albany's flora & ferment ciderhouse shutters

a big bummer for local fans of cider, mead, craft beer and handsome spaces – woman-owned ciderhouse and bottle shop flora & ferment has closed after four years on solano avenue in albany.

rumors abounded on social media as the popular ciderhouse had gone dark these past few days, but nothing was confirmed. also, it should be noted that flora & ferment won a 2025 east bay express best of the east bay award for best cider selection only last month.

we held out hope knowing the spot is a community favorite – but then owner kate taylor confirmed the news via email. "yes, unfortunately due to a multitude of factors, we had to make the difficult choice of closing," she said.

flora & ferment was at 1122 solano avenue in albany, and is permanently closed.

october 23, 2025