Most cider makers dream of expanding their barrel program. Jason Lummen did the opposite. After years of producing barrel-aged ciders, he discovered that the future of The People’s Cider Company wasn’t in making more specialty releases. It was in crafting the kind of dry, approachable cider his neighbors wanted to drink pint after pint.
Fifteen years later, that philosophy has shaped one of Grand Rapids’ most distinctive cideries. Brick Street Nightclub, a dry, sessionable cider, outsells every other cider on draft by roughly three to one. Built without bank loans or outside investors, The People’s Cider Company reflects Jason’s belief that success isn’t measured by growth alone. It’s measured by creating a welcoming neighborhood pub where cider, community, and conversation come first.
And, yes – The business name comes straight from author of The People’s History, Howard Zinn.
What’s kept The People’s Cider Company thriving isn’t sticking to one idea. It’s knowing when to let it go. Jason built an extensive barrel program before realizing the future of his cidery was in making exceptional everyday ciders that belonged in a neighborhood pub. This conversation explores what it means to build an independent business, stay true to your values, and keep evolving without losing sight of why you started.
In this Cider Chat
- Why Jason built The Peoples Cider Company with zero outside capital or bank loans — and why that was never up for negotiation
- The working-class roots behind the name — and the story of the original raised-fist logo
- Why Jason walked back a serious barrel-aging program once it stopped serving the pub
- Brick Street Nightclub: the dry, sessionable cider that outsells the rest of the draft list 3-to-1
- What it means to run a cidery like a blue-collar business, not a brand
- Why staying small and staying adaptable beat any plan to scale up
- Making cider without sulfites
- Why fruit-infused ciders earned a spot on the lineup
- How American drinking tastes are shifting toward lighter, more sessionable drinks — and why cider is positioned for it
- Why younger drinkers may be finding their way to cider
- The pub as the real product: why talking to people is still Jason’s favorite part of the job
Ciders Featured:
Brick Street Nightclub — 6.5% ABV
The flagship, and the proof of concept. Dry, heritage, built for session drinking — clean and easy with tannic layers underneath. It outsells every other cider on tap combined.
Pommeau — ~17.5–18% ABV
Barreled in 2018, released in 2021. Jason’s American-style take on the French classic, made from local Fruit Ridge apples — a relic of the bigger barrel-aging program he later chose to scale back
You must be logged in to post a comment.