{"id":7342,"date":"2012-08-13T14:18:51","date_gmt":"2012-08-13T19:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2018-02-06T14:22:40","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T20:22:40","slug":"michigans-disasterous-apple-crop-crunches-vander-mills-production-window","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/michigans-disasterous-apple-crop-crunches-vander-mills-production-window\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan’s Disastrous Apple Crop Crunches Vander Mill’s Production Window"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We love this stuff. But will Michigan’s apple crop allow us to have much more of it?<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the weekend the Detroit Free Press reported a staggering number\u00a0that should strike fear in the hearts of hard cider lovers across the\u00a0Midwest; due to unseasonably warm weather this spring coupled with\u00a0below-freezing nights, Michigan has lost 90 percent of its apple crop. Beyond that, cherries and peaches have suffered too. Traverse City’s cherry crop took a similar hit thanks to the sweltering St. Patrick’s Day followed by a chilly April.<\/p>\n

Just what does this mean for cider makers, exactly? Well, according to the Michigan\u00a0Apple Committee, a typical Michigan apple crop is a robust 25 million\u00a0bushels.<\/strong> This year, Michigan farmers will only harvest about 3 million bushels.<\/p>\n

Wow.<\/p>\n

We here at Guys Drinking Beer love hard cider, so we went to Paul\u00a0Vander Heide, owner of Vander Mill Winery and Brewery<\/a> in Spring Lake,\u00a0Michigan, to get his perspective on the apple shortage in Michigan (emphasis added<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been working closely with our grower, Dietrich Orchards,\u00a0during this very difficult year and we will continue to use all\u00a0Michigan fruit to make our ciders. We are hoping to minimize any price\u00a0increases though the shared sacrifice of our whole supply chain.<\/p>\n

The most significant impact will be a limitation on distribution to\u00a0new markets. We have been assuring our customers throughout Michigan\u00a0and Illinois that they will see no shortage of supply and we plan to\u00a0continue expanding our customer base within these markets.<\/p>\n

However, the most significant challenge for us as a producer is the\u00a0forecasting and production for the spring and summer of 2013. Due to\u00a0the limited crop this year, we will have to produce our entire\u00a0inventory before the end of 2012.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Chicago has been great to us. We have many wonderful customers that\u00a0continually push us to be creative and innovative with new products.\u00a0We have some exciting new things coming out over the next month. So keep an eye out!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again…wow.<\/p>\n

We wish the best of luck to Paul \u2013 I know we look forward to enjoying his cider for\u00a0many years to come.<\/p>\n

Speaking of that \u2013 got plans on Saturday, August 25th? We’ll be heading to Sheffield\u2019s for a Vander Mill Pig Roast<\/a>. Paul will be in attendance\u00a0and Sheffield\u2019s will be smoking a pig that was raised on apples from\u00a0Paul\u2019s mill. But check out this tap list. It\u2019ll blow your mind:<\/p>\n