Blue Toad Hard Cider - New York 4.58

Tasting Room Hours:

Henrietta - 120 Mushroom Blvd. Ste 105:
Thu: 5pm - 9pm
Fri: 3pm - 9pm
Sat: 12pm - 8pm
Sun: 12pm - 6pm

Victor: 5 Railroad Street
Thu: closed
Fri: closed
Sat: 12pm - 8pm
Sun: closed

Webster - Inside Schutt's Apple Mill on Plank Rd.
Mon-Thu:Closed
Fri: Closede
Sat: 12pm - 5pm
Sun: 12pm - 5pm

About Blue Toad Hard Cider:

Old-school values, new-world sensibilities. Born in a barn, Blue Toad Cider honors the tradition and legacy of America’s first preferred beverage by brewing an all-natural and eminently drinkable hard cider using only locally grown Western New York apples. Rather than solely using European-style tart and bitter apples, Blue Toad uses a cider blend of three different apples (replete with natural seasonal variation) grown and pressed at Schutt’s Apple Mill in Webster, New York, which has been producing some of New York’s finest sweet cider since 1918. The sweeteners we use in our brewing process are also sourced locally, and our production takes place in our cidery at the Genesee Regional Market in Rochester.

We currently make our two distinctive and drinkable flagship ciders and a variety of seasonal ciders:

Flower City Blonde: A crisp and fruity cider born and bred in Western New York, using a blend of the finest local Golden Delicious, Empire and Crispin apples. A light cider that is pale straw-colored and clean-tasting with a bright taste of fresh apples that finishes with luscious pear notes.

ROC HARD Amber: Bolder than many, more assertive that most! A fusion of tannic apple flavors derived from a blend of locally grown Red Delicious, Ida Red and Northern Spy apples. A copper-colored cider with hints of caramel, molasses, butterscotch, and raisins.

We believe our cider is different – more authentic, more drinkable, more responsibly produced, more of an experience – than the more mass-produced ciders that may use imported apples. We hope you’ll treat yourself to a bottle or glass of our hard cider soon to savor that difference. We think you’ll be back for another.

Our Story:

Blue Toad Hard Cider was conceived in 2013 in the back of a cold garage in Scottsville, New York by three childhood friends with diverse backgrounds – Todd Rath, Scott Hallock, and Greg Booth – who share a common upbringing and a common desire to consume high quality alcoholic beverages. All three graduated from Wheatland-Chili High School; all three made good in different fields and walks of life; all three reunited over good times and good drink to bring Western New York-grown apples to the hard-cider drinking masses.

Todd attended Purdue University, launched RockBottomGolf.com with his brother, and now lives in Nelson County, Virginia in the Rockfish Valley, which is known by some as the "Napa of the East Coast" by virtue of its wineries, cideries, breweries, and distilleries, as well as Todd's own Blue Toad Pub, which he has operated for three years. Todd, his wife, Kim, their three children call this home, but "Toad" always wanted to return to his "real" home and get involved in the local beverage market.

Scott was not only a Eagle Scout, but also served as a tanker in the United States
Army, as well as receiving an environmental management degree from RIT. Scott, his wife, Kerry, and their 2 children reside in Scottsville, where our first batches of cider were born. Scott is the MacGyver of our operation; give him a problem, and he'll fix it with any spare parts we have lying around!

Greg has degrees in environmental and forest biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse and a graduate degree in Science Education from Syracuse University. He currently teaches children in an elementary school in Hilton, New York and spends most weekends coaching youth soccer. We like to call Greg our mad scientist.
Our two flagship flavors are fabulous and built to last, but Greg is also excited about developing our upcoming seasonal lines. Greg and his wife, Nicole, reside in Chili with their two daughters.

Prior to the genesis of Blue Toad Cider, Scott had been making beer in a barn and Greg was producing beer and wine in his basement. After learning cider-making methods from two longtime family friends, Greg began to dabble in hard cider, using a wooden barrel in his basement.

As Greg’s expertise grew, the three friends began to realize that they could make a
difference in the burgeoning American hard-cider market. Starting from scratch, Todd, Scott, and Greg established their first primitive production facility in Scott’s barn, using heat guns to keep the pipes from freezing during the bitter 2013-2014 winter. As they experimented, sampled, and scrutinized, relying on intuition, trial and error, a dash of alchemy, and putting in late, late nights while trying to avoid the resident chickens scurrying about, Blue Toad Cider came forth.

After reaching a satisfactory level of competency in early 2014, the trés amigos moved their operations to an honest-to-goodness modern facility, complete with a handsome, newly built tasting room and bar, at the Genesee Valley Regional Market, where they continue to hone and perfect their craft and their cider.

Our vision at Blue Toad Cider is to produce an all-natural, high quality, highly drinkable hard cider using only the very best locally grown New York apples. Blue Toad Hard Cider offers you a traditional beverage that has evolved with the times into a modern and deliciously distinctive libation.