Morrison Hill Orchard/Ayuh Cidah
…How are we different?
Morrison Hill Apple Orchard has been growing apples since 1944. The Simpson/Hollingsworth family, now in our 3rd Generation of apple growers, has been running the orchard since 1986. We began producing fresh and hard cider in 2019.
Even though “Ayuh Cidah!” may sound a little goofy, I can promise you that although we do not take ourselves too seriously, we take making our cider seriously. First and foremost, all the apples we use for our ciders are grown right here in our own orchard. Ask any cider expert, and they will tell you, “The closer the apple is to where the fermentation occurs means better cider”. Talking about fermentation, we ferment our cider the way your grandfather would have. We allow the natural occurring yeasts and sugars in apples to ferment over time (5-6 months) to produce a clean, clear cider. Many big cider makers immediately kill the natural yeast and add in dry yeasts and even sugar to speed up cider making process (about 4 weeks). Many times, without other additives, their cider will remain cloudy. After our cider naturally ferments, we “cold shock” it. This simply means we move it into a cooler 40 degrees or lower which allows the cider to clear up even more and naturally stops further fermentation. If we decide to back sweeten our cider, we do so with natural sweeteners like honey or fresh cider. Of course, this process is much harder and takes more time, but we believe having an all-natural cider made from our family’s orchard is worth it.
Our early apples are available in mid-August, and we open to Pick-Your-Own in mid-September. We currently have 13 different varieties of apples. However, last year we planted 75 new apple trees which should start producing apples in 2023 and will add another 20 varieties of apples to our Orchard, for a total of 33 varieties.
This year we are opening our Orchard to events! If you have a gathering, birthday party or just want to hang out with 50 of your closest friends, check out our Facebook page @MorrisonHillAppleOrchard ,website www.morrisonhillorchard.net , or simply give us a call at 207-778-4945.
As mentioned before, we are in our 3rd generation of farmers in the Farmington community. We feel blessed to be a part of this community and have always felt the importance of a strong community. This is why we have donated apples to the local food banks for many years. When we launched Ayuh Cidah, we decided that the best stewards of our donations would be the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area and we became a Corporate Champion Circle member. This membership has not only boosted our presence in the community as a company that cares but allowed us to work toward fulfilling our responsibility of being a positive influence in our community.
Morrison Hill Orchard/Ayuh Cidah Mission Statement:
We strive to produce fresh, natural products in order to sustain an agricultural way of life for our Family, for our Community, and for Maine.
Some of our Hard Ciders (Always 4 on Tap!)
#1. Sweet Life
A mixture of some of our sweet late season apples. We cold crash this cider before it loses its natural sweetness. No sugar added – all apple 5.25%abv.
#2. Original Orchard w Honey
One of our favorites. Made mostly with Macoun apples (one of our favorite apples…hmmm?). Back sweetened with local honey. Dry & sweet. 5.8%abv.
#3. El-dah-ber-ry
Our hard cider fermented for 1 month with dried elderberries. If you are a wine drinker, this may be the cider for you. A dry distinctive taste. Red in color. 6.7%abv.
#4. Crabby Apple
A mixture of our hard cider and Dolgo crab apples. A tart refreshing cider with sweetness as well. A beautiful golden color. 5.9%abv.
#5. Farmstand
A mixture of all our available apples! A unique sweet an earthy taste. 6.9%abv.
#6. 20th of Maine
In this tribute to our Maine soldiers, we have Maine apples and Southern Oranges with candied ginger to spice it up. Unlike the Civil war, these northern and southern fruits work together to create a cider we can all root for. 6.6%abv.
#7. Graf (a beer/cider hybrid)
When we decided to create out first beer, we knew we had to include apples somehow. Hence, our very own “Graf”, a mixture of our own cider with a Belgian Tripel. A light, fruity beer with a kick. 7.5%abv.
#8 Yellow Jacket
Some like it Hot! A mixture of our hard cider with charred habaneros and fresh pineapple. We promise it won’t sting as much as the real thing.
All of our hard ciders are fermented using their own natural yeasts and sugars over time (at least 6 months and sometimes up to a year or two).
