ABOUT US
We are two brothers and a best friend who set out on a mission to make the best-tasting, purest hard cider on the planet—uncompromised.
Here at North Country, we do everything possible to allow the fruit to take center stage. Since 2014 we’ve developed and perfected our own process designed to leave out any additives or preservatives. This is not the industry standard by any means— it’s harder, but the proof is in the flavor of our products and maintaining this quality is something we refuse to sacrifice.
Made in small batches using fresh pressed, locally sourced apples, our small team crafts the cider with the utmost care. Visit our tasting room in Dover, NH and experience how good, New England-made, gluten-free hard cider can be.
MEET THE TEAM
-
SILAS GORDON
CO-OWNER & CO-FOUNDER
For thirteen years, Silas managed a successful residential construction company with his brother Ivan. He left construction in the summer of 2014 to devote his full attention to North Country Hard Cider. He has always been apple crazy and enjoys spending time on his family orchard in Central Maine. Silas is passionate about the outdoors and savors the time he spends fishing, foraging, hiking, or hunting. These days he is usually accompanied on his excursions by his fiancé Sarah, their pup Murphy, and their son Reed.
-
RONALD DIXON
CO-OWNER & CO-FOUNDER
Ron moved from Michigan to New Hampshire in 1994 for grad school where he earned a Master’s Degree of Earth Science from UNH and went on to get a teaching certificate in Physical Science for the state of New Hampshire. He worked as a science teacher from 1998 to 2015 and was an avid home brewer, a passion that was ignited by his love for chemistry and beer. Outside of work Ron can often be found working/relaxing in the garden with his wife Shauna, their two children Lexie and Parker, and their pup, Baxter. Ron is passionate about playing soccer and coaching his son’s soccer team. He is also an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hiking, hunting, fly fishing, and foraging.
Favorite cider: “Picking a favorite cider would be like picking a favorite child–can’t do it.”
-
IVAN GORDON
CO-OWNER & CO-FOUNDER
Ivan has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from UNH, where he met Ron and introduced him to his brother Silas. Ivan is the owner-operator at Gordon Design-Build, an energy efficient building company based in Portsmouth, NH. He assists with creative direction and charitable sponsorships, among other things, at NCHC. He has an enormous passion for the natural world and stewardship of the environment and has designed the experimental orchard on the family farm. In his free time you can find him doing something outdoors with friends and family and during the fall visiting orchards throughout New England or on the side of the road sampling a wild apple.
-
ALYSSA GRENNING
CREATIVE MARKETING DIRECTOR
Alyssa is a graphic designer and artist based in Rollinsford, NH—where she and North Country first crossed paths in 2021. When she’s not at the cidery, Alyssa can be found on a trail with her dog Goose, or drawing in her studio. To see her personal work, visit alyssagrenning.com.
Favorite Cider: RIFT
-
ALICIA NUZZO
TASTING ROOM MANAGER
Alicia, originally from New York, has been a New Hampshire resident for about eight years now. Being a big hard cider fan, it was a no-brainer when the opportunity to work for NCHC came along. When Alicia isn’t working in the tasting room, you can find her with her family or her rescue dog, Coby!
Favorite cider: BEARY PATCH
-
AVERY WILLETT
ASSISTANT CIDER MAKER
As a seacoast local and craft cider enthusiast, Avery jumped at the chance to join the NCHC production team this spring. When she's not at North Country, Avery enjoys spending time with her pets and exploring the natural beauty of New England with her fiancé Alex.
Favorite cider: WULF KITTY
-
GREG BLANCHARD
Greg grew up in Durham NH attending K-12 at Oyster River and graduated from UNH, where his father was a Mycologist and tree pathologist, and his mother was a third grade teacher for 33 years. Greg bought his father a beer home brew kit when he was 18, and that’s where the passion for crafting specialty elixirs began. Fast forward 25+ years in the industry later, he found his new home at North Country Hard Cider in 2023. Greg’s interests include being a hardcore fan of all New England sports, outdoors-ing, and binge watching campfires with his wife Kristie.
Favorite cider(s): Rift, Cranbarrel, Bug Juice, Gingah Baby, Honey Badger, OP, Beary Patch,… (maybe all of them!!)
