Franklin County CiderDays now has a "Cider Trail" with 16 stops covering western Massachusetts and the Berkshires! This is part 2 of the series on traveling the Cider Trail and we will look at 10 stops along the trail. Episode 243 is part 1 of this series and details a 5 stop loop and day trip.
View from West County Cider - picnic area looking out to Vermont and New Hampshire[/caption]
This episodes brings us west of the Connecticut River and into the rolling hills of west county.
We begin with:
Bear Swamp Orchard - Distillery and Cidery
1209 B Hawley Road, Ashfield MA 01330 Bottle Shop Saturday and Sunday 1-5 on November 7th & 8th Bear Swamp Orchard Website Telephone (413) 625-2849
The apple brandy/hard cider bottle shop and tasting room is open November 7th & 8th (traditional cider days weekend) 1-5 PM all dates. Besides that we will still offer Saturday afternoon in person pick up for orders through our online store until the end of November.
Bear Swamp is at the top of the hills on the east side of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, with views that reach out to Vermont and New Hampshire. The farm borders the Trustees of Reservations Bear Swamp Reservation, which offers miles of scenic hiking trails and views of its own. Look for:
Hard Cider, brandy and liqueurs.
Vinegar (raw, unpasteurized, untreated)
Jams and Jellies
Maple syrup
Headwater Cider
112 Forget Road,Hawley, MA 01339
Open weekends, Oct. 10-November 8; 10-5 Saturdays and Sundays
Grow What You Press. Press What You Grow. Estate Cider from Franklin County. Crisp and Dry. Grown, Pressed, and Bottled here at the orchard. Sample and purchase a range of alcoholic ciders at the source!
$12 / 750ml bottle
Pine Hill Orchards
248 Greenfield Road, Colrain, MA 01340
Store open daily 9am-6 pm, year-round. Food trailer operates Thursday-Sunday 9 am-4 pm, seasonally
Orchard selling apples, cider and locally made foods.
Special Blend Cider Sale for Cider Days Weekend: Bring your carboys and barrels to fill up with fresh-pressed specialty blends for bulk sale! Four different blends with multiple cider varieties used. 4000+ gallons will be available on November 7th and 8th from 9am to 5pm ONLY!! First come first served!
Bob DeLisle and Charlie Olchowski will be available all Saturday morning at the juice room to answer cider making questions and to give guidance. The Farm Store is open year-round from 9 am to 6 pm daily. The New Food Trailer is open seasonally Thursday through Sunday serving over-the -top burgers, poutine, irresistible fried dough, and more! Make sure to grab a bag of Cider Donuts!
Ryan & Casey Liquors
55 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01302
Hours of operation: Mon-Sat, 8 am-11 pm; Sun 10 am-9 pm
Bottle shop featuring ciders from Western MA producers, as well as other national and international brands, plus wines, beers, and spirits. There will be samples and discounts on cider and all things apple from mid-October through Franklin County CiderDays weekend (Nov. 7-8).
Hard cider, artisanal wine, craft beer, local cheese, charcuterie, chocolate, and preserves. It is my desire to sell local hard ciders, craft beer, and wine from family-owned wineries, where I think the best values are found. We also carry local cheese and charcuterie from Massachusetts and Vermont. And of course, we have case discount of 10% for mixed or not mixed cases of hard cider and wine.
Come visit the oldest running cider house in the country. Our tap room and bottle shop at 208 Peckville Road in Shelburne will be open Thursday through Sunday this fall. Come for our legendary ciders while enjoying our hiking trails and picnic grounds with a glorious three state view.
West County Cider was started by the Maloney family in 1984 with a commitment to making small-batch ciders with impeccable apples from local orchards. Thirty-five years later, our family has grown but the tradition continues. We use fine-winemaking techniques and focus on freshness of flavor and total respect for each individual apple variety. Every harvest year represents a new a foray into the possibility of the apple.
We make cider for the new Northeast. We produce craft cider in a variety of styles by respecting tradition, but refusing to let it limit us. Using local apples and innovative cidermaking practices, we create ciders that are as authentic, eclectic, and forward-looking as the region they come from. Artifact was founded in 2014 by Jake Mazar and Soham Bhatt and is based in Florence, Massachusetts.
Carr's Ciderhouse
295 River Drive, Hadley, MA 01035
Farm Store open Thursday-Friday, 3-6 pm; Saturday 12-6 pm; and Sunday 12-3 pm.
Farm shop featuring Carr's wild-fermented hard ciders, vinegars, cider syrup, fruit shrubs, and more.
We produce ciders from locally grown apples and are the authors of The Ciderhouse Cookbook, available for sale at the farm store, which shares how we make everything and contains 127 recipes for cooking with cider.
On CiderDays weekend we will be holding a tasting at our press barn at Preservation Orchard, located at 12 Mt. Warner Road in Hadley, MA. Tastings open on Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday Nov. 8 from 12-5. Please see our website for directions, details about parking, and important updates.
Carr's ciders are $12-$15/750 ml bottle
Clarkdale Fruit Farms
303 Upper Road, Deerfield Retail store open 9am-5pm every day of the week, August-December. Open weekends only in the winter months. Clarkdale Fruit Farms Website (413) 772-6797
Fourth-generation family orchard growing high-quality tree fruit since 1915. We farm 45 acres and grow over 50 varieties of apples, including several heirlooms. Our diverse plantings also include pears, peaches, plums, cherries, nectarines, and grapes. We produce our own sweet cider in season, and offer several special blends for holidays in the Fall. Bulk cider for fermenting is available upon request. Find us on fb and Instagram as well.
Artisan Beverage Cooperative—makers of many gluten-free, high-quality beverages. For Cider Days we offer our famous Valley and Whiskey cyzers. Apple-honey wine made with cider from Clarkdale Fruit Farm and honey from Western Mass.
Cyzers are a variation of mead, a traditional fermented honey wine, but instead of water, cider is used. Both our cyzers are made with local raw honey and cider from Clarkdale Fruit Farm.
The Whiskey Cyzer gets its name because it was aged in Bully Boy whiskey barrels before bottling, giving it a slightly smokier and oak-ier flavor profile than the Valley Cyzer.
Both variations have been aging to perfection and supplies are limited. 14% ABV Gluten-free.
There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
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