Black Mountain Cider & Mead: Real Cider from a Reclaimed Furniture Factory in Black Mountain, NC

Black Mountain Cider + Mead runs its taproom and production facility out of a corner of a reclaimed furniture factory in Black Mountain, NC — a former manufacturing building now shared with a distillery and a brewery, about fifteen miles east of Asheville. It’s a working cidery, not a polished tasting room built for tour groups: you walk in among fermentation tanks, order a flight, and if you ask a question about the process you’ll usually get an answer from the person who actually made the cider.

Two Former English Teachers and a Trip to Britain

David and Jessica Bowman started Black Mountain Ciderworks + Meadery after a 2009 trip to England, where they tasted the dry, complex ciders of the West Country and couldn’t find anything like them back home. Both had backgrounds as English teachers and hobbyist brewers and winemakers, and the trip turned into a project: sourcing apples from nearby Henderson County — which grows roughly 65% of North Carolina’s apple crop — instead of importing juice concentrate the way many commercial “cider” brands do. Their first batches were pressed on an old hand-cranked farmer’s basket press, the kind of tool you’d expect next to a butter churn. By 2014 they were making enough cider to open a taproom to the public, and the business has been running in Black Mountain since. (Source: Edible Asheville, “Cider City, USA.”)

The company’s roots go back further on paper — state registration records list the business as founded in 2013 — but the throughline in every account of the Bowmans’ story is the same: a couple who wanted North Carolina apples to taste like North Carolina, the way wine grapes are supposed to express the soil and elevation where they’re grown.

What’s in the Glass

Black Mountain’s ciders are fermented in small batches from heirloom and local apples, never filtered, pasteurized, or built from concentrate — a point the Bowmans are vocal about, since a lot of mass-market “hard cider” is closer to an alcoholic apple soda than a fermented fruit beverage. Their lineup changes with the harvest: early fall brings brighter, more acidic ciders from Ginger Gold and Golden Delicious apples, while cooler months bring spiced and flavored releases — cider brewed with chai spice, and one built around sweet potato, have both been part of their seasonal rotation. On the mead side, the taproom focuses on hydromels — lower-gravity, sessionable meads around 6–8% ABV that are less sweet and more approachable than traditional high-gravity mead. Flavors have included coffee, almond, pistachio, sweet potato and beet, made with honey sourced mostly from beekeepers in Buncombe and McDowell counties. Because both cider and mead are naturally gluten-free and the taproom doesn’t serve beer, there’s no cross-contamination risk for gluten-sensitive drinkers — one of the more practical reasons cidery-only stops appeal to mixed groups. (Sources: Black Mountain Ciderworks + Meadery website, cider process and FAQ pages.)

The Setting: A Reclaimed Furniture Factory

The taproom sits inside Eastside Business Park, a multi-tenant industrial complex built out of a former furniture manufacturing building dating to sections built in 1926, 1932 and 1967, now home to around 40 small businesses. Black Mountain Cider + Mead shares the site with Pisgah Brewing Company and Oak & Grist Distilling, and there’s often a food truck parked next door, since the cidery itself doesn’t serve food — you’re welcome to bring your own or order delivery. Both kids and pets are allowed in the taproom, and no reservation is required. The taproom and the production tanks are in the same room, so there’s no separation between where the cider is made and where it’s served — ask about the apples in your glass and you’re often talking to the person who pressed them. (Sources: Eastside Business Park website; Black Mountain Ciderworks + Meadery FAQ page.)

What Else Is Nearby

Downtown Black Mountain is a short drive from the taproom and worth the extra half hour if your group has time: it’s a compact, walkable Main Street with more than 20 locally-owned shops and over 20 restaurants, plus long-running craft galleries like Seven Sisters Gallery, which has been showing regional fine art and craft since 1981. The town sits right off I-40 about 15 miles from Asheville, so it’s an easy add-on if your day already includes stops in Asheville proper. (Sources: Visit Black Mountain; Seven Sisters Gallery.)

Planning Your Visit

Be honest with yourself about the drive: Black Mountain is roughly 105–115 miles and about 2 hours from Boone by the fastest routes (typically via US-221/I-40), and a similar range from Banner Elk or Blowing Rock. That distance makes this a full-day trip rather than a quick afternoon out — most groups from the High Country pair it with one or two other Asheville-area stops (like Bold Rock Cidery or Botanist and Barrel) rather than making the drive for a single tasting. Because the taproom is small and informal, it works well for groups of a handful of people rather than a large party; there’s no official tour schedule, but staff are happy to talk through the production process when things aren’t busy. Confirm current hours directly with the taproom before you go, since cideries this size sometimes adjust days seasonally.

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Ashe County Livery provides luxury wedding transportation, wine tour shuttles, and airport transfers throughout North Carolina’s High Country.

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