​Cider Corner: The Partnership That Blossomed a Mainstay for 2 Towns​

What started as a collaboration and promotion for the local professional women’s soccer team in Portland, the Two Thorns brand by 2 Towns Ciderhouse is now a mainstay on the seasonal roster. Teaming with Portland Thorns FC back in 2016, 2 Towns created Two Thorns to be sold in the team’s stadium and at the Corvallis, Oregon tasting room.

That collaboration has blossomed. The popular cider is now a seasonal and a way to promote the start of the Thorns season each year.

“The Two Thorns cider has gained popularity with a wide audience by way of its uniquely appealing profile, but I do think the partnership definitely helped cultivate a passionate following of the cider right out of the gate through their supporters,” said 2 Towns Marketing Director Scott Bugni. “It’s hard to beat a cold pint of raspberry rose petal cider on a sunny spring afternoon in the stadium while cheering on the team.”

The two companies work together, often with a joint announcement to kick off the season, and the cider is featured in the stadium throughout the season.

The cider was born at the outset of the cidery’s partnership with Portland Thorns FC, which kicked off during their 2016 season.

“Our cidermakers played around with some recipes utilizing rose petals, and eventually found that the lovely floral notes of the rose petals were complimented well by the tartness of raspberries,” Bugni said. 2 Towns invited players like Meghan Klingenberg and Tobin Heath along with some of the Thorns FC office team to visit the orchard and cidermaking facility and help make the inaugural batch of Two Thorns.

The cidery hosted a friendly competition between its marketing teams to develop a couple label concepts and had fans vote on their favorite.

“Their designers won the label vote by a healthy margin, and we used that label design for a number of years and even had the honor of adding a second star above their logo for the 2018 label, after their NWSL Championship victory in 2017,” Bugni said.

The popularity of the cider eventually landed it a spot on 2 Towns rotating seasonal lineup, which meant going from limited availability in bottles/draft to full distribution across the entire footprint in 6-pack, 12-ounce cans.

Bugni said they retired the original label during that transition and designed the present-day label, inspired by a partnership with Thorns FC and the Rose City while giving it a more cohesive look with the other label artwork in our fruit seasonal line.

The two have done a few smaller collaboration ciders throughout their history, but nothing quite on the level of Two Thorns, Bugni added.

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