Cider apples at Hope Orchards are destined for Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery.

Brien Davis, owner of Hope Orchards in Hope, fills a pair of gallon jugs with freshly made apple cider. Keith and Constance Bodine, who own Sweetgrasss Wine & Distillery, buy Davis’ apples for their cider and apple brandy.

Cider apples destined for a distillary await the press at Hope Orchards.

Craft brewers and distillers are working with local orchards like Hope Orchard in Hope, which can provide provide fresh apple cider.

Brien Davis, owner of Hope Orchards, in Hope, selects apples coming off of the sorter that washes, polishes and sorts apples.

Louise Ellis, a seasonal worker at the orchard, fills gallon jugs with cider fresh from the cider press.

Gene DiLorenzo dumps a box of apples onto a cider press while doing some seasonal work for Hope Orchard in Hope.

Emily Davis dumps a box of Macoun apples fresh from the tree onto the conveyor belt of a 60-year old sorting machine.

Hope resident Greg Harrison with his kids, Abby, 12, and Archer,8, watch the cider press in action during a recent visit to Hope Orchards.