Bill and Brenda Michaels recently decided to revive a dying product at their New York cider mill. That dying product dates back to the first days – in 1856 – of what is now Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard in Fly Creek, N.Y. And that product is hard apple cider.
“The original purpose of the mill was to make fresh cider and make it hard,” Bill Michaels said. “People always said ‘You have sweet cider, why don’t you make hard cider?’”
So, the Michaels’ returned to the roots of the very beginnings of their cider mill – which they purchased from Bill’s parents in 1999.
Michaels said that he thinks some people confuse the hard cider that he makes at his operation to the hard cider that people used to make in their homes.
“They’re surprised it’s not firewater. People are unfamiliar with hard cider,” he said. “When people come up to taste it (cider), a lot of people have a preset notion that it is a high-alcohol, knock-your-socks-off beverage.”
The hard cider at Fly Creek is similar in quality and taste to the hard cider that people can find in England, at least that’s what he’s been told by those who have tried English hard cider.
Michaels produces two different flavors of hard cider: original and apple-raspberry. Both are sold in a 22-ounce bottle. The original is semi-sweet, and the apple-raspberry is semi-dry.
Michaels said that they are selling around 500 bottles of each flavor per month. But, he said, that number could be different later in the year because it is now their peak tourist season.
Fly Creek is located only three miles from Cooperstown and four hours from Manhattan.
“The nice thing about hard cider is that we’re able to have that in the summer,” he said. “It takes a little bit of the pressure off the weather-dependent festivals.”
Adding hard cider to the mix didn’t require a complete overhaul of the existing building. Rather, Michaels said they just changed things around.
“We incorporated it right in the mill itself with a tasting and sampling area,” he said.
“People are making the cider mill another stop in their farm winery and micro-brewery tour,” Michaels said. “It’s almost like a little appellation in the middle of New York.”
In order to make hard cider, the Michaels’ became a licensed New York state farm winery. This designation requires them to only use New York product but also allows them to sell the products from other New York state wineries.
As a licensed farm winery, Michaels said they are working on developing apple wines to sell at the mill. Their most current project is an apple cranberry blush that will carry the Fly Creek label.
Still, he said he is expecting their hard cider to be the biggest seller.
