Kevin Collins and Melanie Collins, 15-year Bostonians with farm ties in Upstate New York, said they are launching Cider Creek Hard Cider with the help of a distribution agreement with Avon-based Bay State Wine Spirits.
Hard cider is arguably the flavor-of-the-month for the craft-beer crowd. According to a year-end report from GuestMetrics LLC, cider brands Strongbow, Stella Artois Cidre, Angry Orchard gained fans during 2013. (Angry Orchard is marketed by Boston Beer Co., which is perhaps better known for its Sam Adams brand.)
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Several recent posts on 99 Bottles, a Boston Globe column devoted to beer, have taken note of Downeast Cider House and Bantam Cider.
According to the Cider Creek press release, Kevin Collins and Melanie Collins have been brewing hard cider made from a special blend of New York state apples as a hobby for years. The cider was so popular with family and friends, the couple decided that their signature recipe had the potential to flourish in the current hard cider market.
To help raise money, the Collinses mounted a Kickstarter campaign that successfully raised $25,000. Much of that money was used to convert a barn owned by the family of Kevin Collins into a cidery, Melanie Collins said during a telephone interview.
‘‘What’s special about our cider is that we control the ingredients and quality — from fresh fruit to bottled product — on our family’s farm,” Kevin Collins, Cider Creek’s head brewer, said in a statement. ‘‘It starts with a hand selected and sorted blend of New York state apples. We press the cider ourselves at the farm’s neighboring cider mill before fermenting, bottling, packaging and shipping it from the farm directly to stores across the state.’’
Cider Creek is currently available in about 100 stores and restaurants in New York State, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, Melanie Collins said.
In restaurants, a 16-ounce bottle generally sells for between $9 and $14, she said.
The mini growler, a 750-millileter jug sold in stores, has a suggested retail price of $13.99, she said.
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