Executive Summary:

Saxon Cider, Dresden’s original and only Cider House was established in the Baroque City of Dresden in the State of Saxony in 2014. This Artisanal Cider House is located in Reick and is the proud maker of McCanna’s Hard and Heavy and The Artisanal Series Ciders.

It was founded by Keith M^cCanna: the current owner-operator and chief cider maker and his wife Katharina. Mr. M^cCanna was first a chemist & hobby cider maker, who then honed his cider making skills at the Cider and Perry Academy in the UK. The initial investments to create this Cider House came from his personal savings, family investments, contributions from membership fees & from crowd funding through Dresden Durchstarter / Startnext.

Our ciders are hand-pressed and hand-crafted in small batches using organic fruit and 100% organic juices from small orchards and press houses all over Saxony and along the Elbe River Valley. We offer a healthy alternative,  a 100 %  apple and fruit juice-based, gluten free, cider without any artificial flavourings or colours, unfiltered, unpasteurized: a product from this land, created with care and quality by our family for the people of Saxony. A new tradition with an old heritage: one to be proud enough of to put in your glass.

Our ciders like our family are a blend of the old world and new. We combine old world heirloom fruit with traditional German varieties and recipes to create our unique blends and tastes, using both traditional methods and modern German technology, with only the best ending up in the bottles. At present we have two lines and six separate varieties to appease the palate. The Hard & Heavy is sure to be a hit with traditional cider drinkers and the Artisanal Ciders with their new-age blends are sure to be popular among the younger generation, and women looking for something other than beer. This line we hope to expand by several varieties by next year, with many new types presently under taste trials. Our first years production is estimated to be approximately 1o 000 Liters.

In the near future these ciders will be available in bottles or on tap at selected pubs, restaurants, and wine stores within Dresden and in our own private Tasting Room. You can also find us within our own authentic Cider Wagon  at local fairs, festivals and events throughout the year.

Our goal within the next 3 years is to double our production, incorporate other organic fruits into our ciders and expand our distribution by hooking up with local distributors so that you can find us on store shelves within Dresden. Adding a Marketing and PR Rep. to our staff will be essential for this. Future plans also include a small family run restaurant & patio connected to the taproom and the opening an internet shop and workshop within our Cider House. There, individuals interested in learning the art of home brewing can come and create their very own high quality homemade wine and cider using our expertise, equipment and space. Further into the future we hope to be able to grow and source all of our craft cider apples and fruits from our own organic orchards.

Our success is dependent upon the Elbe River Valley. Here in Dresden we are surrounded by apple orchards, apple storehouses, family run orchards & juicing houses. As well as having some of the world’s leading apple experts from the Dresden-Pilnitz Fruit Institute nearby, creators of the Pinova apple. We also have access to state of the art German apple processing technology from the likes of Speidel & Voran. In the Elbe Valley microclimate, we can cultivate apple varieties from all over the globe to create unique and special blends for our musts. The people of Dresden are seeking a healthy alternative to beer and this we can offer in a refreshing new format. Cider is growing and reviving all over the globe, and we are the first to bring it to Dresden. It’s all in the apples and all we do is simply assist them in becoming great apple cider with great flavours and Dresden knows apples.

Keith R. M^cCanna Geschäftsführer Sachsen Cider