A pair of cider aficionados determined to build a business rooted in their enthusiasm for the beverage on Thursday will open a specialty pub devoted almost exclusively on cider and mead, a fermented honey beverage.
“What we decided was, right now what the industry really needs was not another cider maker, but a place to drink it at,” said Otto Radtke, co-owner of Great Society Cider & Mead.
Radtke and his wife, Brenda, live in Long Beach and own the pub together. Established near the crossing of Broadway and Atlantic Avenue, Great Society is the first business the couple have started.
The pub’s interior, appointed with light-colored wood elements, rustic-looking tables, a bartop crafted from copper sheet and a hand-chalked list of beverages on draft may look like a familiar sight to any brewpub enthusiast.
The big difference, of course, is that list bears the names of 20 different varieties of cider and mead — not beer — and a mural Brenda Radtke painted in a style reminiscent of a revolutionary propaganda depicts crimson hands raising pint glasses to the slogan “Rise up cider nation.”
Thus far, it may be possible to interpret cider nation as the 1,500 or so people who Brenda Radtke said already follow Great Society on social media platforms. The pub’s Facebook page alone has nearly 1,200 likes.
“The demand has caught up. We are one of the few pubs that are cider-focused,” she said.
Growth of U.S. cider sales
Cider sales in the United States have grown substantially over the first half of the decade, but are seriously overshadowed by beer sales.
Data provided by Euromonitor International, a London market research firm, shows U.S. cider sales ballooned 445 percent from 2010 to 2015, when drinkers purchased nearly $1.8 billion worth of cider and perry, the latter term referring to the drink prepared from fermented pear juice.
By comparison, U.S. beer sales grew 7 percent over the same time period to nearly $105 billion in 2015.
From Euromonitor’s perspective, cider sales’ “explosive growth” phase may be over, as the beverage industry’s recent emphasis on hard sodas for consumers who want sweet, yet alcoholic drinks may detract from cider sales.
That could lead to cider manufacturers switching to beverages with dry taste profiles. Although Euromonitor’s report observes that English consumption patterns show men and women across the Atlantic tend to be equally fond of the drink, Americans perceive sweet beverages as being produced for female consumers.
Otto Radtke is the former general manager of Alpine Village in Torrance, where in 2012, he organized a craft beer festival called Bierfest in advance of the Bavarian-themed shopping center’s famed Oktoberfest celebration.
It’s a different story at Great Society. The Radtkes have a few beers stocked in a refrigerator, but the emphasis is on cider and mead drinks that are much different than what one may find while browsing a supermarket’s beverage aisle.
Sweet, sour — even salty
Whereas Euromonitor’s data provides a big picture perspective of the cider industry, the drinks offered at Great Society’s taps are produced to more idiosyncratic specifications.
“It has all the range of wine, but a beer mentality because you can drink a pint of it,” Otto Radtke said.
Great Society’s opening day lineup includes drinks like Thatcher’s Green Goblin, a mellow English take on cider and Grand Opening Gose from 101 Cider House in Westlake Village.
The latter drink is a tart, briny translation of gose — a beer style known for its sour and salty character. Anderson Valley Brewing Co. and Modern Times are among California brewers who produce gose.
Mead may be even more familiar to American drinkers. Produced from fermented honey and perhaps best known in popular culture as a Viking drink, mead can have something of a wine-like character with a subtle sweetness.
Great Society’s mead selections include Strawberry Mead from The Honest Abe Cidery, a Gardena company.
Otto and Brenda Radkte invested some $250,000 drawn from their savings and collected from family and friends to open Great Society. The pub is set to open with 14 employees and a menu that, so far, includes meaty and Vegan hamburgers. The couple also plan to serve gluten-free macaroni and cheese since customers with gluten-free diets may look to cider as an alternative to beer.
Great Society Cider & Mead is at 601 E. Broadway in Long Beach. Information: 562-270-5625.
