Cider Corps

FROM A THERAPEUTIC HOBBY TO A MISSION TO SERVE & INSPIRE The roots of Cider Corps can be traced to the Sangin Valley of Afghanistan where co-owner Jason Duren was deployed with the U.S. Marine Corps. While there, Jason suffered two traumatic brain injuries from multiple IED blasts. When he returned home, Jason had a long road toward recovery and medical retirement. His brother Josh suggested they start making cider. It was a hobby that involved routines, problem-solving, and focus. All things Jason’s doctor had ordered, with a bonus… perhaps they would also end up with something good to drink. While those first cider batches were far from drinkable, the process clicked with Jason. He started learning all he could about cider making and eventually got a degree in Sustainable Horticulture from Arizona State University. With time, Jason developed his own unique techniques for making ciders he and Josh were proud to drink and share. Those techniques and their ciders soon caught the attention of significant people in Arizona’s beverage and culinary industry who encouraged the brothers to turn their hobby into a business. Turning their hobby into a business was a decision they didn’t take lightly. Jason had struggled through the medical retirement process with hundreds of appointments, frustration with care and the silent, internal battle to move forward. They knew disabled veterans needed more support and these experiences became the crux for Cider Corps: Josh and Jason would combine their love of crafting cider with their desire to serve and give back to fellow veterans. They envisioned a taproom that was a community space. Where a good drink was a catalyst for people of all generations and backgrounds to gather and share stories, experiences and challenges. Josh and Jason branded Cider Corps with a new mission, summed up in six simple words. “Drink Great Cider. Honor Great Sacrifice.” When the doors opened on Veterans Day in 2017, and the taproom filled with people from all walks of life, they knew this mission was just starting. Cider Corps’ taprooms embody the same mission – the physical space to drink great cider and honor great sacrifice. But Josh and Jason are the first to tell you the cidery is just one piece of a larger community. Their mission to give a voice to others happens from the shoulders of many. No one represents the power of friend helping friend, brother helping brother, more than Jim Pomush. A Vietnam veteran, fellow Marine and Purple Heart recipient, Jim introduced himself to Jason on opening day and has been a trusted ally, ambassador and guiding light to Jason and the Cider Corps team ever since. At 78-years old, he’s also Cider Corps’ oldest employee. Jim has served the veteran community in many ways over the years and his perspective of time and leading by example reflect the platform Cider Corps hopes to create for others. Says Jason, “It’s not just about me but others like Jim who can speak about their generation and their experience. It’s not something that even has to be talked about. You feel it. You see it.”