Pony Shack Cider
Nate McKinley, founder of Pony Shack Cider, left a career in finance to launch a dream business producing small-batch artisanal hard cider. He was initially intrigued by the idea of sustainably transforming a fruit into something completely different, and started spending hours grinding, pressing and experimenting with the cider making process. Nate shared his cider batches first with family and friends, whose enthusiastic support pushed him to launch the company.
In 2015, Nate converted his two-car garage in Boxborough into a legal cidery and in 2016, made his first commercial sale. Neighbors joked that Nate was moonshining hard cider in the pony shack next to his house, so he used that as inspiration for the company name and logo (a sketch of half a shack next to half an apple) designed by Nate’s sister-in-law, Megan Eckroth. Eventually, Pony Shack Cider outgrew the garage and moved to a larger space down the road in 2017. Now with a staff of five, Nate says, “our biggest help comes from our family,” as everyone pitches in to help clean tanks, can cider, label cans, etc.
Pony Shack’s hard cider making process is similar to making wine and begins with a custom blend of fresh local apples sourced from a nearby family-run cider mill. The apple juice, with the right blend of sweetness and tartness, is fermented with cultured yeasts. Various types of yeast, such as champagne, ale and white wine, are used, depending on the cider variety that is being made. “We’ve hand-selected each yeast specifically for the properties it imparts on the finished hard cider,” Nate says. “Our fermentation process is intentionally slow to retain and bring out the full flavor of the apples.” The fermented cider is then aged anywhere from two to 12 months before canning.
Nate and his team enjoy adding other ingredients into the fermentations including blueberries, blackberries, lavender, ginger and hops. One of the most popular ciders is the Fifer’s Dream, a traditional, dry, champagne-like cider that is not sweet—“a great everyday cider,” Nate says. The Barrel-Me-Over cider has a more robust taste with whiskey undertones due to its aging process in American rye whiskey barrels. They are also making a special cider that incorporates pressed red wine grape skins from a local winery. All in all, Pony Shack Cider has a growing list of 13 different ciders. Which one is Nate’s favorite? “I can’t say,” he says. “It’s like having to choose a favorite child. I love and appreciate all of their nuances.”
Pony Shack Cider cans are sold in 75 liquor shops, specialty markets and restaurants in Massachusetts including Urban Grape in Boston, Pemberton Farms in Cambridge and Volante Farms in Needham. The cidery in Boxborough offers daily tours and tastings on site too. This fall, the team is eager to partner with Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, where they will sell Pony Shack Cider using the orchard’s homegrown apples inside a pop-up cider garden.
