OUR STORY

RECONNECTING TO OUR ROOTS

Brick River Cider Company is St. Louis’ first dedicated ciderworks. We are committed to crafting great hard cider made from fresh pressed Midwestern fruit, never concentrate.

Brick River Cider is named to honor the connection between the City of St. Louis and its connection to the regional rural communities. From its early days St. Louis was a major source of brick making, and the rivers carried those bricks in every direction building communities throughout our region. Those bricks remind us that we are all connected, and we continue that tradition today bringing the fruits of the region back to the city, and crafting authentic hard ciders to celebrate with our friends and family.

The story of connections flowing back and forth with St Louis and the wider region has repeated again and again across countless families and generations. Brick River founder Russ John’s family got its start in America when his great grandfather Theodore enlisted in the Union Cavalry in 1862 at Jefferson Barracks, St Louis. In 1869 Theodore established a homestead farm and orchards in southeast Nebraska, and the John family has been growing apples in the Midwest ever since.  Today his great grandson is proud to bring a family tradition of hard cider back to St. Louis with the city’s first dedicated ciderworks.

Brick River Cider’s mission is to work with regional fruit growers to craft authentic hard cider using only fresh-pressed fruit juices. Our ciders range from classic and traditional to bold and innovative, but whatever the style they are all 100% gluten free from fresh pressed regional fruit, never concentrate. We invite you to raise a glass and connect with cider the way it should be.