Blake's Hard Cider tasting room is now open year-round

You can now get Blake's Hard Cider from the source all winter. 

The Armada-based company announced this week that, for the first time in the orchard's nearly 72-year history, Blake's Hard Cider Tasting Room and Cider Mill will stay open year-round. 

"Although you can find us at any Meijer, Kroger and 7-Eleven in Michigan and 15 other states, people want to see where it all started," the company said in a news release. "Our merchandise and to-go sales room was the original production facility; it's almost unbelievable that we went from 200 square feet to 40,000 in four years." 

The $2-million expansion to 40,000 square feet was completed last summer, according to a spokesperson. Production expanded from just under 10,000 barrels (31 gallons are in a barrel) in 2016 to 16,500 barrels in 2017. Until this year, Blake's was open to the public only from April 1 to Dec. 23.

Blake's Hard Cider Co. is known for such hard ciders as Flannel Mouth (6.5% alcohol by volume), made with an array of late-season table and dessert apples — all Michigan-grown; and El Chavo (6.5% ABV), made with habanero pepper and mango along with Blake's apples, according to the company website.  

The Tasting Room will be open Wednesday (2-9 p.m.), Thursday-Saturday (11 a.m.-11 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.- 6 p.m.). It will offer a full dinner menu, Sunday brunch and wine and craft beer along with ciders. 

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The orchard  now covers more than 800 acres, and the property also includes the Cider Mill, now open Thursday-Sunday (9 a.m.- 5 p.m.). It offers coffee, a hot chocolate bar, fresh pressed cider and warm doughnuts. 

Blake's began running its cider mill in 1946 and began selling hard cider in 2013.

Spirits of Detroit columnist Robert Allen covers craft alcohol for the Free Press. Contact him: rallen@freepress.com or on Untappd, raDetroit; Twitter @rallenMI, and Facebook robertallen.news.