Two days before Fall Fest. The pumpkins and hay bales are ordered, the goats are confirmed, CJ has a hog on hold, and I'm writing this instead of sleeping, which is about right for the third week of October. Every year I promise myself I'll write more than one of these. Every year I write one. Here it is.
I left
For the first half of October I wasn't here. Katie and I walked the Camino de Santiago, coming up through Portugal, 92 miles on foot with a pack and not much else. No bar to open. No inbox. No food truck canceling on a Friday at 3 PM.
"For explorers, by explorers" has been on our cans since the beginning. It started as a line about the kind of cider I wanted to make, something that tasted like the orchard it came from instead of a syrup factory. Somewhere along the way it became a slogan, the kind of thing you stop hearing because you've read it ten thousand times on a label. Walking twenty miles a day with sore feet and no plan beyond the next town, I heard it again. Getting lost on purpose is still the best way I know to figure out what actually matters.
Here's what mattered, as it turns out. A small team that ran this place without me and didn't burn it down. A town that kept showing up on Thursdays for trivia whether I was behind the bar or not. And apples in Winchester that ripened on their own schedule, completely indifferent to where I was. The cidery didn't need me for two weeks. That's the best thing I can say about the people who work here.
Fall Fest is Saturday
October 24, noon to 6. Live music all afternoon, twenty local makers inside and out, a whole hog from Chalkboard BBQ, Beth's goats back for the kids, free pumpkins while they last, mulled cider on the outdoor bar.
Last year's was the best day we've ever had. Perfect weather, well over 500 of you, the lot full by one o'clock. It was also a mess behind the scenes. I was understaffed, there was no outdoor bar, and I spent most of the day running instead of talking to anyone. This year there's an outdoor bar, more hands, and an actual plan. Free entry, dog friendly, rain or shine. If you've never been, this is the day to come.
Now the hard part
I've written about this before and I'll keep writing about it because I think people should know how a small craft producer actually works. Our slow season starts the week after Fall Fest and runs through February. Every spring I build cash reserves with one goal: survive the winter. The irony never gets old. Winter is when the best apples come in and the fewest people walk through the door.
We don't survive on cans alone. We survive on events, on private parties, on you deciding to come in on a cold Tuesday night when the couch is right there. So this is the part where I ask.
If your office, your friend group, your team, or your family needs somewhere to be in November or December, we have a room. Semi-private cellar space, a real bar, flexible layout, and a staff that has done this hundreds of times. Fill out the event inquiry form and you'll have a quote within a day. The dates between Thanksgiving and Christmas go first. Don't sit on it.
What the winter looks like
The calendar is full, and it's the part of this job I like most. I've been running the events program myself for over a year now and meeting the vendors, the hosts, and the regulars face to face is the thing that reminds me why I do this.
- Trivia every Thursday at 7, free. Thanksgiving week it moves to Wednesday the 25th. We're closed Thanksgiving Day.
- Line dancing the 1st and 3rd Wednesday with Good Times Line Dancing, $5. Halloween edition is Saturday, October 31. Come in costume, learn Thriller.
- Sushi & Cider with CocuSocial, hands-on classes on October 28 and November 11.
- Art in the Attic pop-up markets on the second Saturday, November 14 and December 12.
- Comedy Night with Next Stop Comedy, Saturday, November 21.
- Small Business Saturday Market on November 28 and the Christmas Market on December 5. Local makers, mulled cider, full bar, both free.
Full details on the events page.
The website
You're reading this on a new site. The old one had been duct-taped together for years and was slow, especially on a phone, which is where most of you are. The new one is fast, has every event, the hours, the cider list, and where to find us in stores. If something's wrong on it, tell me. I built most of it myself over the past month, and I guarantee I missed something.
Looking at 2027
A year ago I wrote that I was hoping to hire our first sales rep and get Lost Boy on more menus. That's still the goal and I'm still frustrated about it. I'm also still committed to the monthly release program, still working on a lower-ABV line, and still saying no to sugar. Nothing about the mission has changed. The execution gets a little better every year.
I came back from Spain tired and grateful, which is a good way to walk into winter. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for supporting small, independent, dry cider when there are a hundred easier things to drink. See you Saturday.
Tristan