Our Story
Ned's a former chef and chemical engineer who's always got something brewing in his basement. Andy's a historian who became interested in the northern New England cider culture of the 18th & 19th century, and wondered whether the two of them might be able to recreate what was best about those ciders...the purity, the sense of place, the apples perfectly suited to the local climate...while still making something that would be consistent in quality and easy to drink.
Freedom's Edge is the fruit of that collaboration. It's a blend of apples grown on our own farm in Albion (some wild, and others cultivated) along with some from nearby orchards. Some of our varietals, like black oxford, originated in Maine, while others, like Newtown Pippin and Roxbury Russet, were brought here by settlers from Massachusetts and New York in the 18th century.
We press the apples ourselves, with a healthy assist from our kids, and ferment them to dryness, before aging them in our tanks and adding just a hint of back sweetening from fresh apples we've left out to cryoconcentrate over the winter. The result is a well-balanced cider with a nice finish that's as much a pleasure to drink as it is for us to create.
Because we craft every barrel ourselves, production is still very limited. Freedom's Edge is not available in stores, only in selected bars and restaurants in Maine. Someday we'll change that. But we're not in any hurry. Because much more important than being available everywhere is that every pint is the absolute best we can make. We hope you'll agree.