1. How do you pronounce it? What does it mean?
Biv-o͞o-ak. A temporary camp used especially by soldiers or mountain climbers.
2. What’s the ABV?
The ABV ranges from 6% – 6.9% depending on the cider.
3. What’s the nutritional info?
Our cider has less sugar and calories than most commercial ciders with an average 150-200 calories, and 10-20 grams of carbohydrates, depending on the style (Albright lowest/driest, Marlin Spike highest/sweetest). It’s naturally gluten-free and packed with vitamins and antioxidants from natural fruit.
4. Do we use juice concentrate or press our own fruit?
We use juice concentrate, but that’s not a bad thing! As a craft cidery making everything in our small facility, we are too small to press our own juice, and Southern California does not produce enough of the fruit we use to source everything locally. Using juice concentrate and importing from other areas, primarily the Pacific Northwest, allows us to use the highest quality fruit for our ciders, reduces our footprint with more efficient shipping, and allows for consistent product and faster fermentation to keep up with demand.
5. What is the shelf life of our ciders?
We have a one-year shelf life on kegs and cans, unless otherwise noted. Once packaged, cider is less volatile than beer, as it does not have hops that can create off-flavors over time. The date on the bottom of the cans is the “born on” date.
6. Do we use “sulfites” in our product?
Sulfites are substances that naturally occur in some foods and in the human body. They are also used as food additives and are commonly used to arrest fermentation at a desired time, and are often used in wine and cider to prevent spoilage, oxidation, and bacteria. We do use sulfites in our cider. Because we do not filter or pasteurize, sulfites are used to halt active yeast and protect the product against unwanted bacteria. Sulfites are rarely detectable, do not affect flavor, and for the general population, cause no issues. A very small percentage of people have a reaction or “allergy” to sulfites.
7. When did Bivouac Ciderworks open?
Our taproom and restaurant opened in January 2018, and we’ve been distributing our cider in draft and package since 2019. Now we distribute throughout San Diego County, Orange County, Arizona and Los Angeles!
8. Where is Bivouac located?
Our taproom, restaurant, and production facility is located in the heart of North Park, a diverse and eclectic neighborhood in San Diego filled with locally-owned shops, restaurants, and breweries. It’s known for being a craft beverage mecca and has previously been named one of the top ‘hipster’ neighborhoods in the U.S. Bivouac’s taproom is also a full service restaurant serving “San Diego comfort food,” with a wide variety of ciders, beer, wine, and craft cocktails. In our taproom, we highlight our core styles, as well as many rotating and R&D ciders. Find us at 3986 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104.
