Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Keilen. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The Idea of North 2 South Cider Works started with the discovery of the wonderful apple orchards throughout Northern GA back in 2012. Having both recently been transplanted to Georgia from Michigan for different reasons, life-long friends Chad Keilen and Garrett Feldpausch wanted to get back into their high school passion; to make intensely refreshing hard apple cider using locally sourced apples. That falls harvest and hobby batch was just the beginning of what would eventually become North 2 South Cider Works.
Fast-forward 6 years to Fall 2018 for the Grand Opening of the actual physical location on North 2 South Cider Works, at 1544 Forest Parkway in Lake City, GA. where the cidery has been open each Friday for unique cider tastings. You can taste such delicious flavor combinations like Watermelon and Basil, Mint and Lavender, or Pineapple and Jalapeno, to name a few while sitting and enjoying good times with friends. You can also find North 2 South Cider Works in cans and on draft at local drinking establishments and growler shops around the state of Georgia.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of the most difficult challenges that we faced while starting the cidery was determining how to get fully licensed as a “cidery” in the state of Georgia. As it is relatively new here in GA, determining how we would be set up and how we had to adjust our product ABV to conform to the laws was tough for us and took a lot longer than we had originally anticipated, but alas, we made it!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We take a lot of pride in that both Garrett and I are from Michigan, which is the 3rd largest apple-producing state. We were making hard apple cider before we were even old enough to legally buy it! When we were starting our cidery here in GA, there were 72 cideries existing in the state of Michigan at the time; we were only the 5th one in the state of GA! It still amazes me how many people in the state of GA are not familiar with cider and truly don’t know what it is or how it is made. Fortunately, we love to teach!
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice to anyone starting out is to be relentless. If you have a passion for something, act on it. Let that fire be your guide, never give up and don’t go away. Eventually, you will be living a life exactly as you intended to construct it because your vision becomes your reality. If a task seems too difficult and daunting, break it down into smaller sub-tasks that work towards your common goal.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@n2sciderworks.com
- Website: www.n2sciderworks.com
- Instagram: n2sciderworks
- Facebook: @n2sciderworks
