SAN DIEGO — For Dave Carr, creating delicious cider starts with restoring nature.

Carr is the creative force behind Raging Cider & Mead Co. He sources all his ingredients from San Diego County to support the local farming community. He also buys imperfect fruit from local orchards that would otherwise be thrown away.  

What You Need To Know

  • Dave Carr owns Raging Cider & Mead Co.

  • He sources all of his ingredients from San Diego County to support the local farming community

  • Carr is also helping to rebuild the orchard industry around San Diego County

  • He is working with landowners to bring new life back to neglected apple and pear orchards that can then be used in making locally-sourced ciders and perrys

"It doesn't matter if you have ugly apples for making cider," Carr said. "So people don't want to buy and eat an ugly apple but we can press and grind up and make great cider from ugly apples."

Not only does Carr make delicious cider that comes from tree to glass, but he is also helping to rebuild the orchard industry around San Diego County.

Using regenerative methods, he's working with landowners to revitalize orchards that have fallen into decline. By grafting new varieties onto old trees, he's bringing new life back to neglected apple and pear orchards that can then be used in making locally sourced ciders and perrys.

"People look at us and they're like 'San Diego? San Diego is palm trees and beaches.' To actually build this as a cider region, I think, would be really cool," he said. 

Gary Castronova works at Storum Ranch Cider and Wine in Julian and is learning how to graft from Carr. 

The Storum Ranch orchard has about 2500 apple trees that they have been working to restore and rejuvenate over the years. The grafting techniques will help make more of the fruit usable in their ciders and other craft beverages.

"San Diego is one of the most popular artisanal beer, craft brewery places in America," Castronova said. "We'd like to get more people drinking cider. It's not near the popularity of beer at the moment but maybe someday we'll get there."

Carr also owns a small orchard and is credited with discovering several wild types of apple and pear seedlings. He hopes to see San Diego bloom with a sustainable orchard economy that spreads into other industries someday.

"We want to keep a small carbon footprint so if we keep our sourcing within the county, that reduces the amount of gas and everything else it takes to get the fruit here," Carr said. "I believe in a really strong, local economy and so this is part of what I do to help support that."

Carr says he fell in love with cider while visiting family in England, and named "Raging" Cider after his and his wife's time as wild punk rock teenagers.