The Appley line is a series of cysers, which are meads made from apple cider and honey. Maniacal is proud to source its cider from an Emmet County, MI orchard. The apple trees of this orchard were planted in 1942 by Stanley Vorce and include some familiar varieties as well as some that have been phased out over the last century, including Northern Spy, Kirby Delicious, Russet, Baldwin, and Red Delicious. 

Patrick has been working on bringing back the apple trees from some decades of being left to the wild, including pruning a few that were over 70 feet tall. Each year we have gotten more cider from these trees, which has enabled Maniacal to increase Appley production. 2023 was an excellent apple crop year across Michigan, so you’ll see at least 8 Appley cysers in our 2024 releases.

Appley Mexican Orange Blossom & West Michigan Wildflower honey

14.5% abv

June 2024 Release 

Mead Details-

This was the initial cider pressing, which happened mid October 2023. Using a variety of apples from Cross Village in Northern Michigan. It was made using ⅔ Mexican Orange Blossom honey and ⅓ West Michigan Wildflower honey. This was a 120gal batch. Half of this became this Appley you’re reading about here. The other half will become the next batch of Dreaming Tree,  to be released in the summer of 2024.

The yeast used in this recipe was EC1118

This mead is 10 months old before bottling.

Karl’s tasting notes-

Amongst the many Appley’s this year, here we have a version hosting a very delectable honey. Right away the nose reveals those delicate semi-sweet citrus hints under the aroma of our preferred northern Michigan cider. The more you open this up, the more of that delicious orange blossom is revealed!

Onto the taste and “wow” right away. My initial worry that the honey would be overwhelmed by our cider was immediately shut down! Not only does this version of Appley give you those classic cyser notes, the Mexican orange blossom is not going down without a fuss. This features a specific identity of citrus florals that is honestly reminiscent to tasting the raw honey itself! Best of both worlds; crisp and semi-sweet cider with remarkable orange blossom