Purveyors of certain fermented beverages experience a recurring nightmare: They serve an enthusiastic customer a drink for the first time. They tell the customer it is “dry.” Or at least mostly dry.

Hard cider just may be the new beer. Or maybe the new wine. It all comes down to the apples, said Bill Michaels, owner of Fly Creek Cider Mill in Otsego County. "New York has a tremendous diversity of ...