Pennings Farm Cidery opens

WARWICK — Pennings Farm Cidery, 4 Warwick Turnpike, is now open weekends to serve its own hard cider along with a selection of New York State-produced craft beers and wine.
On Saturday, June 4, Town of Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton, Mayor Michael Newhard and representatives of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce joined members of the Pennings family, friends and staff to celebrate the grand opening of the new cidery.
In addition to the ribbon-cutting, grand opening activities included an outdoor yoga session and live calypso style music with steel drum band, Feelin' Irie.
Pennings Farm Cidery is another enterprise in the list of successful businesses established by the multi-generation Pennings family of farmers, who established both Pennings Apple Orchard and Pennings Farm Market.

Sustainable existence

Interest in maintaining a sustainable existence for the farm led siblings Tori and Steve "SJ" Pennings Jr., the children of Pennings Farm Market owners Steve and Jill Pennings, to follow in their parents' footsteps by establishing Pennings Farm Cidery.
Teaming up to take the family farm into the next generation, Tori and SJ Pennings saw an on-site cidery as an opportunity to showcase their farm-grown fruits and for the farm to be a viable existence for themselves, their parents and future generations.
With the new cidery, apples picked from the family orchard, owned and operated by Jack Pennings Sr. along with his son Jack Jr. and his wife Monica, will now be kept on-site to produce a variety of hard ciders utilizing the new production facility and refrigeration room.

Nine hard ciders

Nine handcrafted hard ciders can be served from a custom-built tap system located in the tasting room, including Bone Dry, Honey Hopped and Ginger Beet available in pints, flights and growlers-to-go. The ABV (alcohol by volume) of the ciders range from the Off Dry at 5.9 percent to the Dry Hopped at 6.5 percent.
There's also a rotating selection of New York-made craft brews produced with Pennings homegrown hops by local breweries, including Butternuts Brewing and Pine Island Brewing. Outdoor seating is also available on the covered patio and lawn.

Essential information

Pennings Farm Cidery is open Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to sunset. The entrance is on Warwick Turnpike, just a short distance in from Route 94 South and across from ShopRite Plaza.
For additional information call 987-9922 or visit: www.penningscidery.com.
- Roger Gavan