Apple fanatics came pouring into Franklin County and the North Quabbin region over the weekend to sample locally made ciders and learn about the cider making process.

CiderDays, an annual event celebrating cider that began with specialty offers from various orchards, has grown tremendously over its 29-year history. What once centered around a Cider Salon, where people gathered under a tent to taste ciders from around the world, before the pandemic has become a weekend where cider makers host guests at their orchards and cideries. Attendees get to meet the farmers, see where the apples are grown and take part in special workshops.

“CiderDays has changed,” said April Woodard, a cider maker giving instruction at New Salem Preserves and Orchards on Sunday. “I think it’s gone more toward its grassroots, which is a beautiful thing, too. It can be a really beautiful thing that we can embrace.”

One of the pillars of CiderDays is home cider makers’ descent on Pine Hill Orchards in Colrain, where they buy bulk apple cider pressed especially for making hard cider.

Farm co-owner Brady Shearer explained Pine Hill makes about 3,000 gallons of cider for the weekend for home makers to buy and bring home to ferment themselves.

The orchard typically picks about 40,000 bushels of apples, but this year, due to crop destruction from a frost, the orchard was able to harvest about 20,000. Despite the hardships, however, the workers still pressed the same amount of cider they make every year for the bulk CiderDays sale.

“We will have plenty for everyone,” Shearer said.

Pine Hill made four different blends of apple cider specifically to be turned into hard cider. Many home brewers, including those from neighboring states, line up for the specialty juice.

J.B. Allred, of Skaneateles, New York, said he has been making cider for 20 years and fermenting products his entire life. He used to make “New England sweet cider,” pumping the concoction with sugar to get the highest alcohol content possible. He discovered dry cider six years ago and started coming to CiderDays around the same time to learn more about it. He now makes the annual trek with his brother from Maine to learn and taste together.

“Apple trees are magic,” Allred said.

Also coming from afar to learn more about their niche interest was Mike Salandrea and Amy Lefavour of Beverly. Salandrea has a beer brewing background while Lefavour is interested in wine. They began fermenting together as a couple, and made 37 gallons of hard cider to serve at their wedding earlier this year. This weekend was the third CiderDays they’ve been to as a couple.

While many attendees return year after year and are deeply invested in the world of the apples, the event also attracts less experienced cider makers. Zak Molignoni, of South Newfane, Vermont, came to get a batch of bulk cider for his first attempt at making hard cider this weekend. He said he is interested in drinking cheaply and experimenting with fermentation.

“We are excited this is still happening,” he said. “We were nervous they wouldn’t be able to do this with the frost.”

While providing the products and education for brewing at home is one aspect of the weekend, CiderDays also serves as a platform for cider companies to provide tastings and teach attendees what makes their cider special. As her assistants poured samples of three different ciders for her New Salem audience to taste, Woodard explained her process, which involves capturing “the expression of the fruit” and “the complexity of it.” This attention to detail can be enjoyed to the fullest by a careful taster.

“Enjoying cider is a sensory experience, so start with the aromas, the smells and then the taste, and kind of what’s at the front, what’s at the middle and what’s at the back of the taste,” she advised.

James Asbel, who runs the import company Ciders of Spain with his wife, provided tastings at Pine Hill Orchards. He spent years living in the northern Spain cider region in the 1990s, and when cider began to be popularized, he wanted to bring dry Spanish cider to the United States.

Having participated in CiderDays for more than a decade, Asbel said he loves being able to educate already knowledgeable people about his special products. For producers, he said, the dissemination of information during CiderDays is invaluable.

“Franklin County CiderDays is a celebration of local agriculture and local traditions,” Asbel said. “That makes it really special.”

Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com. Reporter Julian Mendoza contributed to this article.