Pleasant Valley Cidery is the next level fulfillment for the love of apples from Pleasant Valley Orchard. In 1990 Jim Birkholz and Judy Erickson came to Franconia township to pursue their dream of establishing an apple orchard, Pleasant Valley Orchard. Since then, after countless bushels of apples, and tasty bakery treats, the question arose, “What’s next?”
Hard cider! The classic American beverage. If you love our apples, you will love our cider.
Our Apples! Our Cider!
At Pleasant Valley Cidery, our ciders are made from apples grown on our trees in the glacial soils of our farm. Because of this they will be distinct from any others. The word “terroir” is from the French language. It means, literally, soil-land. It references the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced and the unique taste and flavor imparted by that environment. So, it goes with cider. Look for our ciders to be uniquely reflective of our terroir—glacial soils, hills and the St. Croix Valley. We look forward to sharing our ciders with you—out of our old dairy barn!
Our current cider line-up:
Dry: Apple juice
Semi-Sweet: Same apple base as dry but lightly back-sweetened with cane sugar.
Strawberry: apple juice with a light sweetness and strawberry flavor.
Ginger-Hop: apple juice, cane sugar, with a bit of ginger root and organic hops. Just a light pop of flavor.
Bourbon Oak: A blend of two old-time favorite apples, Haralson and Wealthy with a subtle flavor from steeping in oak wood soaked in bourbon.
Farmhouse Cherry: apple juice, with a dash of tart cherry.
Bottles of hard cider are available at the orchard store in the Appleshed while the orchard is open.
Seasonal Cidery
You will only find Pleasant Valley Ciders on site, served seasonally in our restored dairy barn. With the seasonal serving area guests are invited to enjoy the ambience of the barn and orchard area. The cidery is now closed for the 2025 season. Thanks everyone who came out to enjoy hard cider at the orchard! You can purchase bottles of cider at the Appleshed during the remaining days of the 2025 orchard season.
We will host occasional special events and the barn is also available on a limited basis for private groups.
17325 Pleasant Valley Road
Shafer, Minnesota 55074