Blake’s Hard Cider Co., only about 18 months old, has secured statewide distribution of its cider in Michigan and is negotiating to branch into three other states, Crain's Detroit Business reports.
The company is based in Armada, a village in Macomb County.
Sherri Welch of Crain's Detroit Business reports:
The offshoot of Blake’s Orchard Inc. and its cider mill and apple picking operations is investing $1.2 million to build a 12,000-square-foot production site behind its Armada tasting room and equip it with 10 new stainless steel fermenting tanks from Italy and a new canning line.
The new facility will increase efficiencies by enabling all aspects of production to be moved to the new site and providing space to store truckloads of cans. It will also increase Blake’s capacity for making hard cider to 500,000 gallons when it’s completed in May or June, co-founder Andrew Blake said last week.
The company hopes to begin distribution in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin by fall. But between now and then, Blake said the plan is to focus on marketing in Michigan.
