Minnesota Orchard Carves Cider Niche

A harvest crew picks apples on a foggy September morning at Keepsake Cidery in Dundas, Minnesota. The orchard is unique for the region, for both the heirloom varieties of apples and that they will be crushed and used for cider, rather than be eaten.

Nate Watters Keepsake Cidery: “But then why I picked apples? I just love the fruit. I've always loved the fruit. I grew up in a place that loved the fruit.” 

The seven acres of orchard at Keepsake are relatively young, but host some heirloom apples that trace their lineage to Colonial America and Europe. Varieties like Ashmead’s Kernel, Chisel Jersey, and Golden Russett grow next to output of America's land-grant universities, like Liberty, Sweet Sixteen, Haralson and Keepsake. These apples are prized for their high tannins and sharp flavors, which add complexity to the ciders Watters bottles with his wife Tracy Jonkman.

Compared to annual crops, the organic orchard was an easier entry into agriculture for Watters. Summers spent working on vegetable farms confirmed his preference for orchards.

Nate Watters, Keepsake Cidery: “For me, in a word, ‘relationship.’ I'm not saying one is better or worse, but, like, I enjoy this long relationship that I have with that perennial crop. It's, you know, it almost feels like when I was. And I farm annuals for a long time, it always feels like what? The annuals are always like a new, a new relationship, you know, a new year, new season.”

The first of the 5,000 trees were planted in 2015. But growing apples outside of the arid Pacific Northwest is a challenge.

Nate Watters, Keepsake Cidery: “I believe our apples taste better. And that's the reason why you want to grow apples in the Midwest and upper Midwest is that we grow really, really good fruit. (edit) the challenge is largely fungal issues, some pest issues, but mostly fungal issues that are, require more attention. (edit) we're okay with our fruit not being perfect looking. And we have other ideas on what to do with those.”

Keepsake is operated as three separate businesses: the orchard, the cidery, and the tasting room and event space.

Nate Watters, Keepsake Cidery: “And the cider industry, since we began, has gone through some pretty radical changes. You have to remember 20 years ago, there were very few ciders in the United States. Cider had almost died.(edit) Like what we're trying to do, which is more traditional. You're going to be long aged. You're using particular type of apples that are spontaneously fermented. No sulfites added. We're doing pet nats and Sharma methods. We're doing champagne styles. So it was great that we that we at that point, we can just start talking about what we're doing and not just try to get people into what cider is. And then you've had all these trends, ups and downs and ups and downs.”

Tracy Jonkman runs the retail side of the cidery in addition to her off-farm job. Introducing customers to their cider varieties is a key part of her work.

Tracy Jonkman, Keepsake Cidery: “It really takes a little bit of education and then frankly, just tasting the cider. Like people when they have an idea of what they're coming in with when it comes to cider, are typically like thrown for a loop when they when they drink our beverage, you know, there's no added sweeteners, no added flavors, no added colors.”

On a cool day in November, a harvest crew is rushing to bring in the last of the apple crop before the Minnesota winter sets in. The 60 varieties grown at Keepsake ripen at different rates, so harvest can stretch from mid-August through the first hard freeze. 

Processing takes place though the fall and into the winter months. Apples are washed, then ground into a mash. The mash is wrapped in fabric and then crushed using a custom built press that generates 3,000 pounds per square inch. The juice from each variety is stored separately, then blended with other varieties depending on the goals of each cider.

Nate Watters, Keepsake Cidery: “I have all these characters that I can pick from as I try to tell you a story for that. Eventually that I pour into your glass that hopefully you find fun and relevant and interesting. But if I only had two apples, it's gonna be the same story every time, right? So it's fun to have all these characters behind me.”

The ciders at Keepsake spend 12 to 18 months fermenting, using the natural yeasts that were present during the crush. This traditional process produces ciders with complex and authentic flavors.  

The scale of the orchard and cidery is large enough to be profitable, but small enough to maintain a relationship with both the apple trees and the cider customers.

Direct sales to consumers are the most profitable, and often require spaces for sampling of the different types. The event spaces form the third arm of the orchard’s business, and are open around 100 days of the year.

Tracy Jonkman, Keepsake Cidery: “We are a farm based operation. We really believe and focus on the apple and in processes that really respect the land, the water below us, the product itself. So we use a variety of apples, but really the apple makes a difference in our cider. -  And a lot of what we talk about as our natural processes, we're really unique in the cider making world, natural cider that is spontaneously fermented with no additions, is a rare thing, even nationally.” 

Nate Watters, Keepsake Cidery: “I believe that being a small farm and trying to farm and be economically, emotionally and ecologically sustainable, we need to find ways to connect directly to our market.”

For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs.