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% over the next four years and reach a valuation of around $1.2 billion by 2026.

With a growing market and high demand for our authentic cider, there has never been a better time to scale the company and expand our story from St. Louis into neighboring states and beyond.

Within the next five years, we expect to be the leading hard cider brand in a multi-state region surrounding Missouri.

The wheels of growth are already in motion. 

In December 2021, after selling our two-millionth 12oz serving of hard cider, we signed the lease for a second location in Kansas City, which is due to open in Fall 2022. 

This facility will increase our cider-making capacity by 400%. 

To illustrate this, we will expand production from our current capacity of 3,500 barrels per year to an estimated capacity of 15,000 to 18,000 barrels (equating to around 250,000 cases of 12oz cans) annually.

We expect to be selling at full capacity within 4 to 5 years. We have come so far in the last five years organically.

Now, we want to open the doors of Brick River Cider to the Wefunder community and invite YOU to invest in the company today.

The funds we raise in this community round will be put to work in marketing and trade promotion to accelerate our growth, while simultaneously boosting our business infrastructure and working capital as we go full steam in our new ciderworks facility.

As we are poised to take this next step, this is the perfect time to invest in Brick River Cider.

Depending on the level of your investment, you can enjoy six tiers of rewards, including everything from merchandise to a full happy hour service for your friends, family, and team. It’s our way of saying thank you for joining us on this exciting journey.

Let’s raise a glass to our future together!