Great idea!

Branch Out Cider Releases First Cider

Branch Out Cider welcomed the release of their first cider, Perennial 2012, with an Orchard Party to celebrate the new product and the apple tree owners that contributed their apples to the making of the product.

Five years ago, Matt Fater and Aaron Fodge started making cider by hand-pressing apples. As they began sourcing apples though, they could help notice the amount of apple trees in and nearby the Fort Collins (CO) area – where they are located. As a result, they came up with the idea of a “community orchard.” The concept is easy – people with apple trees that have a surplus of apples or find their apples are beginning to turn can register their trees with Branch Out Cider and someone from the cider company (perhaps Fater or Fodge themselves since it’s a small operation) will come and harvest the apples. After, the apples are pressed and the juice is fermented. Excess pulp is fed to chickens.

Fater told InnovatioNews, “From August through October [2012], we collected fruit from 40 different properties.” Fater and Fodge estimate that there may be more than 600 trees in the Fort Collins vicinity though so the company is hoping even more owners will register their trees with Branch Out Cider.

“The beauty of this business is that we don’t have to invest in an orchard,” said Fodge to InnovatioNews. “Instead, we’re investing in relationships with our neighbors and utilizing a resource that would otherwise go to waste.”

The “community orchard” apples used for Perennial 2012 produced a dry, sparkling cider blended from Empire, Portland, Winesaps, McIntosh, Red Delicious and a number of heirloom apple varieties. With an 8.5% alcohol content, the cider can be found in 750ml bottles in select locations in the Fort Collins (CO) area. There were a little over 170 cases produced (2,000 bottles) though so get it as soon as you can!

For more information or to register your tree to participate in the 2013 apple harvest, please visit BranchOutCider.com or contact Aaron Fodge at Aaron@BranchOutCider.com.