Cider Corner: How The GLINTCAP Has Helped Industry Grow

The Great Lakes International Cider And Perry Competition is now on to its 16th annual event and is scheduled to be in Grand Rapids, Michigan from May 18-20 with registration for professional and amateur cidermakers open until April 15.

Event organizer, Eric West, spoke with Brewer during CiderCon in Richmond and shared how he has seen the cider industry grow because of the event.

“It’s not about giving out medals and awards, it really is about giving feedback to cider makers and raising the floor of cider quality,” he said. “Not just for commercial products, but also for amateur cidermakers.”

One of the neat things West said he has seen over the years is that an amateur entrant will take the feedback they get from entering the non-commercial division and use that in their business plans.

READ MORE: Albemarle CiderWorks Brings Home Coveted GLINTCAP Trophy

“They make better cider and they end up going pro,” West said. “We see those same entrants migrating from the non-commercial division to the commercial division over time. To me, one of the most interesting aspects is that we are really helping raise the quality of cider that’s available in the marketplace.

“We can do that by giving really honest feedback to the judges and not just handing out medals and trophies.”

The competition was ​initially an offshoot of the homebrewing community. GLINTCAP has always been a ​Beer Judge Certification Program registered competition​ with​ BJCP​-rated​ judges, but over time, ​West said the contest has gone from​ about 60% non​-​commercial entries to​ now about ​75​% of the expected 2,000 entries to be from professional cideries now.

With more than 15 categories to enter, West feels it’s a great event to get quality feedback and help raise the level of cider quality across the country.

​More information on GLINTCAP is here.

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