New York City may be known as the Big Apple, but that’s only because upstate New York has over 600 apple orchards. In fact, New York is the second largest apple producer in the United States, behind only Washington state.
Come September, apple picking in New York begins and local families will visit the orchards. Since there aren’t any apple orchards in NYC (duh!) that also means the city folk from Brooklyn and Manhattan will take the Metro North train up to come to the orchards as well.
But although New York state is known for apple picking, not all the apples are for eating. That’s because many apples that are grown in upstate NY are used to make hard apple cider. And that’s because in 2013, New York passed a bill to allow owners of apple orchards to obtain a cider license to produce and sell cider made with 100% New York apples.
So, if you’re looking to head upstate to go apple picking, you might want to stop at one that also makes hard apple cider. Here are some of the best cideries that are near NYC, up in the Hudson Valley.
Angry Orchard
Angry Orchard doesn’t have apple picking, but it is the clear leader in terms of hard cider sales. Their sales of $202 million far exceed the next largest Bold Rock out of Virginia ($30m) and 2 Towns from Oregon ($20m). It doesn’t hurt that they are owned by the Boston Beer Company, which brews the popular Sam Adams beer, and thus is distributed nationwide.
Angry Orchard serves flights of their cider varieties, food from their own kitchen, and also has food trucks on site during the busy months. And if you want a unique experience, you can make a reservation for the Tree House tasting room, built by the famed treehouse designer & builder Pete Nelson.
Have Apple Picking: No
Treasury Cider at Fishkill Farms
Fishkill Farms, however, has been a family-owned apple orchard and vegetable farm for over 100 years. Their farm store is open year-round, and they offer a seasonal pick your own operation starting with peas and strawberries in the spring and culminating with apples and pumpkins in the fall season.
But it’s their Treasury Cider brand that is a bonus for when you’re done (or just skip the apple picking and go right for the cider). Try their flagship semi-dry Homestead or their semi-dry rosé named Wild at Heart. Or just get a couple flights and try them all. They offer small bites such as cheese plates and hummus, or there is a grill that serves Jamaican jerk chicken, corn on the cob, and other grill items. But most importantly, there is a small stand selling cider donuts. To top it all off, they have a live music schedule during the busy months. This is by far the orchard I visit the most, and one of my favorites in all of upstate.
Have Apple Picking: Yes
Farm Bar at Wilklow Orchards
Wilklow Orchards is a 6th generation family farm that has live music in the summers, apple picking in the fall, and they sell baked goods and attend farmers’ markets throughout the year. They make non-alcoholic cider using UV light to kill the bacteria rather than pasteurization, and in the colder months serve it hot.
And then in 2011, childhood friends Albert Wilklow and Devin Britton decided they should start making hard cider. It helped that Albert’s family-owned Wilklow Orchards and Devin was an experienced home brewer.
And thus Bad Seed cider was created using Wilklow Orchards apples. They have a farm bar here at the orchards, serving their own cider and typically have a food truck on site during the busy season.
Have Apple Picking: Yes
Bad Seed Taproom
Although the apples come from Wilklow Orchards, Bad Seed cidery and taproom is located here. They have typically 8 varieties of cider on tap, including the Original Dry, Blueberry Lavender (Yum!), Pineapple, Raspberry, and a Honey Crisp. And if you aren’t in the mood for cider, they do carry a few local beers. since this is just the taproom, you can’t go apple picking here, but its a great stop to try some great cider.
Have Apple Picking: No
Kettleborough Cider House at Dressel Farms
Kettleborough Cider House was founded in 2011 by Tim Dressel, whose family has been growing apples in New Paltz for four generations. After graduating Cornell in 2007, Tim returned to his family business and decided he wanted to expand into a cidery.
They began planting nearly-extinct varieties of apples that are better suited for hard cider production than your typical grocery store varieties. So, in addition to the “dessert” style apples like Red Delicious, McIntosh and Honeycrisp, Kettleborough plants these rarely found varieties that are used just for cider (list is not all inclusive):
European Varieties
- Ashmead’s Kernel
- Brown Snout
- Chisel Jersey
- Dabinette
- Binet Rouge
- Calville Blanc
- Michelin
American Heirlooms
- Golden Russett
- Esopus Spitzenburg
- Smokehouse
- Northern Spy
- Stayman Winesap
Have Apple Picking: Yes
Brooklyn Cider House at Twin Star Orchards
Don’t let the name fool you, Brooklyn Cider House isn’t in Brooklyn. It’s located in New Paltz. But in 2014, Peter Li told his sister he wanted to open a Cider house in Brooklyn and convinced her to quit her job and partner with him. And although the dream didn’t materialize in Brooklyn, they ended up revitalizing a Hudson Valley apple orchard, built a cidery with tasting room, and added a pavilion for special events.
Have Apple Picking: Yes
Locust Grove
Similar to several of the other cideries in the area, Locust Grove has been a family-owned fruit farm for generations. And in this case, the Kents have been farming this land for seven generations since 1820. But it was Covid that led to the Locust Farm Brewery Barn. Faced with a steep decline in revenue and an apple surplus because the restaurant industry was shut down, they decided to use the apples, peaches, cherries, and other fruit to make cider.
This decision turned out to be a blessing. In addition to several ciders, they make a variety of beers. Locust Grove is the smallest and most local of these cideries. And their use of many fruits in their cider truly makes them stand out from the other NY hard cider spots.
Have Apple Picking: Yes
