Altamont Orchards has one of my favorite apple cider donuts in the area and I was incredibly happy when my first stop on the 2023 tour also had a brewery!
Altamont Orchards is a popular stop on my annual apple cider donut tour, and for good reason, too. Their donuts are the perfect blend of crispy, cidery and sugar.
Altamont Orchards isn’t just interesting because of its delicious cider donuts but also because of its history. The original lease for Altamont Orchards was in 1792 to William Ward from Stephen Van Rensselaer, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. According to their website, “The first orchard was planted by Dr. Daniel Cook, an Albany physician in the early 1900’s who was interested in the new science of growing apples.” Then, the orchard changed hands quite a few times where they grew and purchased nearby farms.
In 1993, purchasing another nearby farm led to the development of the Orchard Creek Golf Club and the Cider House Restaurant. In 2013, Altamont Orchards became the cider donut supplier of the Altamont Fairgrounds. Currently, the farm is owned by the Abbruzzese family, who purchased the farm in 1967 and were the first owners to live and work on the farm. Altamont Orchards celebrated their 50 year anniversary in 2018. Altamont Orchard has a large farm market where you can buy vegetables and fruits along with a country store.
Connected to Altamont Orchards is Allied Brewing, which opened in June 2022. According to WNYT, “The brewery focuses their labels on a historic event or icon from World War II, a period that they are proud to share with their patrons.” That also led them to create a special beer marking the 79th anniversary of the USS Slater’s World War II commissioning. Allied is a woman-owned business, owned by Darci Efaw. She doesn’t have any military background personally, but wanted to make a WWII-related brewing company, because “It just seemed like a good way to remind people what all those people did for us,” as she told the Altamont Enterprise.
We ordered a flight: Finegan’s Irish Red, Pumpkin Bomb, Cider Donut Ale and Eastern Front (NIPA). My favorite out of them all had to be the Pumpkin Bomb. I also enjoyed the Cider Donut Ale with a cinnamon sugar rim but wanted the cider donut flavor just a little stronger. I tasted it at the end but would’ve liked more of it throughout. The NIPA was a classic NIPA, the same goes for the Irish Red. Any of those beers would be perfect on a beautiful day in their outdoor, covered patio looking out at the golf course and the mountains. It’s a beautiful place to sit outside and enjoy the day, especially if they have live music.
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