Husband-and-Wife Team ‘Hops’ on Fast-Growing Michigan Beverage Trends

Northville Winery and Brewing Co. has been quietly pouring beer in its tasting room for about two months, but on Saturday, owners Rob and Carina Nelson are going to make some noise about it.

That’s when they’ll have a “release party” and open the taps on some newly brewed craft beers from their microbrewery (details at the end of this story).

The winery portion of the business opened in 1982 on the same property as the family-owned Parmenter’s Northville Cider Mill, and is located in Cabbage Town, 630 Baseline Road. The Nelsons purchased it about 10 years ago, always with the goal expanding.

“It’s always been a dream of my husband's to have a brewery,” Carina said. “When we had the opportunity to purchase the winery, it was a long-term goal of ours to eventually add beer. Microbreweries are so popular right now, why not?”

The Nelsons are part of a growing trend in Michigan, where the craft brewery industry is growing so fast it’s hard to keep tabs on all the new taps. Last year, Michigan ranked 14th in the nation for the number of breweries and eighth in craft beer output, the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reports.

Like other craft beer makers, the Nelsons are brewing small batches, available for sampling on Fridays and Saturdays in the year-round tasting room that opened last June. Varieties are rotated in and out, and have included India pale ales, Belgian blonde ale, American wheat, a blonde ale with orange zest and others.

The Nelsons expect to grow the beer side of the business in much the same fashion as they did the winery and eventually offer bottled beer and growlers. But for now, it’s available only in the sampling room.

When the Nelsons bought the winery, only a handful of styles of wine were offered. Now, the winery offers more than a dozen wines and hard ciders, using grapes and apples grown in western Michigan.

Hard Cider Making a Resurgence

Their niche also includes hard cider, the fastest-growing beverage trend both globally and domestically, partially due to a locavore movement.  Hard cider’s history in America dates back to Colonial America, when it was established as the national beverage until beer-loving 19th Century German immigrants arrived and pushed it aside.

Michigan State University Extension said in February hard cider sales jumped more than 60 percent in the United States in 2012, and were expected to see a 100 percent growth when final 2013 figures were tabulated.

Hard cider is making a splash in Michigan as well.

Mike Beck, a cider-maker from Saint Johns who represents the Midwest on the newly formed United States Association of Cider Makers, said Michigan is well poised to become a national leader in producing high-quality cider.

“We currently have over 30 brands of cider on the market, and I don’t see this trend slowing any time soon,” Beck said in February. “We are excited to be growing good fruit here in Michigan and turning those apples into great cider. At this time next year, I don’t see why we wouldn’t have twice the number of cider brands in the state.”

The Nelsons are ready to see where the growth curve takes them.

“There’s a huge following,” Carina said, emphasizing their customers aren’t people who want to belly up to the bar and get intoxicated, but connoisseurs and hobby tasters, who travel the countryside on weekends looking for local, handcrafted beers and ciders.

Other ideas fermenting include adding a small spirits distillery. 

The Nelsons have already obtained the license, but they'll have to wait to develop the spirits side of the business until winter at the earliest because he cider mill is approaching its busy time when favorites like cider, caramel apples, pumpkins and other seasonal goodies are offered, Carina said.

IF YOU GO TO THE BEER RELEASE PARTY – When: 4-10 p.m. Saturday, July 19 | Where: Tasting room at Northville Winery and Brewing Co., 630 Baseline Road, Northville | Entertainment: Music by Royal Bones at 6 p.m. | Eats: Catering by Palate of Milford | More information: Northville Winery and Brewing Co. web site