When their family acquired a 60 acre apple orchard six years ago, the Covino brothers - Alex, Kevin, and Ben - immediately began tinkering with the idea of putting their apple crop to good use. And with the recent upswing in the popularity of hard cider, it seemed only logical to try their hand at the craft. Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard, formerly Outhouse Orchard, was purchased by local nursery owner, Rob Covino, in 2010. The orchard was home to 60 acres of culinary apple trees and a variety of other stone fruit and vegetables. Culinary apples aren’t sought after as traditional cider fruit, but the Covino brothers, driven by Teddy Roosevelt’s quote to “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”, aspired to do just that. The brothers, each with a degree in horticulture and years of experience working on their family’s nursery, had the background knowledge needed to keep the orchard flourishing to ensure a healthy crop. Utilizing the blend of apples that was at their disposal, the brother’s goal was to ultimately craft a light, crisp hard cider that embodied drinkability. After years of experimentation, they had crafted a cider which they felt captured a true reflection of the crop: an off-dry cider with strong apple flavor and aroma. No extra sugar is added, as the brothers opt to add fresh-pressed sweet cider post-fermentation to enhance the ciders taste, and to ensure the final product isn’t overly dry. As far as preservatives or additives, you won’t find those either. The brothers choose to batch pasteurize each and every bottle to ensure a clean and natural product. “It was our goal to make a truly craft beverage. Each bottle is hand-filled, pasteurized, and labeled by us.”
Success with their Dry and Standard recipes led the brothers to get creative with other varieties, such as Cranberry - a semi-dry tart cider that incorporates fresh cranberries - and Fruit of the Farm - a sweeter variety that incorporates their own peaches, nectarines, blueberries, and strawberries into the blend. Their Citra cider, one of the most popular to date, involves fermenting their cider over citra hops. It’s been a big hit with cider and beer lovers alike. New varieties, such as Ginger Lemon and Beet, will be making their debut this spring, along with the first keg run of Hardscrabble Cider. The recent planting of over 1,000 cider-variety apple trees will also open the door for much more experimenting down the road. A nod to cider’s history in this country, Hardscrabble Cider features an Americana theme - and the tasting room attempts to embody the same feel. The walls are lined with reclaimed barn-wood, old emblems of American history hang from the walls, and quality hand-crafted alcohol is readily available. In addition to their cider (sold by the bottle, pint, and flight), the tasting room features New York crafted beer (on tap and by the bottle), liquor, cordials, and wine. The addition of an outdoor patio -dubbed the ‘Cider Garden’- has opened up the spring and summer season to outdoor drinks, food, and live music.
