Finnriver: Crafting Cider, Cultivating Connection
At a time when things have never felt more divisive, I hopped in the car on a beautiful spring Sunday morning, heading north from our little farm in Lewis County up to Chimacum, Washington, for a tasting tour at Finnriver Farm and Cidery, a grassroots organization hell-bent on reconnecting with the land and growing community.
Before I sampled Finnriver’s cider at a collaborative tasting menu dinner at Chicory in Olympia last fall, I could swear I wasn’t into cider. Not quite as heavy as beer but sweeter and heavier than wine, I just didn’t find it very interesting. But with each new dish Elise served, the folks at Finnriver placed a perfectly crisp cider pairing in front of me that made me question my hardline stance.
With the daikon radish cake (razor clam and scallop XO), they presented Tideline, a seasonal botanical cider infused with elements from Hama Hama's ancestral forests and coastlines, immersing their distinct terroir in Finnriver's fermentation and creating a harmonious blend of trees, flowers, fruit, and cider.
A baked celeriac salad followed, paired with Autumn’s Blush. This cider honors the French Kir cocktail tradition by blending bright, dry-fermented high-acid apples with an infusion of organic black currants, adding depth and a lovely pink hue and blurring the lines between orchard, fruit, and vine.
By the time the Basque cheesecake rolled around, paired with Finnriver’s Chai Brandywine, I was quite hooked.
Unlike a traditional hard cider which emphasizes “apple-forward” flavors and highlights specific apple varieties known for their tannins, acidity, and complex aromatics, “contemporary ciders”, which in my opinion are the stars of Finnriver’s stellar lineup, embrace a wider range of apple bases, have lower tannins, and higher acidity which creates a broader canvas for seasonal ingredients and botanicals like lavender, hops, and habanero, to name a few, in addition to the apple base.
As I researched where to get my hands on Finnriver cider, I wondered if I was the only one late to the contemporary cider party. It turns out the world of cider (who knew there was an entire world?) is experiencing a vibrant resurgence. I knew my next step would be to visit the orchard to learn more about their process.
When I arrived on Sunday afternoon in early May, the farm was buzzing just as you’d expect it would be. Families, couples, and singletons like myself wandered around the grounds of the Cider Garden, reveling in the warmth of the spring sun, mouths watering at the smells coming from Finnriver Kitchen as well as various food vendors hawking wood-fired pizza, fresh oysters, tacos with carefully curated PNW ingredients, and freshly churned ice cream.
Setting the rumblings of my stomach aside, I met up with a small group of cider connoisseurs before heading out across the cider garden toward the orchard with our guide.
As he walked us through a grove of apple trees, handing us each a glass for our first pour, he launched into the history and process behind Finnriver Farm and Cidery.
The Finnriver team grows more than 20 varieties of traditional and heirloom apples in their organic orchard, which are featured in both their traditional and specialty ciders. In addition to the apples they grow on the farm, they also source organic Washington dessert apples for their contemporary ciders and glean wild and homestead apples from their neighbors for their community-harvest "Farmstead" cider.
Mason bees get the process started by cross-pollinating the apple trees. Honey bees may get a lot of press these days, but unlike Mason bees, considered “messy pollinators” who hop from tree to tree, honey bees tend to collect pollen from one tree, then take it directly to the hive for honey production. To be fair, Mason bees are solitary and tend to forage closer to their nesting sites (typically within a few hundred feet). This makes them ideal for targeted pollination within a specific orchard. Honey bees, social insects from large colonies, will fly much farther (up to several miles) in search of the most abundant nectar and pollen sources, meaning they might get distracted by other blooming plants outside the target orchard.
Apples are harvested in the fall, then ground into mash and pressed. The resulting apple juice is fermented using both traditional and contemporary methods to refine and create select batches. Some ciders are small-batch, feature seasonal ingredients, and are labor-intensive, while others are produced with contemporary methods and are available year-round.
