Since we started Dominion the company has tended to fall into a rhythm - a year when we progress the company in some dimension, and a year when things mostly stay the same and we work on optimizing. We used to joke it was like the old iPhone releases - when there was an “S” release in between major hardware upgrades.
You could argue we’ve had a couple of “S” years in a row now, but this year is shaping up to be a progression. This spring we acquired our own fleet of 2nd hand kegs and have been slowly weaning ourselves off the mafia-like keg share system. We installed a new baby brite tank which has allowed us to do more small batch, one-off cider experiments rather than single huge batches once a year. In a visual facelift, we recently re-sided all the sheds and the cidery, giving the whole farm a consistent cedar-and-black look. Lots of thanks to my dad and father-in-law!
On the orchard side, we just planted a new row of pears and quince trees. These were grown from seeds I sprouted a few years ago and have been nursery-ing since. There is something really exciting about making your own trees from scratch. At about $50/tree from a garden store, it's well worth it too.
Thanks for the support and for coming along for the ride in 2025!
Till next time,
Mike