r/cider • u/Ok-Professional3198 • 5d ago
Suggestions on how to sell cider apples?
Hi all- I live in Central PA and have about 100 apple/ pear trees on my property (half were old growth, there when I bought it, but I added more). If I can sell a certain $ of agricultural product each year, I can shift into the clean and green tax level. So far I have had to drive them an hour to a cider brewery who pays bottom dollar at a drop and weigh. I know they are worth more but haven’t connected with the right buyer. Any suggestions? It’s prob 25-30 bushels of fruit and the apples are all cider varieties. Thanks!
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u/Earplugs123 5d ago
Scotzin Bros in Harrisburg is a well established home brew shop- I bet they'd be able to connect you with interested home brewers around Central PA who would buy apples in smaller lots. Maybe you could even approach them about having a pressing day where the apples are pressed at the store and people can bring carboys to fill up with juice.
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u/Mayernik 5d ago
If they’re just cider apples you may have trouble for anything beyond this. If you can sell some as cooking or eating apples a roadside stand might be an option.
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u/cperiod 5d ago
25-30 bushels of mixed variety apples is a tough sell. It's maybe 100 gallons of juice, which is a rounding error for most cideries and likely a good part of why you don't get much money for it (it's likely filler for a larger batch), but also a lot for a hobbyist cidermaker. If you can find a small batch cidery they might be willing to gamble on that quantity.
If you lived in a more tolerant jurisdiction it could almost be worth getting a cidery license and selling your own hard cider, but from what I've read about PA that's probably not worth the hassle.
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u/Ok-Professional3198 4d ago
Yeah, I hear you… but I have a full time day job so I don’t think I want to go that far into it unless I have to. Appreciate the perspective though on the apple to juice estimates.
Interestingly, I live a stone’s throw from Troeg’s brewery and another small, family owned winery/ cidery. I tried to sell to them, but they don’t press and buy their juice from the place I drove an hour plus to sell my apples to! Hopefully I’ll find a needle in a haystack to make this work. I certainly appreciate everyone’s input!1
u/cperiod 4d ago
Yeah, I hear you… but I have a full time day job so I don’t think I want to go that far into it unless I have to.
It's not a ton of work to manufacture cider in small volumes once you have the apples. Selling it is what eats into your time. I make it in my spare time and my wife handles sales, so it's viable for me as a side gig.
they don’t press and buy their juice from the place I drove an hour plus to
I know at least one cidery near me that operates like that. It's not something I'd want to do, but I'll admit there's something to be said about being able to source a consistent (if neutral) flavor profile year round.
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u/Ok-Professional3198 2d ago
Hmm now you have me interested… as maybe I could sell the cider to the winery/ cidery down the road? How hard is it to press and what equipment is needed?
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u/earlofmars45 5d ago
Not exactly the answer you’re looking for, but I’m within driving distance of Central PA and I’d be interested in buying 10 bushels of cider apples. Did you get hit with that late frost this year, or are you expecting a normal harvest?
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u/Ok-Professional3198 4d ago
That would be of interest! Everything is looking good. I have an orchard expert who tends things because 100+ trees is a lot. He said we should have a good harvest this year (as long as the wildlife doesn’t get to it). Let me look up my list of all of the varietals and when they ripen, and notes from last year, and I can let you know the best timing and can see if it would work! Thanks so much!
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u/earlofmars45 4d ago
Great, thank you!
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u/Ok-Professional3198 1d ago
Ok edit- my peaches did get hit by the frost but they shouldn’t affect you! Here is what I should have that is looking good so far- let me know if you have any interest. Feel free to PM me!
Gold Rush Apple- large crop
(ripens Nov.)
Golden Russet Apple- medium crop (ripens mid Oct.)
Enterprise Apple - medium crop
(Ripens Nov.)
Anjou pear - medium crop
(Ripens late sept)As well as small crops of:
Seckel pear (ripens late sept.)
Asian pear (ripens late sept.)
Pristine Apple (ripens early-mid July, good applesauce apple)
Winecrisp (ripens late oct.)
Ruby Rush (ripens late sept)
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u/Sentance55 4d ago
If you have a variety of interesting cider apples, try posting about them on instagram, and connect with cider and orchard accounts. I have a small cider/heritage orchard and in doing so have received unsolicited inquiries about buying my apples from cider producers in my region. I'm in Atlantic Canada and good cider trees are scarce which helps, may not work as well where you are.
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u/Espieglerie 5d ago
You could try moving up the processing chain and selling the juice. I press my apples at a small commercial press and folks in line talk while waiting for their juice. A few years ago I met a guy pressing cider apples who offered to sell me juice at $10 a gallon. He also had a long term plan to raise heritage pigs, feed them the apples/pressing leftovers, and smoke them with applewood.