Hi, I’m Jesse Oberman! Together with a small team of family and friends I work with forgotten trees in backyards and on trails in Manitoba to produce natural cider.
The name was inspired by UCLA law professor and legal scholar Christopher Stone who in the 1970s argued that trees and forests should have a legal standing in court. But trees can’t speak or walk, so they need someone to represent them. Stone called these representatives “Next Friends”
The Manitoba trees we work with mostly yield fruit that would otherwise go to waste. When the juice is transformed into cider it gives these trees a voice they might otherwise not have.
Our ciders are fermented with natural yeast and bottled without fining or filtration, pasteurization, or adjustment. The guiding principles are the same as those that guide natural wine production.
We work by hand with a small team and limited equipment, aging our ciders far longer than most before release. We aren’t looking to rapidly expand or grow, we want to stay small and continue supporting and engaging with the communities we interact with every day.
We believe that our local food system needs some strengthening! We often have to remind ourselves that our regional foodways are longer than just our province and most of the food consumed in Manitoba isn’t even grown here. Starting in 2021 we developed relationships with local grocery wholesalers and now we also buy fruit from them that they would otherwise throw away. This fruit goes into our Reclaimed ciders where the labels always state where the fruit came from. While this grocery store fruit usually isn’t local or organic, we strongly believe that reducing grocery store food waste is just as important as backyard food waste!
Next Friend would not be possible without the community that helped build it. When people deliver fruit to us we pay them commercial rates for it. When people bring us fruit and refuse payment we donate the full value to a food security group. Every year a portion of sales are also donated to organizations that support food security and reducing food waste. We support environmental groups and groups that make sure everyone has access to healthy, wholesome food. Some of these groups are:
Direct Farm Manitoba’s Food Currency Program
Who We Are
Where
We Are
We operate out of Low Life Barrelhouse in Winnipeg, Manitoba. If you are dropping off fruit this is where you will find us! You can purchase everything we make to take away or drink a glass at the bar.