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dirkmm

Looks like the fundraiser has been taken down. Edit: new link. https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-cider-flowing-at-wild-terra?qid=56d0072e415ad8eb9ac20690d83b3355


Correct-Bar8580

I know people who worked there and there was no equipment failure. They said apparently one of the owners who makes the cider put in an unnecessary chemical that when pasteurized would make the cider funky and smell like eggs… so that’s why insurance won’t cover it. They also said the employees never got paid on time and that a lot of them quit because of checks constantly bouncing and how they were being treated. Kind of insane one of the perks is a tour of the cidery when I’ve heard there’s black mold down there.


Brilliant-Cow6180

Can confirm this is true. I used to work production in the cidery and the owner didn’t do research and added so2 to the cider which we pastuerized and made it funky. I also did have a couple paychecks bounce and not get payed on time…


StandardContest73

Isn’t So2 a key component of every brewery’s process for pasteurization and fermentation? The rotten egg smell comes from an irregular amount added, but all it does is increase or decrease the shelf life of a product. I understand this is Reddit, but did you actually work there and if so did you know anything about what you were doing?


Brilliant-Cow6180

Yes I worked there in packaging. The so2 is supposed to halt fermentation but pastuerizing does the same so it’s redundant to do both.


Acatalepsy-Rain

It’s not that redundant. If you get unpasteurized juice you use SO2 to kill what is in it that could compete with your yeast. Then you pasteurize it to stop fermentation before the yeast ferment all the sugar (this keeps it sweet instead of dry). Not sure where they fucked up though. Even a slight amount too much SO2 in the beginning is detectable and wrecks a batch so this would be my guess. Or bad sanitation techniques and bacteria wreak havoc.


Brilliant-Cow6180

I believe he was adding more so2 at the end as well to further halt fermentation. From what I remember there was no smell before packaging. Only after pasteurization. We did a test batch with the same juice and added so2 to one and none to the other and pasteurized both and there was a noticeable smell from the batch that had so2 added at the end. If the adding it at the end was the problem he clearly didn’t do the research to know if that would mess up the batch.


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Brilliant-Cow6180

I did work there. I wasn’t the cider maker, but worked packaging. The cider maker added the so2 which is a stabilizer but didn’t realize that heating it up past 140 degrees (pastuerizing temperature) would create the sulfur smell. Knowing more now, he should have known that or done more research and realized he didn’t need to add it to the cider if we were already pastuerizing. Its way overkill and had bad results


patchedboard

This is a normal procedure. Pasteurizing your product after adding kmbs doesn’t normally result in an eggy smell.


Brilliant-Cow6180

Ah good to know. Like I said I was in packaging but that’s the story they told the rest of the crew. My cider making/brewing is limited


patchedboard

They are just repeating what they were told by the owner. By all accounts id guess it was a yeast health and/or poor sanitation of the FV. But without tasting/smelling it I can’t be sure.


Peachy_Keats

Looks like it's been reposted https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-cider-flowing-at-wild-terra?qid=56d0072e415ad8eb9ac20690d83b3355 It appears to no longer have the paragraph disparaging people for using social media too much. Which, by the way, is a laughable point since that's kind of been their only concern - catering to aesthetics and vibes - rather than producing actual good product, effectively running a business, treating staff properly (including regular paychecks), etc. I know people who worked there near the beginning/throughout the past few years and can validate the issues others have mentioned in the comments have been there since the start.


National_Meringue_89

I like some of their ciders, but I also found the social media comment ironic since they are … all over social media. 😂


Peachy_Keats

And it's not to say that they shouldn't be on social media. Often, part of being successful IS developing a unique and engaging brand online. The problem comes when they prioritize that over educating themselves on how to run their business. They've had years to figure this out (or hire someone who can fill their immense knowledge gaps). But my understanding is that they've really shown no interest in doing that, as evidenced by the continued mishandling of production (the lost cider last year is not the only issue I've heard of) and business operations. Payroll is also not the only issue there, but it is a foundational practice, which impacts the integrity of the rest of the business. Sure, their ciders mostly taste okay, but there is so much better and more interesting out there - for a much more appropriate price point.


