In New York’s “North of Upstate” region, in the town of Canton is the Canton Apples production building. It is now also home of a partnership shaping the local cider scene. Owner Joel Howie and cider maker Dan Gallagher live just a mile apart, and their skills mesh perfectly. Joel brings over a decade of experience growing apples, pressing sweet cider, and creating value-added products. Dan, a passionate fermenter, was ready to move beyond hobby scale when the two connected.

Under Canton Apples & Cider, LLC, two product lines take shape:

• Canton Apples – approachable, consistent ciders for everyday enjoyment.

• Frosty Twig – small-batch, specialty ciders showcasing unique apples, fruits, and wild fermentation.

Production takes place in a purpose-built facility designed for growth, with future plans for a taproom overlooking the orchard.

Between their combined orchards, Joel and Dan care for over 250 apple varieties — many planted by Bill McKentley of St. Lawrence Nurseries. These heritage and cold-hardy apples thrive in Zone 4, and every apple grown is put to use. When supplies run short, apples are sourced from other New York regions.

Ciders range from wild-fermented pet-nats to cultured yeast ferments for consistency. Specialty ciders include

• Turkey Tree
• Wild Berry
• Pear cider

Most ciders age 9–10 months before release, allowing flavors to develop naturally.

• Website: https://cantonapples.com

• Totally Cider Tour_UK Edition 2025
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• Vermont and New York Cider Road Trip series
  • Part 1- 464: Czech Cider: From Roadside Apples to Cellar Ferments
  • Part 2 –465: The Integrated Table: Cider, Food, and Farming at 1000 Stone Farm
  • Part 3 – 466: Growing Cold-Hardy Trees at Saint Lawrence Nursery | NY

Saint Lawrence Nursery in Potsdam, NY, has been helping cold-climate growers find success since the 1920s. Originally founded by Fred Ashworth and later expanded by Bill MacKentley, the nursery is now stewarded by Connor and Allyssa Hardiman, the third generation in a nonfamilial succession.

Cold-Hardy Genetics

• Over 250 apple varieties
• Trialed at temperatures as low as -34°F
• Trees that thrive from Alaska to Michigan

Only Standard Rootstock

• Seedling Antonovka (apples) and Baccata (crabs) for resilience and longevity
• Trees that can live 100+ years

More Than Apples

• Black walnuts, butternuts, hazelnuts, and berry bushes
• Custom grafting for heirloom preservation
• Regionally adapted selections from partnerships and testing plots

The nursery was handed down without a sale. It was gifted by Bill to Connor in a rare act of agricultural generosity. The plan is to do the same one day. “Love is what makes the world go ’round,” Bill often says, and it’s embedded in every tree tag and planting guide.

Most customers are small-scale planters or long-time loyalists. Whether you want just one tree to honor a grandparent or 100 cider apples for a startup orchard, Connor and Allyssa are here to help—with personal attention, a rich planting guide, and an option to let them choose the right tree for you.

• Website: https://www.slngrow.com/

• Listen to Bill MacKentley’s speach at New York Apple Camp 2023 391: Test Winters & Climate w/Saint Lawrence Nurseries (NY) Founder
• Totally Cider Tours
• Patrick McCauley Episode Feature – 302 Washtenaw County Cider Mille 1841- Today
• Topsoil Magazine

At 1000 Stone Farm in Brookfield, Vermont, Kyle Doda and Betsy Simpson have built a dynamic model that unites organic farming, community-supported agriculture, small-batch cider. First came the farm and then over ten years, the couple expanded their offerings to include fruit trees, livestock, mushrooms, and now a seasonal restaurant and tasting room: The Farmers Hand Cider House & Kitchen. Besty is the Chef and a graduate of the Culinary Institue of Arts in New York.

Situated between 1,400–1,700 feet in elevation, the farm grows:

• Over 60 varieties of apples
• Plums, peaches, cherries, and Perry Pears
• Herbs interplanted with vegetables and orchard rows
• Livestock including lamb, pork, beef, and poultry
• And there is a dedicate grow space for a mushroom buisness

Fruit is fermented on-site with minimal sulfites, both neutral and spirit oak barrels, and some filtered fresh juice for back-sweetening. The cidery prioritizes clean expressions of fruit and soil.

• Volume One – Off-dry, barrel-aged, lightly back-sweetened
• Volume Two – Dry blend with Winesap, Kingston Black, Northern Spy
• Volume Three – Porter’s Perfection and Ashmead’s Kernel
• Tomcat – Gin barrel-aged cider, 10% ABV
• Graf – A farmhouse cider-beer hybrid aged in oak

Open seasonally, The Farmers Hand Cider House & Kitchen features hyperlocal meals built around the farm’s own produce and meats. The space invites locals and visitors to connect over cider, community, and shared tables.

There is seating at the bar and also outside on a brand new patio for the 2025 season.

