Everyone talks about wine and pizza. Pop and pizza. Nobody talks about cider and pizza. That's a mistake. A fixable one.

Cider is one of the best pizza pairings out there — and here's the case for it.

Why Cider Works with Pizza

Pizza is rich, fatty, acidic, and loaded with umami. Cheese, tomato sauce, cured meats — it's a lot of flavour hitting at once. What you want in a pairing is something that cuts through the fat, lifts the acidity, and refreshes your palate between bites so you actually taste the next slice.

Cider does all of that. The natural acidity in a well-made cider cuts through cheese and meat the same way a good wine does, but without the tannins that can clash with tomato. The carbonation cleans your palate. And unlike a heavy beer, cider doesn't fill you up before you've finished the first half of the pizza.

The Pairings

Margherita — Unhazy Hopped

A classic margherita is all about balance — fresh tomato, mozzarella, basil, good olive oil. Unhazy Hopped matches that energy perfectly. The tropical Citra and Mosaic hop character plays beautifully against fresh tomato acidity, and the clean finish means you're ready for the next bite immediately. This is the pairing that converts people.

Pepperoni — Unhazy Hopped

Pepperoni is spicy, fatty, and salty. You need something crisp and refreshing to cut through it. Unhazy Hopped handles this effortlessly — the hop character stands up to the spice, and the clean carbonation cuts the fat. Cold Unhazy Hopped, hot pepperoni pizza, summer patio. That's the formula.

Canadian Pizza — The Core

Bacon, mushroom, pepperoni — the Canadian is hearty, savoury, and familiar. The Core's clean Okanagan apple character cuts through the richness without competing with the earthy mushroom. Classic pizza, classic cider.

Cheese or White Pizza — The Core

Clean, crisp, real Okanagan apple. No distractions. The perfect match for a simple cheese pizza or a white pizza where the dough, cheese, and olive oil are doing all the work. The apple character complements without competing.

BBQ Chicken — Strawberry Ciderita

BBQ chicken pizza is sweet, smoky, and tangy. The Strawberry Ciderita's bright fruit character mirrors the sweetness in the BBQ sauce while the acidity cuts through the richness of the chicken and cheese. Sounds like an unusual call — try it once and you'll understand.

Meat Lovers or Spicy Sausage — Barrel Proof

Barrel Proof is the bold one in the lineup and it needs a pizza that can match it. Meat lovers, spicy Italian sausage, nduja — anything with intensity and depth. The barrel aging adds complexity that stands up to strong, smoky flavours where a lighter cider would get lost.

Hawaiian or Veggie — Strawberry Ciderita

Fun, fruity, and built for good times. Pairs best with lighter, sweeter pizzas — a Hawaiian where the pineapple sweetness plays off the strawberry, or a fresh veggie pizza where nothing's fighting for attention.

Four Cheese — Unhazy Hopped

Four cheese is rich. Very rich. You need acidity and carbonation to cut through it, and something flavourful enough to hold its own against that much cheese. Unhazy Hopped does both. The tropical hop character gives you something interesting to taste between bites.

Dark, Earthy Toppings (Mushroom, Truffle, Caramelized Onion) — Black Hole

Black Hole's dark blackberry character and oak tannins are a natural match for earthy, umami-forward toppings. Mushroom pizza, truffle oil, caramelized onion — the depth of the cider meets the depth of the toppings. The most wine-like pairing on the list.

Where to Get Your Pizza in the Okanagan

• Jim's Pizza (Vernon) — a Vernon institution. Classic, no-nonsense pizza done right.
• The Curious Artistry & Alchemy Cafe (Kelowna) — creative, quality-driven, worth seeking out.
• Happy Slice (multiple Okanagan locations) — good pizza, good vibes, easy to find across the valley.
• Red Tomato Pie (multiple Okanagan locations) — a local favourite with a loyal following.
• DunnEnzies (multiple Okanagan locations) — consistent, crowd-pleasing, always a solid call.

Grab a pizza from any of these, stock the cooler with your Hardcore Cider of choice, and run the pairings yourself. The results speak for themselves.

The Setup

Cold cider. Hot pizza. Good company. That's it. You don't need wine glasses or a sommelier. You need a cold bottle out of the fridge and a pizza that's still got steam coming off it. If you're doing this on a patio in the Okanagan in summer, you've already won.

— Hardcore Cider Co.
100% Okanagan apples. Real BC fruit. No shortcuts.