Rev Nat used to scare the hell out of me. He was this long-goateed, mysterious dude who seemed to be everywhere cider was being talked about, dared to MIX cider during the Schilling Cider launch at Bushwhacker Cider, and never responded with more words than necessary when I’d asked him about Providence last winter.

If Jeff Smith of Bushwhacker Cider is the godfather of cider in Portland, surely Rev Nat is the Corleone*. Perhaps it’s time for a trumped-up reality series about the underground world of REAL cider making here in Portland, eh?

Beyond comparisons with movies I’ve never seen, Rev Nat is pretty damn good at his job. His ciders, ranging from the mainstream popular Newtown Pippin and Hopricot to the more niche Providence and Sacrilege Sour Cherry, seem to elicit a binary response: love or hate. Fortunately for him and cider drinkers like me, I’m voting love every time I pull a bottle off the shelf or order a pint from his Kickstarter-funded cidery and taproom.

I was able to pull Rev Nat away from pouring cider at the recent Seattle Cider Summit and while I’m sure he could have answered my questions forever, here’s a few minutes that stood out.

Meet The Cidermakers is a weekly video series designed to show the who behind the why of cider making. Know an Oregon- or Washington-based cidery and cidermaker I should be in touch with? Let me know!

*I’ve never seen any of the Godfather movies, so I hope my comparison as Jeff being the “public” face of cider in Portland and Rev Nat being the “up and comer” with visions of leading everyone makes sense. Not that anyone is going to betray or shoot anyone. I hope.