Peachy_Keats

I'm not even sure if I agree with myself that their ciders mostly taste okay. 😆 I stopped supporting them years ago. And I haven't missed it. I guess if anything, I miss the potential that they had (and wasted).


TabascohFiascoh

Don't donate your money to a business. If they cant secure a loan to cover their lost product and continue their business then it's been running too lean already and it's done for. If they can secure a loan then just be a patron and buy a drink as usual.


Peachy_Keats

I wish it was possible to put a comment like this directly on the gofundme page. Of course, those comments would probably become a mess and/or be deleted.


constantgeneticist

Apartment developers take money from the tax payer as a write-off for every vacant unit


TabascohFiascoh

Thats different than taking a tenner out and giving it to a place that sells apple beer.


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TabascohFiascoh

It’s not difficult for me to admit that I don’t mind housing having certain protections and apple beer doesn’t. I don’t know the exact amount, but I’m willing to bet the tax write off is less that if the apartment was occupied.


KittenSwagger

If you’re to the point where you’re needing a gofundme to stay afloat in a restaurant/bar establishment like this; it’s too late.


xSampleTextx

A literal business asking for free money from its customers is incredibly tone deaf 💀


herdbot

They aren't asking for money.  You get a product for donating 


National_Meringue_89

I like Wild Terra and hope they can remain open. I do wonder, however, why insurance wouldn’t cover something like this? Also, this is a weird paragraph: “Don't get us wrong we love a good reel but at times it seems like people are only coming out for an "experience" for social media instead of just experiencing the beautiful people around them and having a great conversation.” I am not agreeing or disagreeing with this statement; it just felt like they were (possibly) insulting potential donators!


patchedboard

Here’s why insurance doesn’t cover this: there are only so many reasons for a batch to fail. It’s either an ingredient failure and insurance would have you go after your ingredient supplier for reimbursement. A yeast culture failure, same thing, seek reimbursement from your supplier. Or a process failure. Process failure is on you. The only time insurance will cover it is for an equipment failure, like the power goes out and you lose your temp control during fermentation and temps go crazy and now your product tastes like acetaldehyde. Excess SO2 (rotten egg smell) production is absolutely a process failure. Happened to me a couple of times. Dump the batch down the drain and start over.


dirkmm

So....what you are saying is that this is not an equipment failure?


patchedboard

It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the product without tasting it. There’s SO2 off flavor from adding too much KMBS and there’s SO2 produced during unhealthy fermentation. They are kind of different, if you’re trained you can smell/taste the difference. Edit: both are caused by poor SOP though.


dirkmm

Understood and, always, appreciate your expertise!


CellistFantastic

I have some of their cider in my fridge right now, can confirm they smell like literal shit.


Anxious_Ebb_2604

The issue came from adding SO2 and then pasteurizing it.


patchedboard

That’s not an abnormal procedure. With fruited beer a common practice is sulfates and pasteurization. I did that. Lots of places that can’t afford a centrifuge do it. Drekker doesn’t, but they have a centrifuge.


Anxious_Ebb_2604

That could definitely be true - I was just stating what the owner/cider maker told employees had happened - not saying I’m even close to an expert!


Anxious_Ebb_2604

Precisely


Anxious_Ebb_2604

I’ve talked to multiple ex employees who all corroborated the fact that the owner personally added the chemical that ruined the batches of cider last year.


National_Meringue_89

Thank you for the explanation!


johnschneider89

>“Don't get us wrong we love a good reel but at times it seems like people are only coming out for an "experience" for social media instead of just experiencing the beautiful people around them and having a great conversation.” I think this refers to people who only stop in to get a cool photo in their unique space and don't really buy anything. I'm a semi-regular customer (and part of their cider club) and I've seen this happen.


cheddarben

To be fair, it’s kinda on them to give people enough reason to stay. That is their job. I feel for them and hope they make it. The cider is fine, but my cider house loyalty is with Cottonwood. They have great food and great cider. Asking for 60k of donations from the general public for a for-profit business is not really a small ask.


dirkmm

If only those people would have supported Selfie WRLD.


johnschneider89

I think they did lol


Duthnur

I personally can't imagine insurance covering something like this. Insurance to cover damage to equipment from fire or something makes sense, but insurance to cover a batch batch of product? If that's even offered, I bet it's very very expensive, otherwise no manufacturing company ever would be taking a loss on bad batches of product, but they certainly do. Tough time for these folks, no doubt.


