01 Jul Ash & Elm Cider’s Grand Opening Brings in Over 400 Guests
It took Andrea and Aaron Homoya roughly two years to plan, build, and brew their cider. Last Saturday, June 25, all of their hard work finally paid off when they held the grand opening of their cidery, Ash & Elm Cider.
The event kicked off at 3 p.m. By the time the wife and I arrived at 3:30 p.m. there was already a decent line to get in the door. Ash & Elm partnered with Yelp Indy to help coordinate the grand opening. The ladies of Yelp were handling the check-ins, and providing the sample tickets and wristbands.
As we walked into the tasting room, the first thing that really stood out to me was the rustic decor. When I originally visited with the Homoyas back in April, the tasting room was still under construction. Now completed, the exposed brick, open ceiling, and rustic furnishing gave the cidery a nice touch.
With four sample tickets—two for each of us—we made our way to the bar to start drinking. The line wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t move as fast as I would have liked. Luckily for me, two seats at the bar opened up, so we swooped in. Our wait time decreased substantially, and all was well in the world. Ash & Elm tapped four ciders for the event: Dry, Semi-Sweet, Headlong, and Idle Summer.
The dry and semi-sweet are somewhat standard ciders, with Ash & Elm’s twist on them. Headlong, on the other hand, is a dry-hopped cider, which is not something you see every day. Hops and cider create an interesting taste, one that I could see many disliking, but as a hop-head, I found the taste wonderful.
However, the wife and I both agreed Idle Summer was the best of the bunch. It’s their seasonal grapefruit-ginger cider, that was light and refreshing; perfect for a hot summers day. After finishing our samples, we both opted for a 12 oz. pour of Idle Summer to finish off our day.
With our glasses of cider, we decided to try some of the bar snacks Ash & Elm was serving. They had Citrus Marinated Olives, and Sweet and Smoky Nut Brittle.; both were $4 and a decent shareable size. We opted for the nut brittle as I’m not a fan of olives, and we were far from disappointed.
After finishing our drinks and nut brittle, we decided to check out the coffee shop—which the Homoyas do not own or operate—on the other side of the tasting room. Despite sharing an open floor plan with a cidery, the coffee shop still managed to feel like a coffee shop.
Around 4 p.m. Aarn called for his second tour of the day. We walked over to the production facility—next door to the tasting room—and listened to Aaron tell us about Ash & Elm. He described what the tanks were used for, where they ordered their apples, and even showed off his experimental ciders hiding away in the cooler.
When all was said and done, the Ash & Elm grand opening felt like a success. Andrea told me over 400 people showed up throughout the day, a number close to what they were expecting. If you didn’t get a chance to go to the grand opening, check out their website for hours of operation as Ash & Elm Cider is a must try.
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