Woody Meiszner has been having apple cider pressing parties every fall for 15 years. This time it was also his birthday party.
The New Ipswich resident rang in his 70th this Sunday, Oct. 9, with barbecue and fresh cider, his family and friends.
“He had a political rally here on his actual birthday,” his daughter, Michelle McLaren, said. “It was supposed to be a surprise we turned his apple party into a birthday party.”
His partner, Amy Proctor, agreed: “That didn’t count, we had to have an actual birthday.”
Every year Meiszner invites the public to his New Ipswich farm for a cider press. He supplies the apples and sets his guests to work cutting and pressing them into cider.
This year, he brought ten bushels, which comes to more than 400 pounds, of apples. From them, the party pressed about six gallons of cider.
“That stuff is raw, unpasteurized, so if you have an immune system problem you’re on your own,” he joked. “Or you can add some applejack just in case.”
Meiszner’s cider press that was used Sunday is between 25 and 30 years old but he has another in his barn that has been around for about a century.
The process is not as efficient as industrial pressing, and some juice is left in the apple waste, which can be used to feed livestock. But, he likes to point out, this way is more fun.
“The hardest part is cranking the press, in my opinion,” McLaren, who came in all the way from her home in suburban Dallas, said.
First the apples are sliced into smaller pieces, and poured into the press. Then they are squeezed so juice flows out into a collecting bucket and ready for drinking. That’s it, no extra ingredients or preparation.
“It tastes a heck of a lot like apples,” she said.
The feast was rounded out with ribs and chili and much more, all eaten with a side of fresh apple cider.
The public party was mostly inside due to the weekend’s rain, but had a strong turnout anyway, comparable to previous years when guests are spread out in the fields.
“It started out very small,” Meiszner said. “Now I got people in my whole house.”