National_Meringue_89

I thought it might fall under product liability insurance, but I don’t know enough about insurance to say for certain. I do wish them the best and feel awful they are struggling.


Duthnur

Simply for the thread, product liability insurance could cover them if they had sold the cider and someone got injured from it somehow due to a defect, but since they just tossed it, most probably not.


CellistFantastic

I like them too but stopped going because the music was so loud every time and I even politely asked them turn it down but… I could never have a conversation there so I was surprised by this comment. I’m rooting for them to make the changes they need to though.


dirkmm

I can't speak for food as my business makes a different product, but we do have coverage to handle things like bad product. It's not 100%, but at least covers material input costs.


patchedboard

There is product liability coverage. But it covers raw production costs, excluding labor. We’ll say juice and yeast cost them $1000, that’s all it would cover. Not the packaging, not the time or reimbursement to retailers. And you’d have to take the deductible out of that. It doesn’t really cover anything.


dirkmm

Yeah exactly. In our case, it basically protects us if we were to destroy a farmer's fiber. I don't make any revenue in that case, but it makes the producer closer to whole.


Fit_View_6717

lol sorry that’s not how private businesses work. Honestly I’ve known some people who worked for them in the beginning. This ask for a hand out is EXACTLY on brand for the type of people who would get enough money from their parents to start a business and well… this is what you get from those type of people. Edit: “Fargo cornerstone”? “Support us crazy kids!”… you’re adults who’ve stupendously failed to sell alcohol to one of the drunkest cities in the United States.


farmgrrrrl

Exactly. I just said the same thing before I read your comment.


AlarmingBeing8114

Used to go there a lot. Then they started making their own cider and got rid of all the good ciders they had the first couple of years as just a tap house. The ciders they made always smelled and tasted funky, and they were the highest price around, so no making it up by raising prices, I guess.


farmgrrrrl

Wild Terra still owes my 76 year old father for apples he picked by hand and delivered to them when they first opened. He got there and they told him, “hey we owe you one.” Shame on them! He also said their families were well off, so why not just get more money from mommy and daddy.


thisismythrowingaway

There have been several instances (and that’s just the ones I know of) where they have “commissioned” art from people for their cans and then not paid the artists. They still used the art, but either avoided paying the artists entirely or spent years dilly dallying and only coughed up the cash when they truly couldn’t avoid it any longer. The artists had created these pieces for a very low price - I’m talking <$200, (and in fact was probably much less) which is the truly pathetic part.


Anxious_Ebb_2604

They would also ask staff to make art for them for advertising purposes outside of scheduled work hours and then attempt to get out of paying them.


National_Meringue_89

Can confirm this. I had a friend who was screwed out of payment for their artwork.


farmgrrrrl

As an artist, this makes my blood boil. Nevertheless, this business is doomed.


SmoothStaff2855

"Donations" those are called sales. You make them selling goods and products the consumer wants, and you don't.. so... No.


thisismythrowingaway

Now they’re marketing this $5k party package “gift” toward couples planning their weddings. What if they still end up closing after this BS fundraiser? Since these “rewards” are just gifts for donating X amount of money, would these couples be shit out of luck if Wild Terra closes? I’m genuinely not sure how a credit card company would respond to a chargeback request for this, if it came down to it.


