Objective:  

To plant apple trees in my neighbors’ yards to create small urban fruit farms, providing maintenance free fruit for the hosts of the trees, and to use the apples from the mini urban orchards, supplemented by apples grown on acquired land in Bayfield and Siren, for alcoholic beverage production.  The two main beverages to be produced will be an apple brandy and eventually hard French style cider.  The apple brandy will be produced first in conjunction with a local distillery.  French style cider will come later.  French style ciders is different in the way that it is fermented.  Some of the natural sugars are preserved and then is bottled before the fermentation process is finished.  This lends itself to create a sparkling, wine-like quality, with a slightly lower alcohol content that is consistent with French Ciders of Normandy and Brittany.

 

How does it work?

Home owners in Minneapolis and surrounding area, who are interested in hosting fruit trees to be used for beverage production, contribute a small portion of their yard to be planted as a mini urban orchard.  The trees are then cared for, which includes all disease control, pest control, soil care, harvest, and pruning.  

The land in Bayfield, currently has around 80 mature trees on 6.2 acres.  In Siren there are 45 mature trees.  In conjunction with the care of the urban orchards, they will be maintained and the yields put towards beverage production.