• Website: https://www.1000stonefarm.com
• Farm Store: Open daily, 8am–8pm (self-serve)
• The Farmers Hand: Seasonal hours; check website or Instagram for updates
  • June through December Fridays 1-8pm & Saturdays 1-8pm
• Location: Brookfield, Vermont

• Totally Cider Tours UK_Edition 2025
• Wolfkin Cider, Seattle Cider
• 375: Cider’s Low Carbon Footprint | Wildbranch Cider, Vermont – Cedar Hannan

As securing permission, Eric was able to start his fermentation journey in high school with a science project using cane juice. That spark stayed with him through his time in Louisiana and Kansas, eventually shaping what is now Zydeco Meadery in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.

Zydeco Meadery weaves Eric’s Caribbean heritage into every bottle. Drawing from Trinidadian traditions like “Sorrel”, a spiced hibiscus drink served during holidays, Eric reimagines this ancestral recipes by using honey instead of cane sugar. Each mead showcases distinctive honey varietals, from Louisiana wildflower to Massachusetts knotweed, adding layers of terroir that reflect the regions that shaped him. The result is a line of meads that are bold, balanced, and culturally rich—fermented expressions of family, migration, and memory.

• Carnival Rose
  • Carbonated hibiscus mead rooted in Caribbean sorrel tradition
  • 12% ABV, spiced, bold, festive
  • Named in honor of Calypso Rose, the first female calypsonian
• Yankee Heritage Cyser
  • Apple, raisin, and knotweed honey
  • Inspired by colonial cider traditions and Bear Swamp Orchard & Cidery which is in Ashfield, Massachusetts but is no longer open.
• Bayou Soleil
  • Traminette grape and citrus blend
  • A nod to Louisiana groves and Eric’s wife’s love of German varietals
• Atlantic Creole
  • 100% Massachusetts knotweed honey
  • Molasses-like, earthy, and distinct

• Website: https://zydecomeadery.com

• Totally Cider Tour Uk_Edition 2025
• Flower Expo
• Apple Guy Flowers

Levi Danielson is the founder and cider maker at RAW Cider, based in Dayton, Oregon. With roots in the Driftless Region of Minnesota and a cidery nestled among cider apples and pears in the Willamette Valley, Levi’s story is one of wild ferments, place-based cider, and planting for the future – both in Oregon and back home.

Levi’s path began in microbiology and health policy before a leap to France introduced him to wild fermentation and orchard life. After interning and later leading production at Dragon’s Head Cider in Washington, Levi launched RAW Cider in 2020 with méthode champenoise ciders that quietly matured during the pandemic.

Since then, RAW Cider has:

• Opened a year-round tasting room on an orchard in Dayton, Oregon
• Earned gold and silver medals for its first releases
• Focused on native yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, and orchard-first practices
• Planted and top-grafted cider and perry fruit in both Oregon and Minnesota

Levi’s passion for perry is central to RAW Cider. With 60-year-old pear trees, now top worked with perry pear varieties and wild seedlings grafted in the Mississippi River Valley, plus collaborations in Hood River, he’s betting on American perry’s future.

He believes Hood River could become the “Domfrontais of the U.S.”—a new home for pear-driven sparkling ciders that mirrors the pear region in Normandy, France.

Listen to episode 313: Wild Yeast Fermentations | CiderCon 2022 featuring a panel discussion with Levi Danielson

• Website: https://www.rawcider.com

• European Union 100% juice movement – Sign the petition today! https://www.petitions.net/protect-european-artisanal-cider-and-perry
• Totally Cider Tours
• Inn on Lake Champlain

An intimate sit down with James Forbes of Little Pomona to talk about grief of losing his wife and business partner Susanna Forbes, the growth of the cidery, and the evolving identity of one this select cidery.

Susanna Forbes, co-founder of Little Pomona, passed away in 2024. Her warmth, encouragement, and belief in others shaped the cidery from day one. As James puts it,

“She was always trying to build up and support others – including me.”

• Champagne Method Quince Wine – Possibly the second of its kind globally, due this summer.
• Champagne Method Egremont Russet – One of his favorite apples, now sparkling.
• Keeved Ciders – A new path, with mixed results but promising bottles.
• Distilled Projects – Collaborations with Capreolus and Pleasant Land to craft pommeau aged in chestnut barrels.
• Annual Disco Nouveau – Returning with the 2022 and 2023 vintages.
• Natural Yeast Ferments – Used throughout, except the second ferment in méthode champenoise.

• Hereford Beer House | Hereford
• Museum of Cider | Hereford
• Specialist shops in London, Manchester, and Glasgow
• Press Then Press –
• Select U.S. locations via Anxo (Washington D.C.)

• Totally Cider Tours – UK Edition
• Vermont and New York Cider Tour/Road Trip
  • 1000 Stone Farm
  • Saint Lawerence Nursery
  • Frosty Twig and Canton Apples
  • Pierrpont Cider
  • Inn at Lake Champlain

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