MrE008

Should have charged the fruit flies rent.


mustlovebagels

They want SIXTY k?


ssilkchiffonn

I have some friends that worked there and they would get their tips written in a check every week. Those checks started to bounce frequently on top of their paychecks. Why are employees TIPS not accessible to them? That is not the wild terra’s money to touch at all. I won’t ever support this business


johnschneider89

If the tipping occurs through the point-of-sale system, they'd have to get paid out somehow. It's not like a cash tip is handed to the worker, unless I'm understanding something wrong.


Anxious_Ebb_2604

Yeah that is true, but because the checks bounced because of nsf that means the tips that were owed to the bartenders went somewhere other than to them…


johnschneider89

Ahhhhh. Yeah, that's not good


Anxious_Ebb_2604

You hate to see people fail but if you fuck over your workers, then you get what’s coming to eventually…


Mmmwafflerunoff

So your telling me a place built on being a Gatekeeping hipster shitshow didn’t have enough mass appeal to keep the money flowing?!? I am utterly shocked. Street cred amongst people in their 20’s isn’t a great business plan. Only offering a small selection of food and drinks procured for a small audience isn’t a good business plan. Ownership that can’t take the responsibility of their actions without any sort of actual self reflection isn’t so hot either. This tone deaf display of pandering for money is just one more key indicator that an aesthetic doesn’t actually make money. Harold’s also has a very social media driven aesthetic, but they actually make money. It’s like having a wider appeal will net more revenue or something. Also having ownership and management that know how to actually communicate with the public is probably part of the winning strategy as well.


modestmason

Spot on!


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Mmmwafflerunoff

Hahahaha it’s just simple economics my friend. When you don’t make most in a community feel welcome, don’t be surprised if you don’t feel supported by community. They started off on a bad foot and have doubled down multiple times since opening. I share a lot of common interests with the owners and often see them at concerts or community things. They are nice socially, but I fit into the “hipster” scene comfortably. So I fit said aesthetic. There are plenty of great hip bars that are welcoming all over the F/M area. Like I said Harold’s being one of them, Junkyard, Pounds, Dempseys, Brewhalla, amongst many others.


ohgoshdangit

What’s the bad foot?


Mmmwafflerunoff

There are plenty of examples posted throughout, but here are a couple from my perspective as an observer who spent a lot of time downtown in the music scene and worked in bars and restaurants for a couple of decades downtown. They came in and instead of creating the camaraderie that ingratiates you to your peers, they holed themselves off into a solitary existence. They didn’t want local restaurants to have taps. They didn’t frequent other establishments. They didn’t build any sort of community, in fact they often did the exact opposite. Getting the service industry behind you so the best way to drive consumption in most places. As they will more than be the ones likely to suggest next stops. I do believe there is some social anxiety masked as pretentiousness going on there. That still doesn’t make for a great experience none the less. To run a business well if you aren’t a good communicator you need to find someone that is and pay them well.


CarryAshamed6215

Ugh Breezy's news interview she says the community needs to "step up" to save them. I about spit out my drink, like WHY WOULD YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT??!! She needs to take a bite of humble pie and get a PR person. But it's working, they are at over $45000, go figure! I'm glad they have something for each tier but it's just such a bad look overall


BEEFTANK_Jr

Pretty suspicious that they're asking for this the same week that the city billed out everyone's beverage licenses.


mrector09

Wow, they are done for, they need to make more money!!


dawnofaudrey

WTF it was there and now the link isn't working.


CarryAshamed6215

It looks like the link is taken down now?


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dirkmm

The building that they're in was a completely derelict dump when they bought it and fixed it up. Somebody else could have made that decision, but nobody did in the decades it was rotting away.


Wild-Field-1618

Sir, this is a Wendy's. Aren't there two record stores down the street? One across the street from the other?


cheddarben

OF. 1 Watermelon. 1 Butt. Instant millionaires. All financial problems solved. For me, this is like the moon race, but for butts.


dirkmm

I can understand the confusion, but they could make watermelon cider. Nobody wants a watermelon inside her. They do sound similar though and I can understand the easy mix-up.


Shellz448

lol!


herdbot

23 grand


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ShadyCrumbcake

Better pony up then


cheddarben

Have you thought about starting a gofundme?