San Diego’s Cider Trail: A Craft Beverage Journey from Coast to Apple Country

Like most of the country, craft cider in San Diego makes up only a small portion of the local beverage scene. But cider is growing in popularity, thanks to its natural lack of gluten, relatively low alcohol content and the fact it’s simply a delicious drink. 

For what San Diego cideries lack in numbers, they more than make up for with quality, with a diverse array of flavors and finishes to excite even the newest cider drinker. If you’re curious about where to drink cider in San Diego, let this be your guide. (Full disclosure — a few of these fall outside city limits, but are well worth a trip.) 

Bivouac Ciderworks

Situated smack in the middle of 30th Street, known as San Diego’s Beer Boulevard, is Bivouac Ciderworks, a temple dedicated to the art and craft of cidermaking. As one of the most visible, convenient and top cideries in San Diego, Bivouac offers an array of entry-level ciders as well as more complex offerings — especially at their experimental cider lounge and workspace next door called the Adventure Lodge. Try a flight and see what speaks to you. 

3986 30th St., North Park

Calico Cidery

If you’re looking for the best cidery in San Diego, Calico Cidery should be at the top of your list. Located in apple country (for San Diego, at least), Calico’s tasting room sits on the actual orchard from where they get their fruit and offers a rotating menu of four different ciders that change with the season. Pack a picnic lunch and come ready to sip and stroll through the avenue of trees for a picture-perfect day. (Note: Julian does tend to get more crowded during autumn’s U-pick season, so plan your trip accordingly.) 

4200 CA-78, Julian

Newtopia Cyder

Newtopia Cyder’s portfolio of ciders range from traditional to innovative, with tons of fruit flavor in each one. Using only West Coast-grown apples, this family-friendly cidery in San Diego is conveniently situated a few minutes off Interstate 15, with plenty of parking and lots of events like live music, trivia and more. 

10045 Carroll Canyon Road, Suite A, Scripps Ranch

Raging Cider & Mead Co.

Some of San Diego’s best ciders are technically outside the city, like Raging Cider in the North County city of San Marcos. Owner and cidermaker Dave Carr is making some of the most interesting ciders in San Diego, including styles like English scrumpy, co-ferments with grapes and apples, single varietals and more. Not sure what any of that means? Carr is always happy to talk shop with curious cider newcomers. 

177 Newport Drive, Suite B, San Marcos

Oddish Wine

It’s not a cidery, and it’s not a winery — Oddish Wine exists in its own space, at the collaborative outdoor venue The Gärten near University of San Diego. Operated by the same folks behind Lost Cause Meadery, Oddish is an experimental beverage company that blurs the lines between cider, wine, co-ferments and pretty much any drink you can think of. Come open-minded and prepared to discover what makes craft cider in San Diego so compelling. 

5322 Banks St., Linda Vista

Storum Ranch Cider & Wine

Like Calico, Storum Ranch is also located in Julian, about an hour’s drive northeast of downtown San Diego. Storum makes cider, vinegar, shrubs and other interesting concoctions for the aspiring cider aficionado. Only open on weekends, it’s a picturesque destination with plenty of traditional ciders and wines, all exclusively made with fruit from San Diego County. If you want to try authentic San Diego cider, Storum is the right place. 

1878 Wynola Road, Julian

Coronado Brewing Company

Okay, technically Coronado Brewing Company isn’t a cider company. But the acclaimed brewery launched a cider line in 2021, and for a beer company dabbling in the San Diego hard cider scene, it’s pretty darn good. The vegan, gluten-free, dry ciders come in original and a fruit-infused version at 6.0% ABV (or below) to offer a refreshing beverage ideal for year-round enjoyment. 

Coronado location: 170 Orange Ave.; Bay Park location: 1205 Knoxville St.

Twisted Horn Mead & Cider

This Viking-inspired beverage hall in Vista feels like a trip back in time — vaulted ceilings and plenty of long wooden tables give guests a sense of what an authentic Scandinavian mead hall must have been like centuries ago. With San Diego mead and cider on the menu, Twisted Horn offers everything from sweet to dry ciders and everything in between, making it easy to try all sorts of different takes on both beverages. 

1042 La Mirada Court, Vista