CITIZENS CIDER PROJECT 2023
(2024 Update: Last year's Citizens Cider apple collection brought in so many apples that we are taking a pause from the project this year. We appreciate all of you who have been bringing your apples to us year after year, and hope you can make pies, apple sauce, and even your own cider!)
The Citizens Project is an annual community effort to pick apples from their backyards, fencerows, and abandoned orchards. We buy these unsprayed, crowd-sourced apples, press them, and ferment them to make a hyper-local cider. Every year, we get so many different kinds of apples, heritage varieties, crab-apples, and pears. This mix is what gives Citizens Cider so much character. We will release the fruits of your 2023 pickin's in the fall of 2024. In the meantime, enjoy Citizens Cider 2022 by-the-glass in the tasting room, or take home a bottle from the cidery, online store or farmers market.
News
Best in Class Award
We were thrilled that Citizens Cider won a Best in Class award in the Heritage Dry category at the 2022 Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition, which is the world's largest cider-judging. Thank you so much to the apple-picking locals of Uxbridge and beyond! The quality, diversity, and varieties of apples you picked had everything to do with this win. The award-winning Citizens Cider was from apples picked and pressed in 2020.
How Does it Work?
Citizens Cider 2023: Bring your unsprayed apples to us and we will pay you $10 for a full bushel or approximately $0.25 per pound. You can bring apples in any container and we will measure it for you. We typically start accepting apples in mid to late September. Watch our social media and website for announcements!
When and Where Can We Drop Apples Off?
(Sorry, but we are not accepting apples in 2024).
Drop your apples off at the cidery: 614 Sandford Rd, Uxbridge anytime we are open (see hours). Sorry, but we don't accept apples outside of our regular hours.
Apple-Picking Do's and Dont's
If the apples don't meet these criteria, we cannot accept them.
The DON’T’s
- No rot, please! Rot can spoil the cider. If you're not sure, break an apple open to check for brown inside.
- No apples with dirt or mud on them. Apples that are muddy from being on the ground are not fit for cider.
- No sprayed apples, please.
- Grounders are ok if you pick them the same day they fall and if they don't have rot or dirt.
- No unripe apples. Ripe apples have brown seeds.
- No apples with broken skin.
The DO’s
- Apples can be slightly imperfect: blemishes, apple scab, nicks, small bruises are all okay.
- All apple varieties are welcome. Heritage varieties and crab apples are our favourites. Pears and quince are good as along as they are quite firm and not overly ripe.
- You can pick over several days as the tree ripens and store them away from sun, rain and critters.