Trailbreaker Cider, formerly known as the Whiskey Barrel Cider Company, has rebranded and relocated to a newly completed space at 2204 N. Madson Road, in Liberty Lake this month. 

Trent Maier says he and his brother-in-law Brian Augdahl co-own the business, along with their wives.

“We started the company in Pullman back in 2012, but our tasting room closed in 2016 after the airport there purchased our building as part of their expansion,” Maier says. “We spent some time researching new locations and settled on the Liberty Lake area, for a variety
of reasons.”

He says the company is just finishing construction of a new 10,000-square-foot production facility that includes a tasting room and restaurant space. 

“My father-in-law and I did all of the building design and the majority of the construction ourselves,” he says. “One half has about 3,000 square feet of space split into a restaurant on the ground floor with a tasting room above. Both have seating and views of the remaining space, which is a kind of half winery, half brewery production area for making juice and turning it into hard cider.”

Maier says Trailbreaker will focus on ciders but also will produce juices and gluten-free juice options. The facility’s restaurant will include pub fare food items like bratwurst and sausages, as well as featuring local wines and beers on tap. 

“We also hope to offer some guest taps for other local ciders, because we feel that it’s important to support others who are in the same industry,” he says. 

He says the cidery will start out with about 10 employees, and plans to open to the public July 8, with a larger grand opening event to follow in early August. 

“We’re almost finished with construction and so excited to open,” he says. “After that happens, we can move on to having some fun.”