In Development
The Cider House
Pressed the Old-Fashioned Way.
Cider is where heritage apples really come alive. Varieties like Kingston Black, Dabinett, and Harrison were bred specifically for the press — their flavor profiles are built for fermentation, not the fruit bowl. The Cider House is a long-term project at Jeff Hollow Orchard, and one I'm genuinely excited about.
Note: The Cider House is a developing project. No cider is currently available for sale or consumption by visitors. Any future commercial cider production, sales, or tastings will be subject to proper licensing and permits.
Already in the Works
The Equipment Is Here
The cider-making setup at Jeff Hollow is already underway. Apple-crushing, pressing, and stainless-steel fermentation equipment have been acquired. The operation is in development — not a future equipment purchase, but an active project working toward its first real batches.
Starting with small-batch experimentation: learning how different heritage varieties behave in the press, how fermentation develops with wild versus cultivated yeasts, how blending changes the character of the finished cider. The goal is to understand the process thoroughly before scaling anything up.
Fresh-Pressed
Traditional Apple Cider
There's nothing quite like fresh-pressed apple cider made from fruit you grew yourself. The goal is to eventually press cider from the orchard's own heritage apples — starting with small-batch experimentation and working toward a proper seasonal operation. Fresh cider made from a blend of heritage varieties has a depth of flavor that commercial cider simply can't match. The difference between fresh-pressed cider and the pasteurized product on grocery store shelves is the difference between a photograph and the real thing.
Hard Cider & Scrumpy
Traditional Fermented Cider
My interest in hard cider runs toward the traditional end of the spectrum — old-fashioned English and American styles, made from proper cider apples rather than dessert fruit. Scrumpy in particular: rough, unfiltered, and full of character. The kind of cider that tastes like it came from a wooden barrel in a Somerset barn, not a stainless-steel craft beverage facility.
Hard cider was the dominant beverage of early America. Before refrigeration, before clean municipal water, before the temperance movement changed everything, virtually every farm with apple trees made cider. Johnny Appleseed's nurseries weren't planting eating apples — they were planting cider apples, the fuel of frontier life. That history is worth recovering.
The plan is to start with small-batch fermentation experiments — learning the process, understanding how different heritage varieties behave in the press and the barrel, and working toward something genuinely worth drinking. Dry, semi-dry, and naturally sweet styles. Blended and single-variety. This is a long-term ambition, not a current operation.
The Old Ways
What Is Scrumpy?
Scrumpy is a traditional West Country English cider — rough, unfiltered, and made from whatever apples were available. The name comes from the dialect word 'scrump,' meaning a small or withered apple. It was farmhouse cider, made in large quantities, fermented in wooden barrels, and consumed by the barrel rather than the bottle.
Modern craft cider has largely moved away from the scrumpy tradition toward cleaner, more controlled production. That's fine — but there's something worth preserving in the old approach. The unpredictability, the variation from batch to batch, the way the cider reflects the specific apples and the specific season. That's what I'm interested in.
The Process
From Press to Barrel
01
Harvest & Selection
Heritage cider apples are harvested at peak ripeness — often later than eating apples, when the sugars and tannins have fully developed. Variety selection and blending ratios are decided at this stage.
02
Crushing & Pressing
The apples are crushed to a pulp (pomace) and then pressed to extract the juice. Traditional rack-and-cloth pressing extracts juice slowly, preserving more of the apple's character than high-speed industrial pressing.
03
Fermentation
The fresh juice ferments — either with wild yeasts naturally present on the apple skins, or with cultivated cider yeasts. Fermentation converts the sugars to alcohol and develops the cider's flavor over weeks or months.
04
Aging & Blending
Cider is aged in tanks or barrels, then blended to achieve the desired flavor balance. Single-variety ciders are bottled as-is; blended ciders are assembled from multiple batches to balance sweetness, acidity, and tannin.
The Apples
Heritage Cider Varieties
Kingston Black
BittersharpWidely considered the finest single-variety cider apple. Complex, full-bodied, extraordinary.
Dabinett
BittersweetSmooth and mellow. A classic Somerset blending apple.
Yarlington Mill
BittersweetGood tannin and a pleasant, mellow flavor. Traditional Somerset variety.
Foxwhelp
BittersharpHigh acidity, bright and lively. One of the oldest surviving cider varieties.
Michelin
BittersweetReliable cropping and good cider character. French origin, widely grown in Herefordshire.
Brown Snout
BittersweetRich and full-flavored. Traditional Herefordshire variety.
Harry Masters' Jersey
BittersweetRich, full-bodied. One of the most widely grown traditional Somerset cider apples.
Harrison
American HeritageOnce the most celebrated American cider apple. Nearly extinct, now being revived.
Roxbury Russet
American HeritageColonial New England cider cornerstone. Nutty, tart, excellent keeper.
Newtown Pippin
American HeritageFavored by Thomas Jefferson. Complex, aromatic, excellent for cider.
Golden Russet
American HeritageHigh sugar content, excellent fermented cider. Good blending apple.
Grimes Golden
American HeritageSweet, rich, and aromatic. Believed to be a parent of Golden Delicious.
See the full variety catalog on the Heritage Apples page.
Future Plans
- ✦Fresh-pressed cider from orchard apples
- ✦Traditional hard cider and scrumpy
- ✦Small-batch fermentation experiments
- ✦Cider pressing demonstrations
- ✦Historic cider equipment on display
- ✦Seasonal cider production
- ✦Heritage cider apple varieties
- ✦Future tastings (subject to licensing)
The Atmosphere
Old Wood, Barrels & Autumn Light
The Cider House itself should feel like it belongs here — rustic and authentic, with wooden barrels, vintage signs, old apple crates, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to stay a while. Think 1970s Michigan roadside cider mill, not a modern craft beverage facility. The equipment should be visible. The process should be part of the experience.
Follow the Progress
The Cider House is a long-term project. Follow along in the Orchard Journal as it develops.
Read the Journal