Untapped Apple Cider market in Rexburg

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Story Published: Oct 13, 2009 at 3:14 PM MDT

Story Updated: Oct 13, 2009 at 3:14 PM MDT

By Steven Pope

REXBURG - Dean Jacobson may be retired, but that isn't stopping him from keeping busy. In the front of his house he's selling home made apple cider.

"It's very enjoyable. And It really bothers me to see good food go to waste," said Dean Jacobson.

The apples that end up in the cider would have just fallen off trees and rotted.

"Most people said, just come pick um. They gave them for free, free for the picking," said Jacobson.

So he takes those free apples, puts them into this crank, and squeezes out some juice. His wife takes the product inside and cooks it to 160 degrees, and stores it in their fridge. But they hardly get a chance to put a bottle away, because customers keep wanting more.

"Came back because the other batch was so good. It's freshly pressed, it's local, it's seasonal," said customer Steve Oakey.

Freshly squeezed apple cider on a cold fall day, it just doesn't get much better than this. That's some good apple cider.

"I doubt that I'm going to get rich doing this. There's not enough margin in this. It's too seasonal, but I enjoy doing it. If I can make a little money doing it, and if I can pay for my machine, that's all I want to do," said Jacobson.

Dean has even obtained a business license to make the cider, so don't be afraid to visit him on 3rd west in Rexburg. I can promise you, your taste buds won't regret it.

"Johnny Apple Seed," cheered Oakey.

Apple cider is extremely perishable.

Dean tells his customers that his product has a shelf life of about 7 days before it turns into alcohol.

And that's a whole 'nother story.

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