What is DOORYARD?

Dooryard is an old/new idea, typical of Poverty Lane Orchards. Many cider orchards abroad do big business in the yard, to local customers who come to fill their empties with whatever the cidermaker dispenses that day. In 2008 we began seeing enough cider explorers here to do the same.

Starting last year, bottles and kegs of Dooryard ciders set out into the world! Well, into nearby Northeastern states, anyway. Each keg or bottle is marked with a Dooryard batch #, for you to look up how the Farnum Hill cider crew put your Dooryard batch together.

Before ‘Dooryard,’ we often had lovely cider batches that departed too much from the flavor profiles of our established blends (Farmhouse, Summer, Semi-Dry, Extra Dry and Extra Dry Still). We admired (drank) the results, and sadly sent surplus down the drain.

In more recent years, growler customers and other visitors have enjoyed such maverick blends. Now at last, the ‘Dooryard’ label lets us send these ciders to market, in hopes that other cider explorers will appreciate them too.

With ciderphiles multiplying in this country, and real-cider interest at a tipping point, let’s hope the funkier FHC Dooryard batches will help broaden the range of taste.