Cider Riot
Antifascist cider house that closed after a May Day brawl.
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Cider Riot (stylized as Cider Riot!) was an American cider producer based in Portland, Oregon, that operated from 2013 until November 2019. It was known for its taproom in the Kerns neighborhood, which became a gathering place for antifascists, anarchists, and other leftists, and for winning four International Cider Championship medals from the Royal Bath and West Show between 2017 and 2019.
Lore & Background
Cider Riot was founded by Abram Goldman-Armstrong, who began fermenting cider experimentally as a college student and started the business from his North Tabor home in 2013. He expanded distribution in 2014, delivering cider to pubs around Portland, and opened a taproom in August 2016. The taproom welcomed children until 7 p.m., followed by adult hours until closing at 9 p.m. Goldman-Armstrong stated that the cidery aimed to be a welcoming place for people of all races, genders, and identities, and that he did not set out to create a dedicated anti-fascist bar but rather a sense of old Portland and an English pub.
Right-wing groups such as Patriot Prayer began regularly harassing the business in summer 2017, and by 2019 Goldman-Armstrong was known as a vocal anti-fascist business owner. The pub carried a line of experimental ciders called the Black Bloc series. In May 2019, after Major League Soccer prohibited the display of the Iron Front symbol during soccer games, Goldman-Armstrong produced a limited-edition cider named Tres Flechas (Three Arrows) in reference to an anti-fascist symbol. He was among those issued a three-game ban for displaying flags with the symbol at soccer games in September 2019; MLS revoked the ban on September 24 and agreed to form a working group to update the Fan Code of Conduct.
Reader's Guide
Cider Riot's significance lies in its role as a flashpoint in Portland's political tensions and its brief but notable presence in the craft cider industry. The cidery earned four medals at the Royal Bath and West International Cider Championships and was named best cider in Oregon at the Portland International Cider Cup in 2016. Its taproom became a symbol of leftist organizing, drawing harassment from far-right groups like Patriot Prayer. The May Day 2019 brawl, which involved a confrontation between Patriot Prayer members and antifa patrons, led to a $1 million lawsuit against Patriot Prayer and its leader Joey Gibson, as well as felony riot charges against six participants.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission investigated the incident and recommended charging Goldman-Armstrong and a security guard with three state alcohol license violations, including providing false statements and permitting unlawful activity. The cidery was put up for sale in September 2019 for $875,000 and closed on November 10, 2019. After closing, the taproom was recognized as a runner-up in the 'Best Cider House' category in the Willamette Week Best of Portland Readers' Poll 2020. The legacy of Cider Riot is intertwined with Portland's political activism and the broader national debate over free speech and public safety.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Cider Riot (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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