Taylor Stokes is a member

of the Production and

Cellar Crew here at

2 Towns Ciderhouse.

Currently studying Natural

Resource Management and

Sustainability, she is

helping to establish

2 Towns Ciderhouse’s

sustainability committee

and encourage the cider

(and brewing!) industry

to establish more 

sustainable practices.  

 

As in any industry, the product is only as good as the team that made it. As a part of the 2 Towns Ciderhouse Cellar and Packaging Crew,  I feel like if there is one lesson others can take from us here at 2 Towns, it is that you must build a team in order to collaborate. Establish a team that works well together and develop a space that allows for quick, critical, and creative thinking. Also, strive to build a team that learns and builds together. I know that I would still be totally lost in the fast paced world of cider if it wasn’t for my crew. The team I make cider with every week is full of diverse backgrounds and skills that we bring to the floor. This team has taught me everything I know about cider, but in a give-and-take way, where we learn together. The industry is constantly changing. Thanks to our unique backgrounds, education, and experience we are able to keep pace!

The diversity of thought and backgrounds leads to not just a positive work environment, but to healthy relationships outside of the cellar. Comradery is built as we bond over our own shared passions, particularly fermentation as ‘the craft’. Some of us are brewers to a fault, others enjoy creating small batch ciders, and a few dabble in fermenting food, which is my personal favorite hobby. I really enjoy making kimchi, fermented salsas and sauerkraut, and in the warehouse, I’m in good company to the point where we’ve stopped the whole warehouse for a while and gathered for a potluck of homemade sauerkraut and brats. While definitely a moment to brag a little, it was truly an opportunity to share our fermentation craft, and learn from each other’s knowledge and experience. In an instant, the entire photo came into focus: from the packaging crew, shipping and receiving coordinators, supervisors, managers, and the production crew… I could see, crystal clear, a team snapshot of how we all come together.

Again, I cannot say how important it is in this industry to build a team that connects and collaborates, because it goes beyond the cellar floor. There are so many impressive men and women in our industry that get forgotten just because they don’t walk the production line or lead the pack. To the men and women in the field, selling the product, doing the promos… CHEERS! To those crunching numbers, keeping us afloat… CHEERS! To those that design labels, marketing materials, interact with our customers day to day… CHEERS! To those whose job it is to build this positive space and wonderful team… CHEERS! To those who serve our customers day in and out at our home base, always wearing a smile, and spreading the gospel of our mission as a cider producer and a local company… CHEERS!

It is often forgotten we need to celebrate all of our teams, not just those that fill some unusual niche. In an industry full of pride and passion, it is important to remember that successful companies are built by both hard working men and women, and each should be thanked, and often.

It is this positive space of collaboration and encouragement I’ve described that makes being a “2 Towner” awesome. Sure we make killer cider using super fresh ingredients (believe me, I get to mix up the magic potion), but it’s MORE than that. It’s about being part of a group of hardworking people who are all after the same goal: making Damn Fine Cider, and loving every minute of it.