If you’re wondering how Tim “Herb” Alexander, the celebrated drummer for the alt-rock band Primus, became the co-owner of a cider company, the answer is: in a day.
It all started in 2016, when Tim and his wife, Shama, had a bumper crop of apples at their Bellingham property. As a cider aficionado, Tim decided to rent a press and make his own batch of cider. “Two or three weeks later… we tried it and poured it, and it tasted as good as the stuff we were buying,” Tim says.
At the time, the couple was already on the hunt for a business idea. “Music is a very up and down kind of career,” Tim explains. “It’s so inconsistent, and now that we have a family… we were looking for other things.”
They were originally considering a tea business, but Tim’s first batch of cider was just too good. “We knew nothing about cider making,” Shama says, “but the stars aligned.”
It was Shama’s idea to call it Herb’s Cider, after Tim’s band nickname. They bought the website domain that same night, and officially launched Herb’s Cider in 2017. Today, the head cider maker is Chris Weir, who has worked for Finnriver Cidery and Port Townsend Brewing Co.
THE COMPANY
If you’re looking for a beverage with ethics, Herb’s Cider is the drink for you. From production and packaging to caring for their employees, Tim and Shama refuse to cut corners.
Herb’s Cider is a Certified B-Corporation, meaning it meets “the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.”
They buy everything they can locally. Their kegs, which most cideries get from China, come from America. Even their glassware, stickers, and wooden tap-handles are made in Bellingham.
“We try to keep economic development here as much as possible,” Shama says. When it comes to their fruit and yeast, everything is from the Pacific Northwest. “The farthest down we go is northern Oregon for things like pear, that we can’t get here.”
The couple’s ardent values are inspired by their daughter. “We wanted our daughter to grow up in a family-based business so she understood hard work… what it means to go from the beginning all the way to as far as you can take it,” Shama says.
THE TASTING ROOM
You can find Herb’s Cider at local retailers including Elizabeth Station, Haggen, Community Food Co-op, and dozens of Bellingham restaurants. You can also visit the company’s downtown tasting room, which opened fall of 2018.
Drop into the cozy space for a flight of delicious ciders ranging in taste from extra dry to sweet and juicy, or enjoy a pint of a special tap exclusive. Primus fans will appreciate the ciders’ musical names—Single Stroke, Triplet, Mezzo-Forte—as well as local music every Sunday.
1228 Bay St., Bellingham
360.933.1922 | herbscider.com
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