243: Cider Trail 2020 | CiderDays Part 1

Plan the Perfect Cider Road Trip!

This is Part 1 of a two part series on the new Cider Trail for Franklin County CiderDays 2020.

The following is a recommended loop to visit 5 venues on the map. You can go in either direction of this loop - look to ciderdays.org to find the map and additional info on the other stops along the Cider Trail

1. Beaver Pond Distillery

A German-made copper still for only 50 gallons, means every batch is hand-crafted and lovingly distilled, catching the heart of each run.

Look for the Apple Brandy - double distillation - 1 year in oak

Contact:

• 88 Woodward Rd. Petersham, MA 01366
  By appointment only
  Beaver Pond Distillery Website
  Beaver Pond Distillery Facebook Page
  (978) 724-3443

Also available at

• Stan's Liquor Mart
• New Salem General Store - by the Next stop on the Cider Trail
• Ryan & Casey Liquors

2. Stan's Liquor Mart, with over 75 different hard ciders with their main focus on ciders made in New England! With everything from artisanal table ciders to 4 packs of fruited sweet ciders they try to carry a broad spectrum of the category.

Stan's Liquor Mart is a family-run business with over 30 years of experience. Besides the large selection of hard ciders, they focus on craft beer and fine wines and have an extensive selection of whiskies and other liquors. experience a a safe clean shopping experience and located 5 minutes off of Route 2.

Contact:

• 1586 South Main Street, Athol, MA 01331
• (Covid hours) Monday – Saturday 10-8 Sunday 11-5
• (978) 249-9550

3. New Salem Cider

In addition to apples, cider donuts, sweet and hard ciders and preserves, several vendors will also be on site to sell local products. Space will be limited by state restricted event capacity and we will post this as well as any updates on the website and Facebook pages as the dates approach.

Contact

• 67 South Main St. in New Salem, Massachusetts.
• Parking available in marked areas across from driveway.
• Farm Store open every day, 10am-6pm
• Cider Garden open 12pm – 6pm and staffed on weekends
• (617) 634-9392

The cider garden will stay open up to Thanksgiving, with a fire pit lit on weekends, and growlers will be for sale the first two weeks of December.

Halloween weekend, weather permitting, we will be offering small outdoor workshops on home cider making, vinegar making, pruning and orcharding; check the website and Facebook page for additional information and times.

4. Phoenix Fruit Farm

Orchard with 20 acres of apples, 5 acres of peaches, and a farm store featuring locally grown produce and locally made foods. Phoenix Fruit Farm was founded in 2017 by Elly Vaughan, a graduate of U. Mass with a degree in Plant and Soil Science. We press and sell our own ra of raw, unpasteurized cider and actively building toward making our own hard cider, as part of our diversification plans.

Contact

• 49 Sabin Street (farm), 401 Mill Valley Road (store), Belchertown, MA 01007
• Store open daily, Mon-Sat 8-6, Sun 10-6
• (978) 430-9459

5. Ragged Hill Cider

Ragged Hill Cider Company is an award-winning orchard-based craft cidery, specializing in small batch ciders made using traditional methods with no added sugar. All the apples we use are proudly grown, picked, pressed, fermented and bottled at our 100% solar-powered orchard and cidery in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. Located in a beautiful hilltop orchard just East of the Quabbin Reservoir. The orchard offers pick-your-own blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pears and about 30 varieties of apples. All of our ciders are made in the orchard with fruit grown solely at the orchard.

Cider Offerings:

Traditional Dry ABV 6.4% -Light, crisp, refreshing
Traditional Semi-Dry ABV 5% - Light, aromatic, fruity
Rasé (Raspberry Rosé) ABV 5% - Semi-dry, raspberry infused
Honeycrisp ABV 7.1% - Semi-sweet, medium bodied, notes of honey and ripe stone fruit
Ice Cider ABV 12%

Our location is easily accessed from Route 9 or Route 32. Other local attractions include hiking at Rock House Reservation and the Quabbin Reservoir, breads and pastries at Rose32 Bakery, and Farm to Table dining at Salem Cross Inn & Tavern.

Contact

• 94 John Gilbert Rd, West Brookfield, MA 01585
• From Sept. 1-Dec 31, Friday 2p-5p, Saturday 11a-4p, Sunday 11a-4p
• (415) 405-5215

This next stop can be a full stand alone day trip with stops at The Spruces , The Clark Art Institute and MassMoCA.

Berkshire Cider Project

Berkshire Cider Project is a new craft cidery focused on dry sparkling ciders. Located in a beautiful former textile mill with adjacent café and distillery. We're open for tastings, CIDER merch, and bottles to-go.

Berkshire Cider Project opened in July 2020. Our dry ciders start in the orchards and forgotten apple trees across Berkshire country. We focus on traditional techniques to craft sparkling ciders that are refreshingly complex yet accessible! Our bright labels and tie-dye accessories are inspired by warm Berkshire summers and the modern art at MassMoCA, just down the road. By partnering with orchards across the county we hope to share our deep interest in agricultural development and sustainability. Located at the beautiful Greylock WORKS facility– a former textile mill turned event venue, co-working space and food incubator. An adjacent café, The Break Room, is open Thursday-Sunday 8am-3pm. Check our website for special CiderDays events

Contact:

• 508 State Road, North Adams, MA 01247
• Friday and Saturday 12-6pm. Check our website for special CiderDays events.
• (413) 409-6058

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