Alex Wilson & Irene Hussey started Wayside Cider in 2014 based on their shared love of the wild and abandoned homestead apple trees. The pair made 3500 bottles of unfiltered mountain cider in their first year of production - which sold out within 3 months. Soon outgrowing their small cidery (Irene’s parents’ garage) they were fortunate to find a large old barn in the center of the historic Catskill town of Andes NY - which with some elbow grease and a lot of help from their friends, became the new home of Wayside Cider & Tap Room. Though Alex has since moved on from the cider business, we will always appreciate the work he did in establishing Wayside.
From hand picking apples through to bottling our final product, we handle every stage of the process, including, of course, sharing a glass of our cider with friends. While our methods might take longer, so do all the best things in life. Our blend of wild, heirloom, and dessert apples merges past and present to create a uniquely Delaware County cider.
Our inspiration - taste from the hills
Bucking the current cider trend of looking to Europe for inspiration and apple cultivars, we are focused on making modern American ciders that draw on the history and topography of the place where we live. We pick and graft the wild and abandoned trees with the aim of preserving the past while embracing modern production methods to produce a cider unique to this region.
We have found the wild apples produce much less juice than their cultivated cousins, but we hope you will agree that the complexity and unique flavors of these little fellas make all the effort worthwhile.
The Farm
Wayside Cider is fortunate to have a orchard and nursery on High Meadows Farm, in East Delhi. The farm, owned by John and Laura Hussey, got its start raising Suffolk Punch Draft Horses before expanding into other rare and heritage farm breeds. These days the horses are all but retired, and the farm has shifted its focus to pigs, breeding both Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spots. This works well for the cidery, as the pigs make an excellent waste management team, eating up all of our spent apple pressings. The farm also includes an organic garden, the produce from which and pork from the farm can be found at the tap room. www.highmeadowssuffolks.com
Photos by Natalie Chitwood & Peter Cosby