Sweet tropical potion tepache in a drink category all its own

Local producer grows tiny industry through tastings, education

Tepache: It’s the newest, most mysterious and possibly the most delicious drink to hit Portland in years.

“Nobody knows what tepache is,” admits Nat West, owner of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, the only major producer of tepache in Portland and the largest in the United States, having started three years ago.

Tepache is a low-alcohol beverage made from fermented pineapple, meant to be mixed with beer, cider or a sparkling wine to balance the sweetness.

It also can be infused with crazy flavors, like the Spicy Hot Tepache (with ghost chilis), CoMochaPache (cold brew coffee and chocolate) and Smoky Soapy Worm (cilantro and mezcal flavors) that delighted fans at the recent “Night of 1,000 Tepaches” event at Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider in Northeast Portland.

“It’s not a pineapple cider, or pineapple beer,” West says. “That would be easier to sell.”

Yet among those who’ve tried it, tepache (pronounced teh-PAH-chay) is wildly popular, and West sells more tepache per person more than any other product he makes. “It’s the only thing we sell by volume, by the case,” he says.

West — who became an ordained minister to officiate at a friend’s wedding right before launching, hence the name — launched his business in early 2012 on the forefront of the cider boom.

He was perhaps the second cider maker in Portland and the 11th member of the Northwest Cider Association.

Now there are at least a dozen cider makers in Portland and more than 75 members in the association.

Three years ago, West started bottling tepache, after a trip to Mexico introduced him to the drink made by rural street vendors, enjoyed in a plastic bag with a straw.

“They get the pineapple, cut off the scales and sell the pineapple,” West explains. “At the end of the day they’re left with all these skins. Someone figured out how to ferment it to produce a pretty good drink.”

West started experimenting with recipes in the summer of 2012, perfecting it to make it his own. “The way that stuck for me is using the entire pineapple,” for a more traditional, “fresh and fruity” and drinkable taste.

A few other cideries in the U.S. make tepache, but West’s is unique for one important reason: He’s one of the few and possibly the only producer to press his own fruit.

“We’re the largest processor of pineapples for tepache in the U.S. right now,” he says. “We own about $75,000 worth of fruit handling equipment — elevators, bin dumpers, grinders, a big juice press.”

Most of the large cideries in the Northwest don’t own a large press, West says, either sourcing out their production, using smaller presses or sourcing local juice to avoid the need for a press.

“If we weren’t making tepache at this point, we would sell off our apple handling equipment and find someone else to press heirloom apples,” he says.

Because the cost of entry for tepache production is so high, West doesn’t see it growing into a huge industry.

The growth of the new drink category also is limited because it’s sold in bottles but not on tap. West doesn’t distribute it in kegs because it would pour from the tap cloudy and undrinkable.

The bottles are supposed to be shaken first, then enjoyed.

But West welcomes competition as the beverage market expands with constant innovation.

Summertime is obviously peak season for the refreshing beverage; the “Night of 1,000 Tepaches” in July was a second-annual event that drew a crowd of loyal fans and attracted new ones.

Nine local brewers produced special blends of their own beer with tepache for the event, which guests sampled at the tap room and poured on tap at their own pubs for a week leading up to the event.

The collaborating breweries included Base Camp, The Commons, Kells, Fat Head’s, Culmination Brewing, Cascade and Barrel House, among others.

Just as ice cream is a palate for Salt & Straw’s quirky innovation, tepache is shaping up to be a hit amongst brewers and beverage enthusiasts who want to experiment with taste blends and layers of complex flavors.

After the holidays, tepache sales are popular around Cinco de Mayo, when Reverend Nat’s holds a bottle share event and lets people go home with a new bottle.

Still, he’s having a blast making tepache, producing 1,000 cases last year and 1,200 cases this year, just a fraction of the cider he produces.

The vast majority of his tepache is sold in Portland, but it’s also shipped in bottles to Washington, Southern California and Japan.

No matter how much the category grows, West is thrilled to continue innovating for his Portland market.

It’s the perfect drink for this market, he thinks: “Every time you blend it, it’s a little bit different. It requires a bit of adventurousness, and willingness to screw up.”

Visit Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider tap room at 1813 N.E. 2nd Ave. For more: www.reverendnatscider.com.

@jenmomanderson