It's Hard Apple Cider Season! Here's Where to Find Cideries In DC

10/13/2022

How you like them apples?

Put down the daiquiri and step away from the rosé. With summer in the rearview, our sipping sights are set on pumpkin beer, hot toddies and the most beloved fall libation of all, hard cider.

Cider has become popular in DC with several cideries springing up in recent years offering refreshing and unique flavors. Here's what you can expect to find at the four locations in the city when you're ready for a hard cider taste test.

Make sure to review safety protocols at the cideries before planning your trip.

Bottles and cans are available for purchase from all three producers. Or you can order through the Drizly app if you prefer to have your cider delivered right to your door.

ANXO Cidery & Tasting Room
711 Kennedy St NW and 300 Florida Ave NW

Anxo kicked off DC's cider culture in D.C. when it opened in 2016. It expanded its footprint in May 2017 with a larger cidery and tasting room in Washington’s Brightwood neighborhood. offers flights, pints, and food inspired by the Basque region of Spain. Cider choices change from time to time and are categorized by flavor profile — bright, structured, fruit-forward, and rustic. Anxo also serves collaborations with other craft cideries around the U.S.

The vibe: The Brightwood Park taproom is more laid-back, possibly due to its location tucked down an alley, or the random movies or documentaries playing on TVs. The building’s exposed brick feels warm without being too industrial.

Capitol Cider House
3930 Georgia Avenue NW

Capitol Cider is hyper-local focused, sourcing all its goods from within 200 miles of the US Capitol Building. They have a few of their own concoctions -- craft cider with modern flavors --and many ciders from Mid-Atlantic producers that are otherwise hard to find in DC. Fair warning: If you like sweet ciders, be aware that many things on the menu are dry (and they really are quite dry). The bar is outfitted with ten taps for cider, plus one for mead and one for beer. A bottle list of ciders brings the options up to around 40. A few wines and cider-based cocktails round out the menu, such as the Winter is Coming, a hot cocktail featuring fresh cider, dry spiced rum, mulling spices and tonic syrup. Yum! Snacks include gluten-free Colombian-style empanadas, hot dogs, and (not gluten-free) Sri Lankan roti wraps from local purveyor Short Eats.

The vibe: Cool and casual neighborhood hang that happens to have 5,500 pounds of boxed fruit and a cider mill on hand. The large windows and colorful murals behind the bar brighten up a space that is otherwise strictly in reclaimed barn doors/corrugated metal/exposed concrete territory. A small patio facing Shepherd Street offers 20 more seats. There’s no TV, so pick up a board game near the front door and settle in. It’s also worth noting that the Cider House is a family-friendly spot.

Supreme Core
2400 T Street NEt

Focused on using local fruit and barrel-aging, Supreme Core features nearly a dozen ciders on tap, including seasonal offerings as well as its flagship dry-style cider, Micawber. Try the Gingerbread Man, a winter favorite made with cloves, mulling spices ginger, cinnamon and orange peel -- pure nostalgia in a can! While focused on putting its own stamp on locally produced cider, Supreme Core also collaborates with others on specialty beverages, including D.C. beer maker Right Proper Brewing Company, and Charm City Meadworks in Baltimore. NOTE: The taproom is temporarily closed; expected to reopen in November.

The vibe: Spacious and industrial. You walk past rows of stainless steel tanks and an indoor cornhole setup to get to the bar. Wooden gin and bourbon barrels holding cider line one wall. Furnishings are sparse, a reminder that you’re drinking in the cinder block warehouse where cider is made.

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