26 Apr Ash & Elm Cider Coming To Indianapolis’ Near East Side
After a decade of homebrewing, some international trips, and one failed business name later, Aaron and Andrea Homoya are now a few months away from opening the newest cidery in the heart of Indianapolis.
Ash and Elm Cider, located just east of Downtown at 2104 East Washington Street, has been years in the making for the husband and wife duo. And if it wasn’t for Andrea, they may have never reached this point.
“I’ve been homebrewing for about 11, 12 years, and along the way I’ve thought many times about starting my own brewery, but I guess never did,” said Aaron. “I needed an executive. I’m the kind of person that has a lot of ideas and I’ll put research into it and decide that someone else is already doing it.”
“We decided we’re not just going to research it for a couple days and decide not to do it,” Andrea told me. “We were going to truly research it for a couple months and decide if it’s feasible and, if it is, then we would proceed to the next step.”
Their research led them to focus Aaron’s homebrewing skills solely on cider making. They noticed most establishments that offered cider did so as a side project and not their main stream of revenue. With an untapped market staring them in the face, they realized opening a cidery was the next step.
Now came the hard part: coming up with a name. Andrea told me they came up with “Redemption Cider” and immediately loved it; so much so they registered the domain name and created graphics for the company. But in an instant, they were sent back to the drawing board.
“I got a text from a coworker and it was just a picture text that said ‘Redemption Ale Works Coming Soon’,” said Andrea. “That threw us into a tailspin for a couple months cause we just couldn’t come up with a different name.”
After some soul searching, Aaron and Andrea landed on the name Ash and Elm.
“Those are two trees (Ash and Elm) that are endangered species in Indiana,” said Andrea. “Cider was kind of an endangered product for a long time and now it’s having its revitalization. So somehow loosely it’s all connected to our love of the outdoors, conservation, and it sounded good together.”
The duo then spent time looking for a building to house their new business venture. They wanted a location close to Downtown Indianapolis, but Aaron told me it was difficult to find one that wasn’t taken by a brewery or didn’t have glaring issues. Then they checked out the location on East Washington Street and knew it was meant to be.
“We live in Holy Cross, so we care about this area,” said Aaron. “Naturally, we were drawn to this area.”
With a home for their business, they could begin working on their ciders. Ash and Elm will only produce ciders, but they plan to distinguish themselves quickly in the market. Currently, the cider market is full of overly sweet ciders, which appeal to the mass market; however, Aaron and Andrea want to take cider back to its roots.
They plan to do this by starting with 100 percent apple juice from Uncle John’s Orchard in Michigan. Their juice will come without artificial ingredients, giving them the best base to start with. From there they plan to keep their ciders closer to the dry side, with just enough sweetness to pull in that part of the market. By making drier ciders, you taste more of the intricate flavors instead of having your palate overwhelmed by the sugary taste.
Ash and Elm will have a dedicated tasting room that’s close to a spacious 1,000 sq. ft. and will be housed next door to the production facility. The production facility offers 7,000 sq. ft. which allows them to expand in the future. They will also serve food, like sandwiches and snacks.
While construction of the tasting room, kitchen, and production facility are still underway, Aaron and Andrea plan to open their doors in June.
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