It’s almost time for HipCider. Months of research (drinking), weeks of prep (writing about drinking) and days of photo shoots (taking pictures of bottles I drank) are adding up to my first real book…ever.

I’ve been infatuated with cider since my November 2012 arrival in Portland, and after I saw 1500+ people show up to a CiderFest at a local bar — they expected 500ish — I knew it was time to write a guide for people that didn’t have enough time or patience to test out every new bottle.

Being on a somewhat limited drinking budget, this first version is dedicated to 27 bottles available for under $10 here in Portland. 23 of them are produced within six hours of Rose City, the other four are widely available.

As my publish date looms one week from today — I’d like to promote it at Cider Summit — I’m frantically putting together finishing touches on both the print and ebook versions.

Text written? Check.
Photos taken? Check.
Book edited? One more time, then check.
Photos processed? In progress.
ISBN obtained? Yep.
Advance copy signup created? Right here.

Am I scared? You betcha. Am I worried that people will think it sucks? Duh.

Do either of those things matter much? Hell no.

Anyway, let’s do this. I’m tired of seeing people waste good money on bad cider.