(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — When Ryan Carey and his girlfriend made plans to attend a cider pouring competition at the 10th annual Cider Summit Chicago, he had no idea that he would be standing on a stage, in front of hundreds of people, pouring cider from above his head into a cup three feet below.
“I actually thought it was going to be real professionals. It turns out I was the professional,” Carey said.
Carey found himself on a stage in the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, where he was crowned this year’s amateur escanciador champion.
Prior to the competition, Carey had mostly read about the Spanish tradition of pouring cider from above one’s head down to a glass held by their waist. The practice is used to add carbonation to otherwise flat cider made in northern Spain.
Carey had two days of practice before he was crowned the champion. The morning of the competition, he practiced the pour in his bathtub.
His tips for anyone looking to compete in the future: Move the glass you are trying to pour into, not the bottle. Don’t overthink it, he added.
The escanciador competition was one of the recent additions to Cider Summit Chicago, which marked 10 years over the weekend. Around 2,000 people were expected to attend the event, which brought in approximately 150 selections of ciders, cider cocktails and fruit spirits across nearly 40 vendors from around the world.
It is the largest cider summit in the region, and many of the vendors love the sense of community the feel at the event,
“There's not that many times that they get the chance to get together and engage with so many enthusiastic and curious cider consumers,” event founder Alan Shapiro said.
Cider Summit Chicago typically takes place in February. Those who would like to attend in 2025 should be on the lookout for tickets on sale starting in December.
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