THE NCHC STORY
Silas Gordon, Ivan Gordon, and Ron Dixon had been friends for almost two decades when their dream to create delicious, all-natural hard cider first took shape. The apple-crazy Gordon brothers, raised in a home where a lot of their food was grown or foraged, meals were always made from scratch and foods with preservatives and additives were not allowed, were searching tirelessly for a mother-approved hard cider. Meanwhile, Ron, raised similarly, and a mad-scientist of homebrew, was fine-tuning his own recipes. Long story short, Silas and Ivan’s additive and preservative free delicious cider quest was, well, fruitless. And Ron, always thirsty for a challenge, was ready for a new one. And so they set out together to craft a cider with a bit of natural sweetness, but with nothing artificial added. Simple.
And that was the goal; make simple, pure, and delicious hard cider. So Ron, with a science degree in his back-pocket, began the research, and Silas, with his steadfast philosophy, insisted that they stick to the mission. Together with Ivan, they came up with a plan.
The three agreed that the most important criterion, aside from keeping the cider pure, was that it had to smell and taste like real apples. They experimented with apple and yeast varieties beyond those suggested by research. On weekends you could spot any of them pulled over by the side of the road, gathering wild apples to try. Through trial, error, and lots of tasting, their experiments began to yield success.
Soon they were pressing bushels of apples in Ron and his wife Shauna’s driveway, using a wooden basket press. By late fall they outgrew the fermentation set up that crowded Ron’s basement and overtook the garage.
Before long they were making ridiculous quantities of cider. Friends were stopping by to fill growlers. Some requested kegs for parties. The boys were constantly honing their cider formula. And one day, after a discussion with Ivan, Silas asked Ron if he wanted to do something crazy. “If it’s not crazy, is it worth doing?” was his reply.
Thus began...North Country Hard Cider.
North Country Hard Cider found their new home in the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford, NH and renovations began in June 2014.
Ivan, Silas, and Ron were the contractors, builders, and clean up crew on the job. They worked relentlessly, on a tight budget constrained by their own bank accounts, motivated to open that fall. In record time, they managed to build everything, from the keg washer to the bar and tasting room tables, using scraps and salvage whenever possible.
With the help of his friend Dan, Silas rebuilt an abandoned 1930s era Palmer Brothers hydraulic press and gave it a new life at the cidery where it was installed in their homemade production line.
Early September 2014 brought the first local apples of the season. By mid-November, they had enough hard cider to open their tasting room to the public.
ROLLINSFORD GRAND OPENING
North Country Hard Cider officially opened its doors in Rollinsford on November 22, 2014 with three ciders on tap, Original Press, Honey Badger, and Northern Comfort.
GROWTH CONTINUES
Demand for cider grew steadily and by early 2015 Giles Family Farm in Alfred, ME began to store and press apples for North Country. In the fall of 2015, they installed three 15 barrel tanks and a new chiller to increase production and their presence in area bars, restaurants, and specialty beverage shops in New Hampshire and Maine. In the spring of 2017, they installed a GEA centrifuge to help with cider clarification, added three more 15 barrel tanks, and expanded their cold storage.
In July of 2017, NCHC began canning some of their products, which allowed for statewide distribution in the fall of 2017 and enough production to keep up with demand.
RELOCATING TO DOVER
After two years of searching for a building, NCHC purchased 38 Littleworth Road in Dover, NH in the fall of 2021 from their friends Fred Loux and Jenny Marshall. After 8 months of working night and day, they finished the buildout of the new facility just in time to open in late June of 2022 when their lease was up in Rollinsford. The new production facility allows for a substantial increase in production and distribution. The new tasting room is cozy yet spacious enough to allow for large groups and events with lots of additional space in the back area as well. The outdoor spaces are great for food trucks, pups, fresh air with a fresh hard cider, and lots of fun. (As always we are extra dog-friendly around here.)
GROWING, GROWING… GROWN
The additional space will allow for more events so stay tuned in for all the happenings. The additional production space will continue to fill in and allow for more fun ciders to come to fruition, and as always the team stays fully focused on the mission, to make the best hard cider on the planet, uncompromised for your enjoyment.