Tasting Room
Buy Cider
The Process
We grow apples and make cider.
Using only distinct locally grown varieties.
Long aged. Native yeast. No additives.

(+) 1. THE FRUIT & WHY

We grow apples, pears, plums, grapes, and berries on our organic farm in the Cannon River Valley of southern Minnesota. Apples are by far our biggest focus. The orchard was planted with a glass of cider in mind, so many of our apples are cider specific like Chisel Jersey and Ellis Bitter or dual purpose like Chestnut Crab and Golden Russet. We grow over 50 varieties. In addition to our orchard we source distinct fruit from our region, focusing on the Upper Mississippi River Valley and the tributaries.

(+) 2. WE PRESS OUR OWN FRUIT

We press 100% of our own juice. We wash, grind, sometimes macerate, and press our fruit. No additions of sugar, water, acids, or yeast. Just cider goes into the tanks. Pressing season begins in September and ends early Winter.

(+) 3. AGEING

Our ciders age in stainless steel tanks with some blends aged in HDPE tanks and oak barrels. The aging process can take up to 3 years depending on the cider. On average, our ciders are released 12-18 months after pressing. During the aging process we are blending to find the best expression of that year’s harvest, from our perspective. Occasionally we are aging/co-fermenting the cider on fruit and other local ingredients, but most of our ciders are apple only.

(+) 4. PACKAGING AND FINISHING

Our dry ciders are bottled in the ancestral sparkling method giving the finished dry cider a pet-nat bubble. Occasionally, we will release a traditional method style blend giving that cider a champagne like bubble and presentation. Most of our medium ciders are bubbled up naturally in a Brite tank using Charmat Method, while some are carbonated.  Seasonally we release a can blend and a bagged cider. 

We went entirely to spontaneous fermention in 2018.
Which means each Keepsake Cider reflects  the season and the farm.
Our cider is about relationships
both to people and the land.

Apple Trees

%

local

Location

TOASTIE ROOM & FARM

Est. 2014

Learn how the apples are grown and the cider is made

A lot of thought goes into sourcing and growing our apples.  Nate can be found ranging between technical and philosophical.  This is an art from start to finish and there’s something new to learn every time you visit. 

Draft and bottled cider at the source

Come to the tasting room and try our full line of ciders, including special batches only available at the cidery. Ciders will range from medium sweetnes to bone dry, from tannic apple to sour cherry, from sparkling to still. Each has its own voice and story- All from local fruit, unfiltered, and ready to enjoy!

MMMM Food

There’s all kinds of local fare to nibble or devour.  Imagine if each of your neighbors raised and grew a different savory treat. They pack up the freshest of their cheese, vegetables, and pastries to cart over to a cozy parlor every day. At the cidery, one of us will lovingly combine all these local ingredients into scrumptious toasties, soups, and more.

CIDER CLUB

Our Cider Club is a throwback to our days working on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms. Each share (half or full) brings you cider, discounts, merchandise, and more!
Members are integral in the success of our small family business crafting natural Ciders. We have members that have been with us from the start and have become part of our Keepsake Family!

WHO WE ARE

We are a family owned cidery, orchard, and tasting room.

Our aim is to produce delicious; high quality cider from simple ingredients and time honored methods.

Nate

Farmer, cider maker, and janitor.  While living in upstate New York as a boy, his first successful business involved selling apples from a neighbor’s tree. He made over three dollars in one day, not bad for a farmer! Maybe it was this wild success that planted the orchard seed in his heart. As he grew older, he dreamed of starting an orchard and a farm brewery. After enjoying ciders from around the world, he decided to combine dreams and start a farm cidery in Minnesota.  
 
Nate is thankful for the crucial advice of apple growers like Bob Barthel and cider makers like Tom Oliver, plus plenty of books, classes, and batches upon batches of practice in the early days with Jim Bovino.  
When not growing apples or making cider, he can be found writing, putzing around, playing soccer, or wandering through the woods with he and Tracy’s most important crop- Tristan and Fiona.
 
UW Midwest Apple Growers Class
MOSES Organic University Orchard Course
Cider and Perry Academy
Appreciation & Sensory Analysis
Principles & Practice
Certified Cider Professional level 1

Tracy

Born and raised in the upper Midwest on a small farm in the woods. Through young adulthood she developed a firm belief in hard work, the power of community, and a deep respect for the earth. After joining forces with Nate, they built their life around those philosophies, putting down roots (literally) in the Cannon Valley Region of Minnesota.  

Jump in and ask her about the detritus in the woods, or almost any nuanced question on the region.  It’s a great free education for the seekers and listeners.  

Orchardists in training, Tristan & Fiona, were born just before Keepsake and keep busy chasing butterflies and eating apples. When Tracy is not working on the farm, raising kids or slinging cider, she works as an Emergency Medicine Doctor.

We'd love to hear from you!

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Check our calendar for

Cidery and Toastie Farm Winter/Summer Hours

Toastie Farm

4609 135th St E, Dundas, MN 55019

413-552-8872

keepsakecidery@gmail.com