U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer says his CIDER Act will be a boon for Capital Region apple producers and for the upstate economy. WAMC's Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas caught up with the senior senator from New York at Nine Pin Ciderworks in Albany.
In February 2015, Schumer announced the Senate Finance Committee passed the CIDER Act. "Which stands for Cider Investment and Development Through Excise Tax Reduction," bipartisan legislation he first introduced in 2013: "This legislation was included in the tax-extender deal that passed at the end of the year, just in time for the 2016 crop. New York has 650 apple orchards spread across the state. In the the Capital Region alone, we have 204 of them, so we have a third. All of these growers now have the opportunity to benefit if they're producing hard cider, including producers like Nine Pin in Albany and Slyboro up in Washington County. And this means that New York could be at the core of hard cider production very soon."
New York is the second largest apple producer nationwide, harvesting a total of 29.5 million bushels annually. Nine Pin is growing rapidly; the change in law came at the perfect time. "More often than not, the hard cider products our New York craft producers were making or wanted to make, were bumped into the wrong category, and were paying much too high a tax."
Schumer explained that many of New York’s hard cider producers – like Nine Pin Ciderworks in Albany – are small craft hard cider operators, and because they rely on natural products, there was very little predictability and control over the precise alcohol content of their product. "Every day, businesses like Nine Pin were at risk of having to throw out, or sell at a much higher tax rate, entire batches of freshly produced cider."
Under the previous federal law, the outdated definition of hard apple and pear cider only allowed for up to 7 percent alcohol by volume before it is taxed at the higher alcohol per volume rate of wine, and only a certain level of carbonation before it is subject to the champagne tax.
Schumer was joined by Alejandro del Peral, Founder of Nine Pin Ciderworks, who says business is booming and the cidery is barely keeping up with the demand. "As people want it, we'll make it. And it really boils down to the market, and as of right now, the market is exploding and we're excited to be a part of it." Nine Pin, which has just been producing cider for two years, has already bottled 92 different varieties of the beverage.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan says Nine Pin's expansion and growth underscores the fact that small business is the lifeblood and the future of Albany. She said the city likes to partner with small businesses, and part of the partnership with Nine Pin required that laws be changed. "Because this is a product that was not envisioned at the time that some of our ag and markets laws and some of our federal tax laws were put into place."
Under the CIDER Act, hard cider products can be up to 8.5 percent alcohol without being taxed at the higher rate. Schumer added the new law is now set to ensure New York growers’ and producers’ ability to compete overseas and expand their business for years to come.
According to 2012 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), there are approximately 1,365 orchards, with 47,148 acres, across New York State that could benefit from Schumer's tax credit if they produce hard apple cider. In the Capital Region alone, there were 204 orchards as of 2012:
- In Albany County, there are 11 orchards that could benefit.
- In Columbia County, there are 34 orchards that could benefit.
- In Fulton County, there are 9 orchards that could benefit.
- In Greene County, there are 19 orchards that could benefit.
- In Montgomery County, there are 14 orchards that could benefit.
- In Rensselaer County, there are 23 orchards that could benefit.
- In Saratoga County, there are 30 orchards that could benefit.
- In Schenectady County, there are 6 orchards that could benefit.
- In Schoharie County, there are 20 orchards that could benefit.
- In Washington County, there are 38 orchards that could benefit.
“Nine Pin and our partner orchards are excited about the passage of the federal CIDER Act and we appreciate Senator Schumer's efforts on this critical piece of legislation for the craft hard cider industry. As our company continues to promote New York agriculture by producing great-tasting New York hard cider, the CIDER Act more fairly addresses our tax liability under the law, allowing for us to expand our markets and permitting us greater freedom to create different styles of cider for our fans to enjoy,” said del Peral.
“Being a small family owned apple grower, we are excited to partner with NinePin Ciderworks and to be part of the growth of the hard cider industry. We are proud to produce apples and cider in the great state of New York and are happy to have an additional way to sell our product,” said Duane Lindsey, of Lindsey's Country Store.
“We at Slyboro Cider House are celebrating Congress' recent passage of the CIDER Act! I very much appreciate the work of Senator Schumer and his staff, and were thrilled to host them for the announcement of the creation of the CIDER Act April of 2013. This bipartisan and broadly supported bill makes much needed and sensible changes to the legal definition of hard cider which will expand opportunities for craft beverage makers and apple orchardists across the country,” said Dan Wilson, Owner of the Slyboro Cider House. This is how government should work!”
Nine Pin Cider was co-founded by Alejandro del Peral and Sonya del Peral, a mother-and-son team, in 2013. Nine Pin produces bottle, can and wholesale products using local produce sourced by local orchards in the Capital Region, including Lindsay's Orchard in Rexford. The introduction of can products in 2015 greatly expands the company's ability to enter new markets.
