Anoche (website, instagram) has launched an exciting new initiative called the Backyard Cider Project. The Washington Ave cider bar will be gathering apple donations from the public, and work with Cornish Cider Company (website, facebook, instagram) to press, ferment and bottle a “unique cider that showcases the terroir of Maine”.

The finished product is expected to be bottled and available this coming spring along with a map that shows where in Maine the fruit for the community cider project was sourced from.

All across our state apple trees abound on public and private property alike. A large portion of these apples go to waste, and we want your help turning those apples into a unique cider that showcases the terroir of Maine.

With the apple harvest being upon us, we are asking any and all who have access to apple trees to bring us your fruit! [B]ring whatever you can: blemished apples, small apples, crabapples, etc. from now through the end of October. Because good cider apples don’t typically taste good to eat—the more bitter and sour, the better! Drop them off at Anoche any day of the week between 2 pm and 8 pm. Leave them by the front door and come to the window to let us know they are there…we will bring them in!

Happy picking!

Anoche owner Erika Colby shared, “We thought this project could be a fun way to bring people together at a time when the pandemic is keeping us apart. Pressing and fermenting juice into cider is an expression of hope in a better future—one where we can come together again to taste the fruits of the work we did to make this cider possible.”

Everyone who donate a bushel (40 lbs) or more to the Backyard Cider Project will be entered into a drawing to win an apple tree from a local nursery so “we can keep the tradition going for more years to come.”

Anoche opened late last year on Washington Ave serving a menu of draft and bottled cider and Basque food. During the pandemic Anoche has launched an outdoor seating area and cider takeout window serving draft and bottled cider as well as a cider growler service.