It may be remotely located, but Finnriver is definitely at the forefront of the Pacific Northwest cider revival. It is driven by a commitment to fermenting a vision of good land stewardship, a renewed and inclusive rural community, and a vibrant, locally focused food culture.
Finnriver’s journey began with Keith and Chrystie Kisler, whose love for the Olympic Peninsula led them to a 33-acre organic blueberry farm in Chimacum's Center Valley. Purchased in 2004 with partners Kate Dean and Will O'Donnell from mentors Lige and Kay Christian, who had already begun vital stream restoration, the farm was aptly named "Finnriver"—a nod to their children, family farming dreams, the local watershed, and an Irish legend symbolizing a deep connection to land and wisdom.
Initially focused on diverse organic farming, a serendipitous taste of Lige Christian’s homemade hard cider one evening sparked a new passion for the Kislers. When their early farm partners moved on, the Kislers, facing the challenge of preserving their farm, collaborated with local land trusts and community investors. This support, including protective conservation easements, paved the way for cider production and brought Keith Kisler together with Eric Jorgensen in 2008. Eric, a former raft guide and teacher, joined Keith to launch Finnriver Cidery, dedicating themselves to reviving the artisan cider craft.
As Finnriver’s cider ambitions blossomed, they quickly outgrew their original barn. In 2012, they embraced the chance to lease and revitalize the nearby 50-acre historic Chimacum Dairy. Backed by local investors, this move allowed them to create a dedicated cider orchard and a vibrant space demonstrating how organic agriculture, a thriving rural economy, and ecological restoration could flourish harmoniously.
And Finnriver's story is still evolving. Keith now channels his energy into his family's grain-growing heritage with The Chimacum Valley Grainery at the original home farm, which also thrives as home to Stellar J Farm's organic blueberry and diverse produce operation. Though now a significant operation with thousands of cider trees, numerous land partners, and a dedicated crew of over 50, Finnriver’s heart remains deeply rooted in its founding ideals: friendship, a profound connection to the land, and the union of organic farming, craft fermentation, and spirited community building.
Many of the stories I share focus on “community building,” which might come across as a buzzy/trendy phrase that people throw around quite a bit. But “community building” is built into Finnriver’s mission statement, and it’s a big part of their effort to “create deep-rooted and fruitful connections to the land we farm and to the living community as a whole”.
So what is community building, exactly, and why do I like to talk about it so much?
Maybe it’s just me, but at the end of the day, I often feel a bit brutalized and beat up by companies and businesses who treat me simply as a transaction. It's like I'm not seen as a person, but merely as a data point, a potential sale, or a problem to be efficiently processed rather than a human being with individual needs and concerns. If I press you, I’m sure you could think of an organization or two whose profit motives often overshadow basic human decency and respect.
When businesses like Finnriver talk about "building community," they aim for something much deeper and more meaningful than just a transactional relationship with their customers. They strive to create a sense of belonging, a shared identity, and active participation around their mission. Finnriver is a prime example of how rural economic development, land and resource conservation, and sustainable agriculture can converge and thrive. They have discarded the simple “seller-buyer” dynamic and are instead fostering a network of people who feel connected to their mission, and just as notably, to each other through their cider making.
It makes sense that they would also be committed to environmental responsibility and proper land management. Certified as a B Corp in 2015, they are certified organic and a salmon-safe farm. They encourage consumers to return bottles and boxes to the farm or nearby farmers markets. Pressed apple mash is fed to pigs, and CO2 from the fermentation process is piped to greenhouses to help their tomatoes grow.
Finnriver Farm and Cidery beautifully demonstrates that innovative cidermaking and profound land stewardship can be one and the same. Their ciders, infused with seasonal ingredients and unique botanical notes, are a direct result of their commitment to the earth. This ethos extends naturally into the welcoming community space they foster, where each sip encourages a deeper, more vital connection to the land itself, proving that the best flavors are those rooted in place and shared with purpose.
