Blue Toad Hard Cider opens in Henrietta

Blue Toad Hard Cider is now open at 120 Mushroom Blvd., Suite 105, in Henrietta. The latest craft brewery on the local scene brews an all-natural hard cider using only locally grown Western New York apples. Rather than solely using European-style tart and bitter apples, Blue Toad uses a cider blend of three different apples grown and pressed at Schutt's Apple Mill in Webster. The production takes place in its cidery at the Genesee Regional Market, which includes a tasting room.

Blue Toad Hard Cider was conceived in 2013 in the back of a cold garage in Scottsville, New York, by three childhood friends — Todd Rath, Scott Hallock and Greg Booth — who share a common upbringing and a common desire to consume high-quality alcoholic beverages. All three graduated from Wheatland-Chili High School.

The newly formed business currently make two distinctive and drinkable varieties of cider:

Flower City Blonde: A crisp and fruity cider, using a blend of the finest local Golden Delicious, Empire and Crispin apples. A light cider that is pale straw-colored and clean-tasting.

ROC HARD Amber: A fusion of tannic apple flavors derived from a blend of locally grown Red Delicious, Ida Red and Northern Spy apples. A copper-colored cider with hints of caramel, molasses, butterscotch, and raisins.

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

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