Which brings us, blessedly, to Olympia, Washington, and Three Magnets Brewing Company, where on Thursday, Sept. 17, a perfect storm of apple wizardry will descend in celebration of Washington Cider Week (Sept. 10–20, mark your calendars, set your cider clocks). This isn’t just a tap takeover. This is a pulp prophecy, an apple-borne altar call, featuring not one but two luminary ciderhouses: the theologically playful Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider of Portland and the resolutely local Whitewood Cider Co. of Olympia.

Yes, the cider gods have aligned, fermented, aged in oak, and decided to show up in person. Nat West and David White—two dear friends, ex-cider hobbyists turned full-blown flavor evangelists—will be in attendance to bless your palate, share wild orchard tales, and possibly drop cider koans about heirloom apples and yeasts you can’t pronounce.

Meet the Makers (And Their Juicy Offerings)

Reverend Nat West began his pulpy pilgrimage when a Portland neighbor practically begged him to take away some backyard apples in 2004. Nat said yes. Fermentation happened. Friends got tipsy. Word spread. Weekly free cider parties became a thing. Eventually, by 2011, Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider was born, likely the first of its kind in Portland, unless you count that one guy with the bathtub in the basement. Nat also once haunted the streets of Olympia, where he crossed paths with a young, cider-curious Nathan Reilly, co-owner of Three Magnets.

David White took a quieter path. In 2011, he started pressing and fermenting in Olympia, eventually launching Whitewood Cider Co. in 2013, the region’s first legitimate craft cidery wedged between the cider-saturated poles of Seattle and Portland. With partner Heather Ringwood, Whitewood champions the mighty heirloom apple—Gravensteins, Winesaps, Jonathans, and the noble, unpronounceable Spitzenburgs—blending them into nuanced, small-batch expressions of place, patience, and pomological passion.

Eight Ciders. Infinite Joy.

Each cidery will bring four exquisite offerings—some flagship, some experimental oddities too ephemeral to survive beyond the week. There will be flights. There will be cider cocktails. Executive chef Kyle Wnuk will craft special food pairings to match. Swag will fly. Palates will perk. You will ask yourself why you don’t drink cider more often, then promptly remedy the situation.

Let us now sip and speak the cider gospel:

Whitewood Cider Co. Offerings

Red Cap Cider (Medium-Dry, 5.8% ABV)
Like biting into a Washington heirloom beneath a rain-washed sky. Unfiltered. French oak-kissed. A daily ritual cider for the faithful and the just slightly thirsty.

Summer Switchel (Sweet, 4.6% ABV)
Cider meets shrub in a juicy Gravenstein heat-beater. Think lemonade stand run by alchemists. Sweet, sour, spicy, perfect. Drink five. Do yoga.

Northland (Medium-Dry, 6.8% ABV)
A traditionalist’s dream—fermented slow, blended later, lightly back-sweetened for balance. Tastes like floral spice, ripe stone fruit, and summer memories you wish you had.

Barrel-Aged Kingston Black (Dry, 9.7% ABV)
The big one. Bold. Boozy. Whiskey-barrel-matured and aged 1.5 years. Hints of vanilla, tangerine, ghost stories, and orchard moonlight. You’re welcome.

Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Lineup

Revival (Semi-Dry, 6.0% ABV)
A melting pot in a glass—Washington apples + Mexican piloncillo + saison yeast + tropical secret cultures. It’s your new everyday cider, if your everyday includes whispered pineapple confessions.

Fresh Hopped Hallelujah Hopricot (Off-Dry, 6.7% ABV)
Only once a year, and only with the freshest hops. Cascade cones rush from farm to fermenter in under three hours. The result? Grassy, nutty, herbal, borderline divine.

Fruit of the Garden of Good and Evil (Semi-Dry/Chili-Hot, 4.5% ABV)
Scotch bonnet wheat beer + ghost pepper tepache + apricot madness = one of four kegs ever made. You may weep, and that’s okay.

The Passion (Semi-Sweet/Tart, 6.9% ABV)
Passionfruit. Toasted coconut. Mexican vanilla. Heirloom apples. More berlinerweisse than cider. More electric than your first kiss. Available now. Regret later.

In Conclusion (aka: Your Sacred Marching Orders)
Go. Drink cider. Ask questions. Befriend a cider maker. Befriend your bartender. Savor the apple’s second life. Question your devotion to beer. Let your mouth be the pulpit. Washington Cider Week demands it. Amen.