Craft-brewed ciders coming to Wichita

These days, Wichita has no shortage of craft beers. But what about craft cider?

For those of us with a preference for sweeter drinks, the options for craft-brewed cider in Wichita are limited.

But soon, Wichitans will have access to Austin Eastciders cider varieties in 12-ounce cans and on draft in select locations.

Standard Beverage Corporation will distribute the ciders in Kansas. It is in the process of gauging interest in the cider from Wichita bars, restaurants and liquor stores, and by early June a listing of where to find Austin Eastciders is expected to be available.

The ciders will be available starting July 10. The 5-percent ABV cider is brewed in Austin, Texas.

Austin Eastciders has five varieties – Original Dry Cider, Texas Honey, Hopped, Blood Orange and Pineapple. It’s currently available in Texas, Oklahoma, Philadelphia, New York and other markets in the United States.

It was founded in 2013, and just last summer Austin Eastciders added a 33,000-square-foot cidery in southeast Austin.

“Over the past four years, Austin Eastciders has gained fans throughout the country primarily from word-of-mouth through customers tasting our ciders for the first time on a visit to Austin or one of our other markets,” said Mark King, co-founder and president of Austin Eastciders, in a news release. “We’ve seen our fan base grow, especially through our social media pages, and we identified the Midwest region as the perfect fit for gaining new cider fans.”

For more information about Austin Eastciders, visit www.austineastciders.com.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Craft-brewed ciders coming to Wichita."