287: Elizabeth Ryan | Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider, NY

287: Elizabeth Ryan | Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider, NY

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist September 8, 2021 Duration: 53:33

"Every hand that touches the apple has a story to tell."

Who is Elizabeth Ryan?

She is the founder of Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider, but that is only part of the story. At heart she is a farmer having grown up in Iowa on a family farm. She moved east to Ithaca to study at Cornell University to originally study engineering. Life had other plans for her and she soon found herself involved in farm activism and food rights which eventually led her switching her study to the Pomology at Cornell.

In 1977 she left Cornell to work in Washington DC to work with communities on food sustainability. Elizabeths network in the food scene and farming inspired her to move back to Cornell and finish her degree and get her own farm.

ep 287: Elizabeth Ryan 300x200

Elizabeth and Farming

In 1984, Elizabeth and then husband Peter bought a farm on the east side of the Hudson River called Breezy Hill. Today Breezy Hill has a tasting room (that will reopen post the pandemic), a cidermaking production room and a large orchard. In addition to Breezy Hill, the Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider brand also has Stone Ridge Orchard and the newest addition the Milton Farm.

Stone Ridge Orchard has an outdoor entertainment space, a tasting room that often hosts special cider dinners, a cider production and a glorious 350 year-old oak tree.

Milton is to the south of Stone Ridge and has a small orchard. This site is not open to the public.

Elizabeth and Cidermaking

A man by the name of Lester Funk helped Elizabeth make her first barrel aged cider.

Today there is a wide selection of ciders available under the Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider brand name which became licensed to sell commercially in 1995. The apples for all her ciders are coming in from each orchard and even some other select orchards in the region.

The following is what I wrote on the Traditional Cider that we tasted during this recording.

"My go-to when enticing friends to give cider a try is the "Traditional" by Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider (NY).
Expect a sparkling cider with a clean finish that comes in 750ml flip top bottles providing a "pop" every time to ring in good cheers! This semi dry showcases local New York terroir as it dances in the mouth with a touch of tannin and Stone Ridge Farm apple love!"

Contact Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider

website: http://www.hudsonvalleyfarmhousecider.com/

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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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