Come Fly with Me!

My most recent excursion to a microbrewery was nestled in the northern part of Macomb County amongst farms.  Just a short drive north out of Metro-Detroit, a little east of Romeo Plank Road on Armada Center Road you will come across Blake’s Ciderhouse & Winery in Armada, MI. 

 

I am going to put this out there before anyone can say anything…hard cider is not beer why are you writing about hard cider on a microbrewery blog?  Hard Cider popped up overnight on beer shelves everywhere.  The similarities between hard cider and beer are:  they are bottled in the same manner, both have a fermentation process, both are bubbly and processed in small batches.  Here is how hard cider was explained to me by the experts at Blake’s “Hard cider has a higher alcohol content than beer but easier to swallow than wine”.

 

Indoor Fireplace at Blake's Ciderhouse. Picture courtesy of me 

My absolutely favorite part of Blake’s Ciderhouse is the atmosphere!  It has this warm, inviting feeling as you walk through the doors you are taken back someplace in time.  Although everything is new it feels as if it has been there 100 years.  In the middle of the Ciderhouse is a fire place that has a campfire ambiance that makes you want to pull a chair up and put your feet on.  Also the table bases are made out of wooden barrels which is so appropriate for the décor.  Since the Michigan winter is hopefully over the Ciderhouse also has an outdoor patio with a fire pit complete with storytellers, drinks and lots of laughter.




Wooden barrel for table base.  Picture courtesy of me.

Ceiling fan at Blake's. Picture courtesy of me.
















Flight.  Picture courtesy of me

Come fly we me!  Blake’s has a drink option called  "flight” which allows you to try any 3 hard cider or wines.  Extremely popular selection for most people when I was at Blake's Ciderhouse there was at least one flight at almost every table.

The one and only thing lacking that I think would make a huge difference is a menu.  People love food!  Over and over talking to people I heard I wish they had more of a menu.  The menu consists of fries, chicken fingers, cheese sticks and a couple other items.  It would also target an audience that hasn’t been considered…nondrinkers.

Overall great place, worth the drive to Armada!  And if you wait a couple months for the strawberries to come in you could make a day out of it.