The Cidery

I like the idea of a cidery as a value adding enterprise . Uses perrenials instead of annual grains . Good use for unmarketable fruits or those that did not sell . Prolongs the salability of your crops . A neighborhood cidery would allow others to sell their fruits . Has anyone tried this ?

Yes! This has been done by a number of orchards. A few of them near me produce their own ciders and one of them also produces butters, and jams. One of the family run orchards has a separate winery for making fruit wines, though technically its a separate business for legal reasons. Often the laws do require things a like a certified kitchen to produce cider, juices, etc so you would want to make sure your on top the man's regulations before just jumping into it, but for those that can make the jump it's a very helpful investment.

I think so. Cider and perry are the fastest growing segment of the adult beverage market. Check out Albemarle and Foggy Ridge in Va. They are looking for growers. Albemarle offers a cider workshop in the spring that hashes out some of the issues.

https://www.albemarleciderworks.com/
http://www.foggyridgecider.com/

Also, Virginia Tech has a professor on staff to help the apple and cider industry develop there. This page has a couple of studies and surveys.

http://www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/alson-h-smith/treefruit/horticulture/hard-cider/

There are several side businesses including nursery stock and selling premium vintage apples to customers.