Local cidery sparks debate with controversial seasonal drink offer: 'An acquired taste'

A Pennsylvania cidery has taken an interesting tactic to deal with an invasive species of plants, joining the list of groups approaching such things with the mantra of "if you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!"

According to a post in the r/InvasiveSpecies subreddit, Excursion Ciders in Phoenixville features a drink called "of the wild." The beverage's description explains that it's made using the berries of the autumn olive plant, which is invasive in that part of Pennsylvania. They explained that the berries were harvested on public land, where the invasive plants couldn't be destroyed.

The berries create a "uniquely fruity cider with a noticeable drying finish," according to the cidery's description.

"While this has the potential to encourage planting more autumn olive," the poster said, "I think for now it's a neat idea!"

According to The Nature Conservancy, the autumn olive is native to Asia and was brought to the U.S. to help with soil erosion. It quickly took hold and became invasive, altering ecosystems. It changes the chemistry of the soil where it grows, allowing it to push out native plants, and efforts to cut out or burn the plant simply resulted in it growing more.

Invasive species have become a target of a number of culinary efforts recently. In California, aquafarmers have tried to get more people to eat them and control the population, while the invasive lionfish has become the subject of a push among chefs to get people to eat the venomous fish.

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Commenters here had concerns but were mostly optimistic about the attempt.

"Interesting idea, but I worry that this trend of, 'Can't beat 'em, eat' em!' will start to normalize the species in question, and make it harder for the average person to understand why we want to eradicate them," one commenter said.

"Oh wow that's a good use of the berries," said another.