What does it take to make hard cider at home? Some farm land, a shed and patience

Wausau Daily Herald

TOWN OF WAUSAU - In the shed next to Andrew Heinzl's house, something was brewing.

A bubbling sound could be heard inside metal tanks. He lifted a lid off a large container and steam poured out into the small room, fogging up the windows.

Wearing his bright teal gloves, Heinzl lowered milk crates of bottles into the steaming water and left them there, at 165 degrees, for 20 minutes.

He was pasteurizing his own hard cider.

"This building is perfectly designed to make a giant mess," Heinzl said of the shed.

The stained concrete floors have built-in drains, and there's a large kitchen-grade sink off to the side. One wall resembles an old-style red granite stone.

Outside, small farm animals wander around: chicken, ducks, geese. He said he'd like to one day fill out his nine acres with apple trees to help sustain his cider business.

For now, he's happy to have started with two new, locally-made hard ciders. The Trailhead Cider is a good beginner that's a bit more sweet, while the Avalanche Chute is clean and dry, Heinzl said.

He began making the hard cider in June, when he finally received all of his licensing. He buys raw juice from other Wisconsin orchards, like Helene's Hilltop Orchard in Merrill, to ferment it into his own brand, Blue Elk Orchard.

It takes about six weeks to finish brewing and bottling 26 cases of hard cider, Heinzl said. At 24 bottles in a case, that means he can finish 624 bottles of Blue Elk Orchard cider in six weeks.

Andrew Heinzl pasteurizes bottles of his homemade hard cider from Blue Elk Orchard. The bottles are lowered into a steaming tank at 165 degrees for 20 minutes. Now, two varieties of cider are available at stores and restaurants such as The Milk Merchant and Sconni's Alehouse and Eatery.

Sconni's Alehouse & Eatery, The Milk Merchant, Polito's Pizza (in downtown Wausau and Rothschild) and the new Ciao restaurant in downtown Wausau all carry hard cider from Blue Elk Orchard, Heinzl said.

Blue Elk Orchard will have a release party at Sconni's, 1239 Schofield Ave., from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Dec. 11. Bottles have been available for purchase for some time now, but the party will celebrate Blue Elk Orchard's entrance into the local distribution market.

Although the brewing process is similar to that of beer, his operation legally falls in the wine category, Heinzl said. He has experience working in the service industry with the Great Dane in Wausau as the bar manager.

Even with his background, running a local business and researching cider has taken a "tremendous amount of learning" to get his beverage in bottles and out to new customers, he said.

Heinzl said he always wanted to make his own product to sell. He sees Blue Elk Orchard as a career he has the rest of his life to train for and grow into.

Making use of the land

It was late summer in 2017 when Heinzl and his wife, Ruth Heinzl, decided to jump head first into the cider business.

They moved from the city of Wausau out into the town knowing they wanted to start something up and make use of the their acreage. Heinzl and his wife both grew up and attended high school in Wausau and hoped to stay close to town but also have the chance to own land.

Heinzl is a Wisconsin nature lover and outdoors man, he said. Starting a business that's tied to the land he lives on felt like a comfortable fit. While he could have brewed beer, there's already so many local breweries in Wisconsin making a name — but there's always someone who wants an alternative to beer, he said.

After fixing up their house a bit, the couple were ready to begin rehabbing the old shed next door. It took time, but they outfitted it into a small brewing operation with a restaurant-style sink, tanks, an upstairs cooler, a homemade labeling procedure and a small retail area.

Next door, in their living room, the couple set up a working printing press for labels, t-shirts and more.

Every time they made it through another hurdle — whether it was a license, a zoning change or the shed remodel — Heinzl was surprised. Then, they just kept going.

Now Blue Elk Orchard is Heinzl's full-time job, and he couldn't be happier with it, he said, as he envisions all the ways he can keep growing.

He'd like to eventually develop his acreage into an orchard with apple trees for his own production, potentially adding walking paths so people can come and visit. He'd also love to produce some barrel-aged ciders one day.

It's a long-term business plan, but the potential longevity is what excites Heinzl. Every day is a little bit different.

Blue Elk Orchard's retail shop is open for visitors from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday at 157664 Land Art Road in the town of Wausau. If you're navigating with Google Maps, use 3408 E Sell St. You can call ahead first at 715-302-4841.

Got a question or tip? Contact reporter Megan Stringer at (715) 207-1571 or mstringer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @megstringers.