Aquiring cider juice

[cidermaker]

Does anybody know of a place or orchard I can order real cider in order to make traditional hard cider? My LHBS can only get cider making juice in the fall and most other cider you can buy(Zeiglers and others.. ) is mainly produced from sweet dessert apples.
I'm looking for more heirloom varieties and english bittersweets juice.
I live in pa.
Thanks for any leads

 

[DPBISME]

I know down in Maryland and maybe VA.

Here is a post but I don't know about shipping.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f218/bulk-cider-buy-md-dc-405917/

 

[hehawbrew]

Not sure where you are in PA, but I'm from northern MD and there are tons of orchards around/in Adams County PA.

An orchard near me sells cider all year since they freeze a lot of it.

 

[Bigjack68]

Does anybody know of a place or orchard I can order real cider in order to make traditional hard cider? My LHBS can only get cider making juice in the fall and most other cider you can buy(Zeiglers and others.. ) is mainly produced from sweet dessert apples.
I'm looking for more heirloom varieties and english bittersweets juice.
I live in pa.
Thanks for any leads

Well if you live near Pittsburgh Soergel's can hook you up with some cider. You need to call ahead and let them know that you need juice w/o preservatives. It takes them about a week to produce it because its out of season right now and the guy that makes the juice doesn't make it every day. It is a little expensive though...

 

[patriqq]

I'm also in PA. In my area we have orchards and we have one outfit that presses juice. The juice that is pressed is (by my educated guess/taste) made from all the crap apples just like Zeiglers. If you want a custom/special blend, you need to buy a lot, which is why the LHBS's do big batches in the fall. If you can find an orchard that does its own pressing, then you should have better luck than me.
http://www.pennsylvaniaapples.org/
http://www.pickyourown.org/PA.htm

 

[eric_618]

I'm in northeast PA. Ritter's Cider Mill in Mount Cobb is seriously kickass stuff. Totally natural, no preservatives, and not pasteurized. They open the weekend of Labor Day and are open through either Thanksgiving or Christmas (I forget which).

 

[patriqq]

Good info. Does Ritter's do custom blends? Baumans is the local cider presser near me http://www.baumanfamily.com/

 

[eric_618]

Good info. Does Ritter's do custom blends? Baumans is the local cider presser near me http://www.baumanfamily.com/

I'm not sure. I know they have apple cider as well as pear cider. Their website is http://www.ritterscidermill.com/

 

[thejudge]

Motts has a good unfiltered apple juice(cider) that is pasteurized. I use this all the time and it makes great cider for me. I have trouble finding it at a chain grocery but I have an ethnic supermarket not to far from my home where I can get it all the time.